The Canon Debate, Knowledge Construction, and Multicultural Education

Author(s): James A. Banks

Source: Educational Researcher , Jun. - Jul., 1993, Vol. 22, No. 5 (Jun. - Jul., 1993), pp.
4-14
Published by: American Educational Research Association

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1176946

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 The Canon Debate, Knowledge Construction,
and Multicultural Education
JAMES A. BANKS

I review the debate over multicultural education in this article, The Afrocentrists maintain that African culture and history
state that all knowledge reflects the values and interests of its crea- should be placed at the "center" of the curriculum in order
tors, and illustrate how the debate between the multiculturalists to motivate African Americans students to learn and to help
and the Western traditionalists is rooted in their conflicting con- all students to understand the important role that Africa has
ceptions about the nature of knowledge and their divergent political played in the development of Western civilization (Asante,
and social interests. I present a typology that describes five types 1991a). Many mainstream multiculturalists are ambivalen
of knowledge and contend that each type should be a part of the about Afrocentrism, although few have publicly opposed
school, college, and university curriculum. it. This is in part because the Western traditionalists rarely
Educational Researcher, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 4-14. distinguish the Afrocentrists from the multiculturalists and
describe them as one group. Some multiculturalists may also
perceive Afrocentric ideas as compatible with a broader con-
cept of multicultural education.
The influence of the multiculturalists within schools and
A heated and knowledge
about what divisiverelated
national debate
to ethnic is taking
and cultural place
diversity should be taught in the school and univer- universities in the last 20 years has been substantial. Many
sity curriculum (Asante, 1991a; Asante & Ravitch, 1991; school districts, state departments of education, local school
D'Souza, 1991; Glazer, 1991; Schlesinger, 1991; Woodward, districts, and private agencies have developed and imple-
1991). This debate has heightened ethnic tension and con- mented multicultural staff development programs, confer-
fused many educators about the meaning of multicultural ences, policies, and curricula (New York City Board of
education. At least three different groups of scholars are par- Education, 1990; New York State Department of Education,
ticipating in the canon debate: the Western traditionalists, 1989, 1991; Sokol, 1990). Multicultural requirements, pro-
the multiculturalists, and the Afrocentrists. Although there grams, and policies have also been implemented at many
are a range of perspectives and views within each of these of the nation's leading research universities, including the
groups, all groups share a number of important assump- University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University,
tions and beliefs about the nature of diversity in the United The Pennsylvania State University, and the University of
States and about the role of educational institutions in a Wisconsin system. The success that the multiculturalists
pluralistic society. have had in implementing their ideas within schools and
The Western traditionalists have initiated a national ef- universities is probably a major reason that the Western
fort to defend the dominance of Western civilization in the
traditionalists are trying to halt multicultural reforms in the
school and university curriculum (Gray, 1991; Howe, 1991; nation's schools, colleges, and universities.
Woodward, 1991). These scholars believe that Western his- The debate between the Western traditionalists and the
multiculturalists is consistent with the ideals of a democratic
tory, literature, and culture are endangered in the school
and university curriculum because of the push by feminists,society. To date, however, it has resulted in little produc-
ethnic minority scholars, and other multiculturalists for cur-tive interaction between the Western traditionalists and the
riculum reform and transformation. The Western tradition- multiculturalists. Rather, each group has talked primarily
alists have formed an organization called the National Asso- to audiences it viewed as sympathetic to its ideologies and
ciation of Scholars to defend the dominance of Western visions of the present and future (Franklin, 1991; Schles-
civilization in the curriculum. inger, 1991). Because there has been little productive dia-
logue and exchange between the Western traditionalists and
The multiculturalists believe that the school, college, and
university curriculum marginalizes the experiences of peo- the multiculturalists, the debate has been polarized, and
ple of color and of women (Butler & Walter, 1991; Gates, writers have frequently not conformed to the established
1992; Grant, 1992; Sleeter, personal communication, rules
Oc- of scholarship (D'Souza, 1991). A kind of forensic
tober 26, 1991). They contend that the curriculum shouldsocial science has developed (Rivlin, 1973), with each side
be reformed so that it will more accurately reflect the stating
his- briefs and then marshaling evidence to support its
tories and cultures of ethnic groups and women. Two orga-
nizations have been formed to promote issues related to
ethnic and cultural diversity. Teachers for a Democratic Cul-
ture promotes ethnic studies and women studies at the uni-
JAMES A. BANKS is professor and director, Center for Multicul-
versity level. The National Association for Multicultural tural Education, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.
Education focuses on teacher education and multicultural He specializes in social studies education and multicultural
education in the nation's schools. education.

