logo, home linkUnpacking diversity

Many elements of social construction contribute to the promotion and maintenance of diversity-in-action. We have picked six, which we think are the most salient:

Clearly, diversity exists only within a grounded context of community. Constructs concerning community will be important factors in determining whether or not and to what levels diversity is possible and practicable.

Communities are dependent upon the abstract and encompassing properties we call culture. Cultures carry within them and in turn are created from the symbolic forms that are used for good or ill, in the expression of diversity.

The values we share, whether expressed, tacit or subconscious, permeate and affect us and act both as symptom and as cause of our ability to tolerate, explore and enjoy diversity.

Using more pro-active, post-modern constructs, the social construction of realities and concomitant conversational reality theories, we arrive at the critical importance of understanding. Understanding ourselves and each other is a fundament of creating common ground, negotiated agreements, and mutually supportive environments.

Finalement, collaboration is the linch-pin skill that supports the development of egalitarian processes. Diversity studies is committed to collaboration, both as an overriding concept and as our working model.

All of diversity studies' structures, as well as 2Cyberwhelm's, are based on a collaborative-function model, self organizing work groups.

Ultimately, diversity has no meaning outside of the social and poetic goals of integration. We are committed to the internal integration of persons: we support each individual in their work/play to get to know themselves, accept themselves and bring their whole selves to the party. We are committed to groups of people becoming integrated so that we no longer have groups defined by one criteria acting only in the interest of their most immediate concerns.

We do not advocate the abrogation by individuals or groups of their right and their responsibility to act in their own self interest. Rather, we wish to extend our definition of self interest to include our century's awareness that individuals and groups are never not affected by encompassing and tangential systems.

We wish to see more integrated social groupings lead us, through deeply felt and articulated experiences, to social structures that can support and maintain the gorgeous diversity that is human life.

Diversity Studies

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other electronic journals of interest:

1. electronic journal of sociology

http://www.sociology.org

2. The Education Technology Journal

http://www.fno.org

3. Jounral of Technology in Education

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTEnal

4. Education Analysis Policy Archives

http://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa