Anu R. Ailawadhi

Author’s Note: This article will discuss the term multiculturalism as it pertains to people of color although multiculturalism, diversity, and pluralism can refer to ethnicity, gender, and/or sexuality. I purposefully use the word minorities when referring to persons of color, because this word is still prevalent in the literature and consistency is important for clarity.

Institutions of higher learning represent safe places to explore the unknown and to share intellectual ideals. The academy has introduced an alternative version of an intellectually stimulating curriculum and dubbed it "multiculturalism". A multicultural curriculum is one in which courses herald the achievements of ethnic minorities but downplay Western accomplishments. Is this an appropriate way to teach tolerance and communication? Or will this method serve to perpetuate the division present in the ever-changing ethnic landscape of American culture? This article explores the benefits and drawbacks of curricula that challenge European contributions only to promote a historical representation of minorities in America that may sometimes be inaccurate.

Multiculturalism is one of the latest catch phrases in American society. There are advocates on both sides of the multiculturalism issue, particularly in terms of education and curriculum. Pro-multiculturalists define this trend very differently from those who oppose it. "It means, literally, consideration of many cultures...[and] it is about beginning to understand the world from the perspectives of people from different backgrounds and anticipating the world as different people believe it is going to be" (Schuman, 1995, p. 230). Defenders of multiculturalism believe students should learn about the contributions of different cultures because it is vital to their understanding of ethnicity.

Teaching cultural contributions, promoting ethnic pride, and celebrating difference are ways to promote self-worth among minority groups. The academy is supposed to be a place to learn, think, explore, and visualize all that is possible. Offering courses that encourage cultural understanding can give many minority students pride in their heritage and help other students to appreciate the contributions of ethnic groups to this country. "If [multicultural education] does get transmitted, and if our graduates are able to apply it to their own lives and adult functions, then there is hope for the future of American society and its role in our ever more interdependent world" (Trachtenberg, 1992-1993, p. 26).

An opposing perspective is offered by Dinesh D’Souza who defines multiculturalism as "based on the relativist assumption that since all cultures are inherently equal, differences of power, wealth and achievement between them are most likely due to oppression" (1995b, p. 2). Therefore, there has been an attempt to include traditionally oppressed groups in business and academia to make up for past transgressions and promote equality. These efforts at inclusion are one way to appease the white oppressors’’ guilt for past sins against many ethnic minorities.

This perspective is particularly visible in curriculum decisions in the academy. "That multiculturalism is essentially an attack on America, the European-American culture, and the white race...may be seen from the curriculum it favors" (Bork, 1996, p. 304). The traditional curriculum is under attack because of its Eurocentric perspective and because some liberals believe that the best way to right the wrongs of history is to rewrite history with an ethnic twist. Creating a multicultural curriculum that lauds the contributions of all groups is commendable, but sometimes the effect of this inclusive mentality can result in an exclusionary education. The very nature of offering courses under a multicultural umbrella may dissuade some students, particularly those who may benefit from the knowledge, from taking them. As a result, some majority students who fear the subject matter or the anti-Western teachings may not register for these courses.

Educators must create a curriculum that has a true multicultural twist in order to help students learn and understand about difference and thus promote tolerance. Offering separate courses can send "the message...that all cultures are to be respected but that European culture...is uniquely evil" (Bork, 1996, p. 304). Many of the students who take multicultural courses are representatives of the groups being studied. We should offer students of all races the opportunity to learn about different cultures by incorporating that message in all aspects of their education. Separate programs can create an environment that encourages alienation and difference rather than offering inclusive alternatives.

The multicultural agenda is not entirely riddled with negatives nor was it based on exclusion. It was introduced into academia in order to create a healthy understanding of all cultures and thus promote a positive identity among traditionally oppressed groups. "To focus on difference and to celebrate multiculturalism was to liberate the oppressed from silence and to move them from the periphery into the vital center where monolithic elites had for so long enjoyed a monopoly" (Barber, 1992, p. 129). This is a noble purpose and one that cannot be ignored. The search for a positive racial and ethnic identity necessitates the need for multicultural education. "Race consciousness and group pride...strengthen a sense of identity and self-respect among non-white students" (Schlesinger, 1992, p. 80). Learning about one’s cultural history can create the desire to expand one's experience and help broaden the student's horizon—something that higher education professes to achieve.

The traditional curriculum based on white European stories was found to no longer be viable and courses were created to celebrate the very differences that exist and divide American culture.

In an America that is more and more nonwhite, demographics must necessarily become the engine of pedagogy....[H]ow much learning can possibly go on among Americans who are cast as "different" and then taught stereotypical stories about American sameness that pointedly exclude them? (Barber, 1992, p. 134)

Therefore, a multicultural curriculum was designed in order to educate minority students about their histories since they had been ignored for so long. Educators hoped to provide minority students with familiar images in their textbooks and in history lessons in order to generate feelings of self-worth and recognition. "A significant aim of multicultural education is the development of a positive self-concept and identity in [minority] students" (Ghosh, 1996, p. 7).