4 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER

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position. The debate has also taken place primarily in the academic discipline is the formulation of knowledge without
popular press rather than in academic and scholarly journals. the influence of the researcher's personal or cultural char-
acteristics (Greer, 1969; Kaplan, 1964). However, as critical
Valuation and Knowledge Construction
and postmodern theorists have pointed out, personal, cul-
I hope to make a positive contribution to the canon debate tural, and social factors influence the formulation of knowl-
in this article by providing evidence for the claim that the edge even when objective knowledge is the ideal within a
positions of both the Western traditionalists and the multi- discipline (Cherryholmes, 1988; Foucault, 1972; Habermas,
culturalists reflect values, ideologies, political positions, and 1971; Rorty, 1989; Young, 1971). Often the researchers them-
human interests. Each position also implies a kind of knowl- selves are unaware of how their personal experiences and
edge that should be taught in the school and university positions within society influence the knowledge they pro-
curriculum. I will present a typology of the kinds of knowl- duce. Most mainstream historians were unaware of how
edge that exist in society and in educational institutions. their regional and cultural biases influenced their interpreta
This typology is designed to help practicing educators tion of the Reconstruction period until W. E. B. DuBoi
and researchers to identify types of knowledge that reflect published a study that challenged the accepted and estab
particular values, assumptions, perspectives, and ideological lished interpretations of that historical period (DuBois
positions. 1935/1962).
Teachers should help students to understand all types of
knowledge. Students should be involved in the debates Positionality and Knowledge Construction
about knowledge construction and conflicting interpreta- Positionality is an important concept that emerged out of
tions, such as the extent to which Egypt and Phoenicia in- feminist scholarship. Tetreault (1993) writes:
fluenced Greek civilization. Students should also be taught
how to create their own interpretations of the past and pres- Positionality means that important aspects of our identity,
ent, as well as how to identify their own positions, interests, for example, our gender, our race, our class, our age ...
ideologies, and assumptions. Teachers should help students are markers of relational positions rather than essential
to become critical thinkers who have the knowledge, atti- qualities. Their effects and implications change according
to context. Recently, feminist thinkers have seen knowledge
tudes, skills, and commitments needed to participate in
as valid when it comes from an acknowledgment of the
democratic action to help the nation close the gap between
knower's specific position in any context, one always de-
its ideals and its realities. Multicultural education is an ed-
fined by gender, race, class and other variables. (p. 139)
ucation for functioning effectively in a pluralistic democratic
society. Helping students to develop the knowledge, skills,Positionality reveals the importance of identifying the posi-
and attitudes needed to participate in reflective civic action tions and frames of reference from which scholars and writ-
is one of its major goals (Banks, 1991). ers present their data, interpretations, analyses, and instruc-
I argue that students should study all five types of knowl- tion (Anzaldifa, 1990; Ellsworth, 1989). The need for re-
edge. However, my own work and philosophical position searchers and scholars to identify their ideological positions
are within the transformative tradition in ethnic studies and and normative assumptions in their works-an inherent part
multicultural education (Banks, 1988, 1991; Banks & Banks, of feminist and ethnic studies scholarship-contrasts with
1989). This tradition links knowledge, social commitment, the empirical paradigm that has dominated science and re-
and action (Meier & Rudwick, 1986). A transformative, search in the United States (Code, 1991; S. Harding, 1991).
action-oriented curriculum, in my view, can best be imple- The assumption within the Western empirical paradigm
mented when students examine different types of knowl- is that the knowledge produced within it is neutral and ob-
edge in a democratic classroom where they can freely ex- jective and that its principles are universal. The effects of
amine their perspectives and moral commitments. values, frames of references, and the normative positions
of researchers and scholars are infrequently discussed within
The Nature of Knowledge the traditional empirical paradigm that has dominated schol-
I am using knowledge in this article to mean the way a per- arship and teaching in American colleges and universities
son explains or interprets reality. The American Heritage Dic- since the turn of the century. However, scholars such as
tionary (1983) defines knowledge as "familiarity, awareness, Mydral (1944) and Clark (1965), prior to the feminist and
or understandings gained through experience or study. The ethnic studies movements, wrote about the need for scholars
sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered or in- to recognize and state their normative positions and valua-
ferred" (p. 384). My conceptualization of knowledge is tions and to become, in the apt words of Kenneth B. Clark,
broad and is used the way in which it is usually used in "involved observers." Myrdal stated that valuations are not
the sociology of knowledge literature to include ideas, just attached to research but permeate it. He wrote, "There
values, and interpretations (Farganis, 1986). As postmodernm is no device for excluding biases in social sciences than to face the
theorists have pointed out, knowledge is socially constructed valuations and to introduce them as explicitly stated, specific, and
and reflects human interests, values, and action (Code, 1991; sufficiently concretized value premises" (p. 1043).
Foucault, 1972; S. Harding, 1991; Rorty, 1989). Although Postmodern and critical theorists such as Habermas (1971)
many complex factors influence the knowledge that is created and Giroux (1983), and feminist postmodern theorists such
by an individual or group, including the actuality of what as Farganis (1986), Code (1991), and S. Harding (1991), have
occurred, the knowledge that people create is heavily in- developed important critiques of empirical knowledge. They
fluenced by their interpretations of their experiences and argue that despite its claims, modern science is not value-
their positions within particular social, economic, and po- free but contains important human interests and normative
litical systems and structures of a society. assumptions that should be identified, discussed, and ex-
In the Western empirical tradition, the ideal within each amined. Code (1991), a feminist epistemologist, states that

JUNE-JULY 1993 5

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academic knowledge is both subjective and objective and A Knowledge Typology
that both aspects should be recognized and discussed. Code A description of the major types of knowledge can help
states that we need to ask these kinds of questions: "Out teachers and curriculum specialists to identify perspectives
of whose subjectivity has this ideal [of objectivity] grown? and content needed to make the curriculum multicultural.
Whose standpoint, whose values does it represent?" (p. 70). Each of the types of knowledge described below reflects par-
She writes:
ticular purposes, perspectives, experiences, goals, and hu-
The point of the questions is to discover how subjective and man interests. Teaching students various types of knowl-
objective conditions together produce knowledge, values, edge can help them to better understand the perspectives
and epistemology. It is neither to reject objectivity nor toof different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups as well as to
glorify subjectivity in its stead. Knowledge is neither value- develop their own versions and interpretations of issues and
free nor value-neutral; the processes that produce it areevents.
themselves value-laden; and these values are open to eval- I identify and describe five types of knowledge (see Tabl
uation. (p. 70) 1): (a) personal/cultural knowledge; (b) popular knowledge
In her book, What Can She Know? Feminist Theory and the
(c) mainstream academic knowledge; (d) transformati
Construction of Knowledge, Code (1991) raises the question,
academic knowledge; and (e) school knowledge. This is
ideal-type typology in the Weberian sense. The five cate-
"Is the sex of the knower epistemologically significant?"
gories approximate, but do not describe, reality in its to
(p. 7). She answers this question in the affirmative because
complexity. The categories are useful conceptual tools for
of the ways in which gender influences how knowledge is
thinking about knowledge and planning multicultural teac
constructed, interpreted, and institutionalized within U.S.
society. The ethnic and cultural experiences of the knower
ing. For example, although the categories can be conc
tually distinguished, in reality they overlap and are inte
are also epistemologically significant because these factors
also influence knowledge construction, use, and interpreta-
related in a dynamic way.
Since the 1960s, some of the findings and insights from
tion in U.S. society.
transformative academic knowledge have been incorporat
Empirical scholarship has been limited by the assumptions
into mainstream academic knowledge and scholarshi
and biases that are implicit within it (Code, 1991; Gordon,
Traditionally, students were taught in schools and univer
1985; S. Harding, 1991). However, these biases and assump-
ties that the land that became North America was a thin
tions have been infrequently recognized by the scholars and
researchers themselves and by the consumers of their works,
populated wilderness when the Europeans arrived in t
16th century and that African Americans had made few co
such as other scholars, professors, teachers, and the general
reader. The lack of recognition and identification of these
tributions to the development of American civilizatio
(mainstream academic knowledge). Some of the findin
biases, assumptions, perspectives, and points of view have
from transformative academic knowledge that challenged
frequently victimized people of color such as African Amer-
icans and American Indians because of the stereotypes and these conceptions have influenced mainstream academ
misconceptions that have been perpetuated about them in
scholarship and have been incorporated into mainstre
the historical and social science literature (Ladner, 1973; college and school textbooks (Hoxie, no date; Thornto
1987). Consequently, the relationship between the five ca
Phillips, 1918).
Gordon, Miller, and Rollock (1990) call the bias that results gories of knowledge is dynamic and interactive rather th
static (see Figure 1).
in the negative depiction of minority groups by mainstream
social scientists "communicentric bias." They point out that The Types of Knowledge
mainstream social scientists have often viewed diversity as
Personal and Cultural Knowledge
deviance and differences as deficits. An important outcome
of the revisionist and transformative interpretations that The concepts, explanations, and interpretations that stude
have been produced by scholars working in feminist and derive from personal experiences in their homes, familie
ethnic studies is that many misconceptions and partial truths and community cultures constitute personal and cultu
about women and ethnic groups have been viewed from
different and more complete perspectives (Acufta, 1988;
Blassingame, 1972; V. Harding, 1981; King & Mitchell, 1990;
Merton, 1972).
More complete perspectives result in a closer approxima- Personal/ Popular Mainstream Transformative
Cultural Knowledge Academic Academic
tion to the actuality of what occurred. In an important and Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge
influential essay, Merton (1972) notes that the perspectives
of both "insiders" and "outsiders" are needed to enable
social scientists to gain a complete view of social reality.
Anna Julia Cooper, the African American educator, made School

a point similar to Merton's when she wrote about how the Knowledge

perspectives of women enlarged our vision (Cooper, 1892/

1969, cited in Minnich, 1990, p. viii).

The world has had to limp along with the wobbling gait
and the one-sided hesitancy of a man with one eye. Sud- FIGURE 1. The interrelationship of the types of knowledge. This
denly the bandage is removed from the other eye and the figure illustrates that although the five types of knowledge discussed
whole body is filled with light. It sees a circle where before
in this article are conceptually distinct, they are highly interrelated
it saw a segment. in a complex and dynamic way.

6 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER

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 Table 1

Types of Knowledge

Knowledge Type Definition Examples

Personal/cultural The concepts, explanations, and interpreta- Understandings by many African Americans
tions that students derive from personal ex- and Hispanic students that highly individual-
periences in their homes, families, and com- istic behavior will be negatively sanctioned
munity cultures. by many adults and peers in their cultural
communities.

Popular The facts, concepts, explanations, and inter- Movies such as Birth of a Nation, How the
pretations that are institutionalized within West Was Won, and Dances With Wolve
the mass media and other institutions that
are part of the popular culture.

Mainstream academic The concepts, paradigms, theories, and ex- Ulrich B. Phillips, American Negro Slavery;
planations that constitute traditional Western- Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier theory;
centric knowledge in history and the behav- Arthur R. Jensen's theory about Black and
ioral and social sciences. White intelligence.

Transformative academic The facts, concepts, paradigms, themes, and George Washi
explanations that challenge mainstream aca- Negro Race in America; W. E. B. DuBois,
demic knowledge and expand and substan- Black Reconstruction; Carter G. Woodson,
tially revise established canons, paradigms, The Mis-education of the Negro; Gerda
theories, explanations, and research methods. Lerner, The Majority Finds Its Past; Rodolfo
When transformative academic paradigms Acufia, Occupied America: A History of
replace mainstream ones, a scientific revolu- Chicanos; Herbert Gutman, The Black Fami-
tion has occurred. What is more normal is ly in Slavery and Freedom 1750-1925.
that transformative academic paradigms
coexist with established ones.

School The facts, concepts, generalizations, and in- Lewis Paul Todd and Merle Curti, Rise of the
terpretations that are presented in textbooks, American Nation; Richard C. Brown, Wilh
teacher's guides, other media forms, and lec- mena S. Robinson, & John Cunningham,
tures by teachers. Freedom Ring: A United States History.

knowledge. The assumptions, perspectives, and conform to established norms, rules, and expectations. She
insights
recommends
that students derive from their experiences in their homes that teachers help African American students
and community cultures are used as screens to learnview
the rules of power in the school culture by explicitly
and
interpret the knowledge and experiences that they teaching them to the students. The cultural knowledge that
encoun-
ter in the school and in other institutions withinmany
theAfrican
larger American, Latino, and American Indian stu-
society. dents bring to school conflict with school norms and values,
Research and theory by Fordham and Ogbu (1986) indi- with school knowledge, and with the ways that teachers
cate that low-income African American students often ex- interpret and mediate school knowledge. Student cultural
perience academic difficulties in the school because of the knowledge and school knowledge often conflict on variables
ways that cultural knowledge within their community con- related to the ways that the individual should relate to and
flicts with school knowledge, norms, and expectations. interact with the group (Hale-Benson, 1982; Ramirez &
Fordham and Ogbu also state that the culture of many low- Castafeda, 1974; Shade, 1989), normative communication
income African American students is oppositional to the styles and interactions (Heath, 1983, Labov, 1975; Philips,
school culture. These students believe that if they master 1983; Smitherman, 1977), and perspectives on the nature
the knowledge taught in the schools they will violate fic- of U.S. history.
tive kinship norms and run the risk of "acting White." Ford- Personal and cultural knowledge is problematic when it
ham (1988, 1991) has suggested that African American conflicts with scientific ways of validating knowledge, is op-
students who become high academic achievers resolve the positional to the culture of the school, or challenges the main
conflict caused by the interaction of their personal cultural tenets and assumptions of mainstream academic knowl-
knowledge with the knowledge and norms within the edge. Much of the knowledge about out-groups that stu-
schools by becoming "raceless" or by "ad hocing a culture." dents learn from their home and community cultures con-
Delpit (1988) has stated that African American students sists of misconceptions, stereotypes, and partial truths
are often unfamiliar with school cultural knowledge regard- (Milner, 1983). Most students in the United States are so-
ing power relationships. They consequently experience aca- cialized within communities that are segregated along racial,
demic and behavioral problems because of their failure to ethnic, and social-class lines. Consequently, most American

