Abstract
Though communities and classrooms globally have become more diverse, co-existence in a communal space does not imply meaningful knowledge of one another nor harmonious interactions and relationships. In fact, dominant discourses in such spaces are often of conflict and discrimination. Although individuals are not completely ‘spoken’ by their discoursal contexts, their perspectives are often dictated by the ideological spaces with which they are most familiar. A circular causality, existing between the discourse community and the individual, contributes to the persistence of common-sense assumptions which ‘other’ those perceived as different. Tolerance’ is often put forward as a panacea in addressing conflicts and misunderstandings. However, ‘tolerance’ often cements distance and difference by evading opportunities for real engagement. Tolerance, generally implies that although we don’t understand or like one another, we will agree to tolerate one another’s existence on the condition that we maintain our distance and remain within our boundaries (Žižek, 2010). Suspicion and hostilities are consequently often glossed over rather than negotiated and resolved. This paper references a South African university classroom intervention which found that divisions are more effectively addressed through facilitation of interactions addressing difference and division head-on. These interactions thus accommodate negotiation and resolution of real and imagined hostility and difference. This study frames the community and the individual as complex systems with a number of different elements interacting in different ways, prompting the emergence of particular patterns and trends that reflect transformative understandings and engagements with difference (Cameron and Larsen-Freeman 2007).
Presenters
Sharon RudmanSenior Lecturer, Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa Jacqueline Luck
Deputy Dean, Humanities Faculty, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
DIVERSITY, DISCOURSE, COMMON-SENSE ASSUMPTIONS, TOLERANCE, COMPLEX SYSTEMS