This sense of self would then help minority individuals in their endeavors to succeed in society.

[M]ulticultural education must be inclusive and [thus] develop a society in which "difference" is not a negative concept. Inclusivity means encompassing students from diverse groups (based on race/ethnicity...), as much as students from the white dominant culture. (Ghosh, 1996, p. vii)

The classroom--a place of learning and discovery--is the ideal place for this process to occur. But problems arise when the need to explore and celebrate differences breaks the already weak bonds of unity in the college, and a common societal culture is seen as impossible. The academy must take a proactive role in strengthening those weak bonds by offering courses, workshops, lectures, and programs that include the achievements and omissions of varying cultures and not the singular lauding of any one culture.

Incorporating the achievements of ethnic groups into the core curriculum, and thus reinforcing their group identity, can create a strong sense of community. "For blacks the American dream has been pretty much a nightmare, and, far more than white ethnics, they are driven by a desperate need to vindicate their own identity" (Schlesinger, 1992, p. 55). The academy must responsibly incorporate multiculturalism into a curriculum that celebrates ethnic difference regardless of its comfort level with racial issues. This will occur only when one culture is not heralded at the expense of another. To make up for past injustices, educators cannot design curricula that exemplify the accomplishments of minority groups but downplay the achievements of Western culture.

Creating a Common Culture Through Inclusion

Offering course options to promote cultural and curricular harmony can produce the opposite effect in institutions that pride themselves on their pursuit of intellectual fulfillment. Instead of achieving cultural integration within all aspects of the curriculum, the academy ends up offering separate courses, majors, and minors in ethnic studies. This "add-on philosophy" (M. Milner, personal communication, 1997) of faculty and administration does not promote an inclusive curriculum. Rather, it ultimately promotes division. "To begin to understand the culture we live in, it is important to understand the cultures that helped create it" (Schuman, 1995, p. 231). In order to be truly inclusive, the ideals and discussions around culture, race, and ethnicity must be incorporated into the core curriculum. "The goal of [multiculturalism] is to enrich the student’s understanding of the world and to teach him respect for inclusion for the older ethic of exclusion" (Bork, 1996, p. 303). Yet some multicultural courses specifically target Western thought and philosophy in order to promote their own ethnic agenda.

Inclusivity is a sham if the result of a multicultural education is the loss of Western culture. "To compensate for...historical and curricular injuries...advocates of multiculturalism seek to reinforce the self-esteem of minority students by presenting non-Western cultures in a favorable light" (D’Souza, 1995b, p. 10). In addition to promoting the self-esteem of minority students, universities should work to promote unity and discourse within the classroom for all students. Educators must make genuine efforts to teach a common culture which promotes pride and self-worth among all Americans because "without common teaching there is no American story and so no America, only the pieces" (Barber, 1992, p. 132). These pieces of America can be connected only when conversation occurs in a classroom enriched with a variety of texts and open minds. This conversation will educate young minds to all that is possible when multi-ethnic groups come together to share differences and learn commonality.

Creating Cultural Awareness Through Conversation

Multiculturalists are attempting to create a society where ethnic groups disregard their unified American culture and focus instead on the differences.

[U]niversities should emphasize commonality as a higher value than "diversity" and "pluralism"—buzzwords for the politics of difference. Difference that does not rest on a clearly delineated foundation of commonality is not only inaccessible to those who are not part of the ethnic or racial group, but also antagonistic to them. Difference can enrich only the common ground. (Steele, 1990, p. 148)

The differences perpetuated by the multicultural agenda assist in breaking down the already weakened and fragile framework of society. "The consequence is that multiculturalism becomes an obstacle to true cultural understanding, and implants in students an unjustified hatred of...their society" (D’Souza, 1995a, p. 360). Is this the education we want to pass along to the future of our country? Should we negate the contributions made by great philosophers, thinkers, writers, artists, musicians, and poets just because their class, gender, and race are not multicultural? Promoting cultural inclusivity in the curriculum by removing or censoring any one culture’s contributions is paradoxical.

The academy should be a place where difference can be celebrated, researched, discussed, and argued safely. This discourse may ultimately bring understanding of other cultures and perhaps provide solutions. Regrettably, these conversations will only occur in classrooms where one culture is not dismissed in favor or to promote another. "Indeed it is only the sense of commonality that can kindle common responsibilities that oblige Americans to care about the needs and aspirations of groups [different] from their own" (Barber, 1992, p. 149). Pursuing these objectives should be the goal of educators rather than creating courses that devalue and incorrectly portray Western culture. We must not be afraid of the European standards upon which America was built. "Standards of European and American origin are the only possible standards that can hold our society together and keep us a competent nation.... The alternative to Eurocentrism...is fragmentation and chaos" (Bork, 1996, p. 311). Education should not and cannot promote chaos unless it provides the skills to discover alternatives to the chaos.