JUNE-JULY 1993 7

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youths have few opportunities to learn firsthand about the However, they are rarely explicitly articulated. Rather, they
cultures of people from different racial, ethnic, cultural, re- are presented in the media and in other sources in the forms
ligious, and social-class groups. of stories, anecdotes, news stories, and interpretations of
The challenge that teachers face is how to make effective current events (Cort6s, 1991a, 1991b; Greenfield & Cort6s,
instructional use of the personal and cultural knowledge of 1991).
students while at the same time helping them to reach be- Commercial entertainment films both reflect and perpetu-
yond their own cultural boundaries. Although the school ate popular knowledge (Bogle, 1989; Cortes, 1991a, 1991b;
should recognize, validate, and make effective use of stu- Greenfield & Cortes, 1991). While preparing to write this
dent personal and cultural knowledge in instruction, an im- article, I viewed an important and influential film that was
portant goal of education is to free students from their cul- directed by John Ford and released by MGM in 1962, How
tural and ethnic boundaries and enable them to cross cul- the West Was Won. I selected this film for review because the
tural borders freely (Banks, 1988, 1991/1992). settlement of the West is a major theme in American culture
and society about which there are many popular images,
In the past, the school has paid scant attention to the per-
sonal and cultural knowledge of students and has concen- beliefs, myths, and misconceptions. In viewing the film, I
trated on teaching them school knowledge (Sleeter & Grant, was particularly interested in the images it depicted about
the settlement of the West, about the people who were al-
1991a). This practice has had different results for most White
middle-class students, for most low-income students, andready in the West, and about those who went West look-
for most African American and Latino students. Becauseing for new opportunities.
school knowledge is more consistent with the cultural ex-Ford uses the Prescotts, a White family from Missouri
periences of most White middle-class students than forbound
most for California, to tell his story. The film tells the story
other groups of students, these students have generally
of three generations of this family. It focuses on the fami-
ly's struggle to settle in the West. Indians, African Ameri-
found the school a more comfortable place than have low-
income students and most students of color-the majority
cans, and Mexicans are largely invisible in the film. Indians
of whom are also low income. A number of writers have appear in the story when they attack the Prescott family dur-
described the ways in which many African American, Amer- ing their long and perilous journey. The Mexicans appear-
ican Indian, and Latino students find the school culture ing in the film are bandits who rob a train and are killed.
The several African Americans in the film are in the back-
alienating and inconsistent with their cultural experiences,
hopes, dreams, and struggles (Hale-Benson, 1982; Heath, ground silently rowing a boat. At various points in the film,
1983; Ramirez & Castafieda, 1974; Shade, 1989). Indians are referred to as hostile Indians and as squaws.
It is important for teachers to be aware of the personal How the West Was Won is a masterpiece in American pop-
and cultural knowledge of students when designing the cur-ular culture. It not only depicts some of the major themes
in American culture about the winning of the West; it rein-
riculum for today's multicultural schools. Teachers can use
forces and perpetuates dominant societal attitudes about
student personal cultural knowledge as a vehicle to motivate
students and as a foundation for teaching school knowledge.
ethnic groups and gives credence to the notion that the West
When teaching a unit on the Westward Movement to Lakota was won by liberty-loving, hard-working people who pur-
Sioux students, for example, the teacher can ask the stu- sued freedom for all. The film narrator states near its end,
dents to make a list of their views about the Westward "[The movement West] produced a people free to dream,
Movement, to relate family stories about the coming of free
the to act, and free to mold their own destiny."
Whites to Lakota Sioux homelands, and to interview parents
Mainstream Academic Knowledge
and grandparents about their perceptions of what happened
Mainstream academic knowledge consists of the concepts,
when the Whites first occupied Indian lands. When teachers
begin a unit on the Westward Movement with student paradigms,
per- theories, and explanations that constitute tradi-
tional and established knowledge in the behavioral and
sonal cultural knowledge, they can increase student motiva-
social sciences. An important tenet within the mainstream
tion as well as deepen their understanding of the schoolbook
version (Wiggington, 1991/1992). academic paradigm is that there is a set of objective truths
that can be verified through rigorous and objective research
Popular Knowledge
procedures that are uninfluenced by human interests,
Popular knowledge consists of the facts, interpretations,values,
and and perspectives (Greer, 1%9; Kaplan, 1964; Sleeter,
beliefs that are institutionalized within television, movies,
1991). This empirical knowledge, uninfluenced by human
videos, records, and other forms of the mass media. Many
values and interests, constitute a body of objective truths
of the tenets of popular knowledge are conveyed in subtle
that should constitute the core of the school and university
rather than obvious ways. Some examples of statements curriculum.
that Much of this objective knowledge originated
in the West but is considered universal in nature and
constitute important themes in popular knowledge follow:
(a) The United States is a powerful nation with unlimited
application.
Mainstream academic knowledge is the knowledge that
opportunities for individuals who are willing to take advan-
multicultural critics such as Ravitch and Finn (1987), Hirsch
tage of them. (b) To succeed in the United States, an indi-
vidual only has to work hard. You can realize your dreams(1987), and Bloom (1987) claim is threatened by the addi-
in the United States if you are willing to work hard andtion
pullof content about women and ethnic minorities to the
yourself up by the bootstrap. (c) As a land of opportunity
school and university curriculum. This knowledge reflects
for all, the United States is a highly cohesive nation, whose
the established, Western-oriented canon that has historically
ideals of equality and freedom are shared by all. dominated university research and teaching in the United
Most of the major tenets of American popular culture States.
are Mainstream academic knowledge consists of the
widely shared and are deeply entrenched in U.S. society.
theories and interpretations that are internalized and ac-

