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Reshaping the University: Responsibility, Indigenous Epistemes, and the Logic of the Gift

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In the past few decades, the narrow intellectual foundations of the university have come under serious scrutiny. Previously marginalized groups have called for improved access to the institution and full inclusion in the curriculum. Reshaping the University is a timely, thorough, and original interrogation of academic practices. It moves beyond current analyses of cultural conflicts and discrimination in academic institutions to provide an indigenous postcolonial critique of the modern university. Rauna Kuokkanen argues that attempts by universities to be inclusive are unsuccessful because they do not embrace indigenous worldviews. Programs established to act as bridges between mainstream and indigenous cultures ignore their ontological and epistemic differences and, while offering support and assistance, place the responsibility of adapting wholly on the student. Indigenous students and staff are expected to leave behind their cultural perspectives and epistemes in order to adopt Western values. Reshaping the University advocates a radical shift in the approach to cultural conflicts within the academy and proposes a new logic, grounded in principles central to indigenous philosophies.

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

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Rauna Kuokkanen

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15 reviews16 followers
February 28, 2013
This is a good book. It's really dense, though. I usually read 10 pages of academic writing with my breakfast. With this I read 2-3 pages over breakfast, max. It was slow going (I take notes) and when I read more than a few pages in a sitting I had a hard time holding onto what I read so eventually I just accepted that I'd eat breakfast with this book forever.

It's chalk full of theories and concepts. If you're looking for new lenses this is a goldmine.

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