An educated person is a force to be reckoned with, particularly in our increasingly competitive world. A truly educated person is one who has learned both sides of the story, especially if that story defines his/her heritage or culture. But, that story must be accurate even if it is not attractive. Minority students cannot be coddled by new and improved historical interpretations because their ancestors suffered atrocities. This is no more appropriate or desirable than denigrating or denying the contributions of Western culture. Educators should consider using or creating textbooks that explore ethnic contributions to American culture rather than just discussing or corrupting the Western perspective. The students in that one class would learn about an America that was created by many cultures and perhaps help them to be more tolerant of perceived differences and have pride in their shared histories.

Promoting separate curricula in the name of equality can create a negative effect on the American student because it limits his/her understanding of the world.

The student who immerses himself in multicultural studies, who lives in a dormitory where admission is defined by ethnicity, who socializes only with members of his ethnic group, does not acquire the knowledge and discipline that he might have and does not learn how to deal comfortably with those of other ethnicities. (Bork, 1996, p. 306)

This statement is not limited to minorities studying their heritage. There are many students of European descent who are never given an opportunity to explore other cultures unless they use initiative and take separate courses. Cultural awareness, conversation, and thoughtful discourse must be available to students in each classroom—not just in those offered under ethnic studies. An integrated curriculum may promote harmony among students, thereby creating intelligent and truly educated individuals who demonstrate tolerance and understanding as a result of their diverse education.

The pursuit of multiculturalism has resulted in the loss of integrity in education. We no longer offer students challenging discourse and speak our minds in fear of committing any more sins against minority cultures. "Today’s campus orthodoxies are enforced less by civilized discussion than by academics’ pervasive fear of being labeled racist..." (Bryden, 1991, p. 46). Our educators stumble over controversial texts, anecdotes, and histories because it is less inflammatory to be perceived as equitable. We do our students a disservice, when we stumble, because we may not give them all the information necessary for them to make up their own minds. Who will be held accountable if we, as educators, fall behind in our responsibilities to students? How can we create a strong and unified America based on the premise of multiculturalism as it now stands? Dinesh D’Souza (1995b) states that an authentic multiculturalism would expose students to "the best that has been thought and said" not simply in the West but in other cultures as well. Knowledge is both a matter of ascertaining fact and a developing of the tools to formulate "right opinion" (p. 10). It is our responsibility as educators to give our students the right tools so that they "formulate [the] ‘right opinion’" (D’Souza, p. 10). The right tools are courses which integrate the accomplishments of all cultures, inclusive language which does not celebrate one culture and malign another, teachers who promote intelligent discourse in culturally open classrooms, and educators who do not fear the wrath of zealous multiculturalists.

The Future of Multiculturalism

Instead of dividing the curriculum, "the aim of multicultural education...[should be] to empower all students with an ethical and democratic vision of society within which they can make a variety of contributions appropriate to their talents, needs, and aspirations" (Ghosh, 1996, p. viii). To achieve this, we should incorporate Western and multicultural teachings into one multi-ethnic core curriculum thereby affording all students the opportunity to learn the basic truth of our common culture.

It is vital for educators to seek new and innovative methods to educate students about ethnicity without denigrating certain cultures in the process. There is substantial room within the multicultural realm for further research regarding curriculum change. Change is recommended because the reason for separatist teachings is to promote self-worth among minorities, yet teaching with a Eurocentric style or attitude negates the efforts of one culture thereby counteracting any endeavors towards inclusivity. Educators must seek ways to incorporate multiculturalism into the core curriculum while maintaining their integrity and desire to teach cultural and ethnic pride. Discovering new and innovative ways to assist all students, regardless of race, in their quest for enlightenment and self-esteem will ultimately benefit the academy, the students, and society.

The ideology of multiculturalism within the academy attempts to create a special and distinct experience for our minority or "invisible" student population, but our efforts can in turn push many white students into the same void. The academy has become mired in the negative aspects of the multicultural agenda that dictate separatist teaching. It is our responsibility as educators to create a curriculum which lauds the contributions of all cultures thereby giving students pride in everyone’s heritage and not just their own. We live in a world where students who are taught to respect all cultures are armed with the knowledge and ability to compete effectively.

The contributions made by a generation of well-educated individuals will be invaluable to the ever-changing cultural landscape of American society. These individuals will question, consider, discuss, argue, and ultimately understand that differences do not have to result in division. They will celebrate and incorporate these differences and help create a new common American culture because they have been educated by a truly inclusive and non-separatist multicultural core curriculum -- one where all cultures are discussed in each classroom and celebrated equally.

Anu R. Ailawadhi graduated from the HESA program in 1997 and currently coordinates a national fundraising and literacy awareness event for Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. She lives in the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York State.