8 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER

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cepted by most university researchers, academic societies,
that the frontier, which he regarded as a wilderness, was
and organizations such as the American Historical Associa-
the main source of American democracy. Although Turner's
tion, the American Sociological Association, the Americanthesis is now being highly criticized by revisionist historians,
Psychological Association, and the National Academy of his essay established a conception of the West that has been
Sciences. highly influential in American mainstream scholarship, in
It is important to point out, however, that an increasing
the popular culture, and in schoolbooks. The conception of
number of university scholars are critical theorists the andWest he depicted is still influential today in the school
postmodernists who question the empirical paradigm that curriculum and in textbooks (Sleeter & Grant, 1991b).
dominates Western science (Cherryholmes, 1988; Giroux, These ideas also became institutionalized within main-
1983; Rosenau, 1992). Many of these individuals are mem-
stream academic knowledge: The slaves were happy and
bers of national academic organizations, such as the Amer-
contented; most of the important ideas that became a part
ican Historical Association and the American Sociological
of American civilization came from Western Europe; and
Association. In most of these professional organizations, the
the history of the United States has been one of constantly
postmodern scholars-made up of significant numbersexpanding
of progress and increasing democracy. African
scholars of color and feminists-have formed caucuses slaves were needed to transform the United States from an
and interest groups within the mainstream professional
empty wilderness into an industrial democratic civilization.
organizations. The American Indians had to be Christianized and removed
No claim is made here that there is a uniformity of beliefs to reservations in order for this to occur.
among mainstream academic scholars, but rather that there
Transformative Academic Knowledge
are dominant canons, paradigms, and theories that are ac-
cepted by the community of mainstream academic scholars Transformative academic knowledge consists of concepts,
and researchers. These established canons and paradigms paradigms, themes, and explanations that challenge main-
are occasionally challenged within the mainstream academic stream academic knowledge and that expand the historical
community itself. However, they receive their most serious and literary canon. Transformative academic knowledge
challenges from academics outside the mainstream, such as challenges some of the key assumptions that mainstream
scholars within the transformative academic community scholars make about the nature of knowledge. Transforma-
whom I will describe later. tive and mainstream academic knowledge is based on dif-
Mainstream academic knowledge, like the other formsferent of epistemological assumptions about the nature of
knowledge discussed in this article, is not static, butknowledge,
is about the influence of human interests and
dynamic, complex, and changing. Challenges to the domi- values on knowledge construction, and about the purpose
nant canons and paradigms within mainstream academic of knowledge.
knowledge come from both within and without. These chal- An important tenet of mainstream academic knowledge
lenges lead to changes, reinterpretations, debates, disagree-is that it is neutral, objective, and was uninfluenced by
ments and ultimately to paradigm shifts, new theories,human and interests and values. Transformative academic knowl-
interpretations. Kuhn (1970) states that a scientific revolu- reflects postmodern assumptions and goals about the
edge
tion takes place when a new paradigm emerges and replaces nature and goals of knowledge (Foucault, 1972; Rorty, 1989;
an existing one. What is more typical in education and the Rosenau, 1992). Transformative academic scholars assume
social sciences is that competing paradigms coexist, althoughthat knowledge is not neutral but is influenced by human
particular ones might be more influential during certain interests, that all knowledge reflects the power and social
times or periods. relationships within society, and that an important purpose
We can examine the treatment of slavery within the main- of knowledge construction is to help people improve soci-
stream academic community over time, or the treatmentety of (Code, 1991, S. Harding, 1991; hooks & West, 1991; King
the American Indian, to identify ways that mainstream & Mitchell, 1990; Minnich, 1990). Write King and Mitchell:
academic knowledge has changed in important ways since "Like other praxis-oriented Critical approaches, the Afrocen-
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ulrich B. Phillips's tric method seeks to enable people to understand social real-
highly influential book, American Negro Slavery, published ity in order to change it. But its additional imperative is to
in 1918, dominated the way Black slavery was interpreted transform the society's basic ethos" (p. 95).
until his views were challenged by researchers in the 1950s These statements reflect some of the main ideas and con-

(Stampp, 1956). Phillips was a respected authority oncepts the in transformative academic knowledge: Columbus did
antebellum South and on slavery. His book, which became not discover America. The Indians had been living in this
a historical classic, is essentially an apology for Southernland for about 40,000 years when the Europeans arrived.
slaveholders. A new paradigm about slavery was developed Concepts such as "The European Discovery of America"
in the 1970s that drew heavily upon the slaves' view of theirand "The Westward Movement" need to be reconceptual-
own experiences (Blassingame, 1972; Genovese, 1972; Gut- ized and viewed from the perspectives of different cultural
man, 1976). and ethnic groups. The Lakota Sioux's homeland was not
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ameri- the West to them; it was the center of the universe. It was
can Indian was portrayed in mainstream academic knowl- not the West for the Alaskans; it was South. It was East
edge as either a noble or a hostile savage (Hoxie, 1988). for the Japanese and North for the people who lived in Mex-
Other notions that became institutionalized within main- ico. The history of the United States has not been one of
stream academic knowledge include the idea that Columbus continuous progress toward democratic ideals. Rather, the
discovered America and that America was a thinly popu- nation's history has been characterized by a cyclic quest for
lated frontier when the Europeans arrived in the late 15th democracy and by conflict, struggle, violence, and exclu-
century. Frederick Jackson Turner (Turner, 1894/1989) argued sion (Acufia, 1988; Zinn, 1980). A major challenge that faces

JUNE-JULY 1993 9

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the nation is how to make its democratic ideals a reality for Acufia (1988); Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th-Century
all. America by Ronald T. Takaki (1979); and The Sacred Hoop:
Transformative academic knowledge has a long history Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions by Paul
in the United States. In 1882 and 1883, George Washington Gunn Allen (1986) are examples of important scholarship
Williams (1849-1891) published, in two volumes, the first that has provided significant new perspectives on the ex-
comprehensive history of African Americans in the United periences of ethnic groups in the United States and has
States, A History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to helped us to transform our conceptions about the experi-
1880 (Williams, 1982-1983/1968). Williams, like other African ences of American ethnic groups. Readers acquainted with
American scholars after him, decided to research and write this scholarship will note that transformative scholarship has
about the Black experience because of the neglect of African been produced by both European-American and ethnic
Americans by mainstream historians and social scientists minority scholars.
and because of the stereotypes and misconceptions about I will discuss two examples of how the new scholarship
African Americans that appeared in mainstream scholarship. in ethnic studies has questioned traditional interpretations
W. E. B. DuBois (1868-1963) is probably the most prolific
African American scholar in U.S. history. His published
writings constitute 38 volumes (Aptheker, 1973). DuBois
devoted his long and prolific career to the formulation of Students should be given opportunities
new data, concepts, and paradigms that could be used to
reinterpret the Black experience and reveal the role that to investigate and determine how
African Americans had played in the development of Amer-
cultural assumptions, frames of
ican society. His seminal works include The Suppression of
the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638- references, perspectives, and the biases
1870, the first volume of the Harvard Historical Studies
(DuBois, 1896/1969). Perhaps his most discussed book is within a discipline influence the ways
Black Reconstruction in America: An Essay Toward a History of
knowledge is constructed.
the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct
Democracy in America, 1860-1880, published in 1935 (1935/
1962). In this book, DuBois challenged the accepted, institu-
tionalized interpretations of Reconstruction and emphasized and stimulated a search for new explanations and paradigms
the accomplishments of the Reconstruction governments since the 1950s. Since the pioneering work of E. Franklin
Frazier (1939), social scientists had accepted the notion that
and legislatures, especially the establishment of free public
schools. the slave experience had destroyed the Black family and that
Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), the historian and educa-the destruction of the African American family continued
tor who founded the Association for the Study of Negro in the post-World War II period during Black migration to
and settlement in northern cities. Moynihan (1965), in his
Life and History and the Journal of Negro History, also chal-
lenged established paradigms about the treatment of African controversial book, The Negro Family in America: The Case for
Americans in a series of important publications, includingNational Action, used the broken Black family explanation
The Mis-education of the Negro, published in 1933. Woodson in his analysis. Gutman (1976), in an important historical
and Wesley (1922) published a highly successful college text-
study of the African American family from 1750 to 1925, con-
book that described the contributions that African Ameri- cluded that "despite a high rate of earlier involuntary marital
cans have made to American life, The Negro in Our History.breakup, large numbers of slave couples lived in long mar-
This book was issued in 10 editions. riages, and most slaves lived in double-headed households"
(p. xxii).
Transformative Scholarship Since the 1970s
An important group of African and African American
Many scholars have produced significant researchscholarsand have challenged established interpretations about
theories since the early 1970s that have challengedthe and
origin of Greek civilization and the extent to which
modified institutionalized stereotypes and misconceptions
Greek civilization was influenced by African cultures. These
about ethnic minorities, formulated new concepts and scholars
para- include Diop (1974), Williams (1987), and Van Ser-
digms, and forced mainstream scholars to rethink tima estab-
(1988, 1989). Cheikh Anta Diop is one of the most in-
fluential African scholars who has challenged established
lished interpretations. Much of the transformative academic
knowledge that has been produced since the 1970s is becom-
interpretations about the origin of Greek civilization. In Black
ing institutionalized within mainstream scholarship andand Culture, published in 1955 (summarized by Van
Nations
within the school, college, and university curricula. In Sertima,
time, 1989), he sets forth an important thesis that states
much of this scholarship will become mainstream, thus thatre-
Africa is an important root of Western civilization. Diop
argues that Egypt "was the node and center of a vast web
flecting the highly interrelated nature of the types of knowl-
edge conceptualized and described in this article. linking the strands of cultures and languages; that the light
Only a few examples of this new, transformative scholar-
that crystallized at the center of this early world had been
ship will be mentioned here because of the limitedenergized
scope by the cultural electricity streaming from the
of this article. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the heartland
United of Africa" (p. 8).
Since the work by Diop, Williams, and Van Sertima, tradi-
States (1980): Red, White and Black: The Peoples of Early America
by Gary B. Nash (1982): The Signifying Monkey: A Theory tional of
interpretations about the formation of Greek civiliza-
African-American Literacy Criticism by Henry Louis Gates, tionJr.
has been challenged by Bernal (1987-1991), a professor
(1988); Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Rodolfo of government at Cornell University. The earlier challenges

10 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER

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to established interpretations by African and African Amer- The vision of social relations that the textbooks we analyzed
icans received little attention, except within the African for the most part project is one of harmony and equal
American community. However, Bemal's work has received opportunity-anyone can do or become whatever he or she
wide attention in the popular press and among classicists. wants; problems among people are mainly individual in
Bernal (1987-1991) argues that important aspects of Greek nature and in the end are resolved. (p. 99)
civilization originated in ancient Egypt and Phoenicia and A number of powerful factors influence the development
that the ancient civilization of Egypt was essentially African.
and production of school textbooks (Altbach, Kelly, Petrie,
Bernal believes that the contributions of Egypt and Phoenicia
& Weis, 1991; FitzGerald, 1979). One of the most impor-
to Greek civilization have been deliberately ignored by clas-tant is the publisher's perception of statements and images
sical scholars because of their biased attitudes toward non-
that might be controversial. When textbooks become con-
White peoples and Semites. Bernal has published two of troversial, school districts often refuse to adopt and to pur-
four planned volumes of his study Black Athena. In Volume
chase them. When developing a textbook, the publisher and
2 he uses evidence from linguistics, archeology and ancient the authors must also consider the developmental and read-
documents to substantiate his claim that "between 2100 and
ing levels of the students, state and district guidelines about
1100 B.C., when Greek culture was born, the people of the what subject matter textbooks should include, and recent
Aegean borrowed, adapted or had thrust upon them deities trends and developments in a content field that teachers and
and language, technologies and architectures, notions of jus-administrators will expect the textbook to reflect and incor-
tice and polis" from Egypt and Phoenicia (Begley, Chideya, porate. Because of the number of constraints and influences
& Wilson, 1991, p. 50). Because transformative academic on the development of textbooks, school knowledge often
knowledge, such as that constructed by Diop, Williams, Van does not include in-depth discussions and analyses of some
Sertima, and Bernal, challenges the established paradigmsof the major problems in American society, such as racism,
as well as because of the tremendous gap between academic
sexism, social-class stratification, and poverty (Anyon, 1979,
knowledge and school knowledge, it often has little influ-1981; Sleeter & Grant, 1991b). Consequently, school knowl-
ence on school knowledge. edge is influenced most heavily by mainstream academic
School Knowledge knowledge and popular knowledge. Transformative aca-
demic knowledge usually has little direct influence on school
School knowledge consists of the facts, concepts, and gen-knowledge. It usually affects school knowledge in a signifi-
eralizations presented in textbooks, teachers' guides, andcant way only after it has become a part of mainstream and
the other forms of media designed for school use. School popular knowledge. Teachers must make special efforts to
knowledge also consists of the teacher's mediation and in-introduce transformative knowledge and perspectives to ele-
terpretation of that knowledge. The textbook is the mainmentary and secondary school students.
source of school knowledge in the United States (Apple &
Christian-Smith, 1991; Goodlad, 1984; Shaver, Davis, &
Helburn, 1979). Studies of textbooks indicate that these areTeaching Implications
some of the major themes in school knowledge (Anyon,Multicultural education involves changes in the total school
1979, 1981; Sleeter & Grant, 1991b): (a) America's founding environment in order to create equal educational opportu-
fathers, such as Washington and Jefferson, were highly nities for all students (Banks, 1991; Banks & Banks, 1989;
moral, liberty-loving men who championed equality andSleeter & Grant, 1987). However, in this article I have fo-
justice for all Americans; (b) the United States is a nation
cused on only one of the important dimensions of multicul-
with justice, liberty, and freedom for all; (c) social class divi-
tural education-the kinds of knowledge that should be taught
sions are not significant issues in the United States; (d) therein the multicultural curriculum. The five types of knowledge
are no significant gender, class, or racial divisions within described above have important implications for planning
U.S. society; and (e) ethnic groups of color and Whites in- and teaching a multicultural curriculum.
teract largely in harmony in the United States. An important goal of multicultural teaching is to help
Studies of textbooks that have been conducted by re-students to understand how knowledge is constructed. Stu-
searchers such as Anyon (1979, 1981) and Sleeter and Grant dents should be given opportunities to investigate and de-
(1991b) indicate that textbooks present a highly selectivetermine how cultural assumptions, frames of references,
view of social reality, give students the idea that knowledge perspectives, and the biases within a discipline influence
is static rather than dynamic, and encourage students tothe ways the knowledge is constructed. Students should
master isolated facts rather than to develop complex under- also be given opportunities to create knowledge themselves
standings of social reality. These studies also indicate that and identify ways in which the knowledge they construct
textbooks reinforce the dominant social, economic, and is influenced and limited by their personal assumptions,
power arrangements within society. Students are encour- positions, and experiences.
aged to accept rather than to question these arrangements. I will use a unit on the Westward Movement to illustrate
In their examination of the treatment of race, class, gen- how teachers can use the knowledge categories described
der, and disability in textbooks, Sleeter and Grant (1991b) above to teach from a multicultural perspective. When be-
concluded that although textbooks had largely eliminated ginning the unit, teachers can draw upon the students' per-
sexist language and had incorporated images of ethnic mi- sonal and cultural knowledge about the Westward Move-
norities into them, they failed to help students to develop ment. They can ask the students to make a list of ideas that
an understanding of the complex cultures of ethnic groups, come to mind when they think of "The West." To enable
an understanding of racism, sexism and classism in Ameri- the students to determine how the popular culture depicts
can society, and described the United States as a nation that the West, teachers can ask the students to view and analyze
had largely overcome its problems. Sleeter & Grant write: the film discussed above, How the West Was Won. They can

JUNE-JULY 1993 11

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also ask them to view videos of more recently made films abilities they need to examine conflicting knowledge claims
about the West and to make a list of its major themes and and perspectives. Students must become critical consumers
images. Teachers can summarize Turner's frontier theory of knowledge as well as knowledge producers if they are
to give students an idea of how an influential mainstream to acquire the understandings and skills needed to function
historian described and interpreted the West in the late 19th in the complex and diverse world of tomorrow. Only a
century and how this theory influenced generations of broad and liberal multicultural education can prepare them
historians. for that world.
Teachers can present a transformative perspective on the
West by showing the students the film How the West Was
Won and Honor Lost, narrated by Marlon Brando. This film Notes
describes how the European Americans who went West, This article is adapted from a paper presented at the conference
with the use of broken treaties and deceptions, invaded the"Democracy and Education," sponsored by the Benton Center for Cur-
land of the Indians and displaced them. Teachers may also riculum and Instruction, Department of Education, The University of
Chicago, November 15-16, 1991, Chicago, Illinois. I am grateful to the
ask the students to view segments of the popular film Dances
following colleagues for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this
With Wolves and to discuss how the depiction of Indians inarticle: Cherry A. McGee Banks, Carlos E. Cort(s, Geneva Gay, Donna
this film reflects both mainstream and transformative per- H. Kerr, Joyce E. King, Walter C. Parker, Pamela L. Grossman, and
spectives on Indians in U.S. history and culture. TeachersChristine E. Sleeter.

can present the textbook account of the Westward Move-

ment in the final part of the unit.
The main goals of presenting different kinds of knowledge References
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