scholarly journals Diversity and citizenship in the curriculum

Author(s):  
Hugh Starkey

This article comments on keynote speeches given by Keith Ajegbo and Audrey Osler. The programme of study for citizenship derived from the Crick report and did not emphasise race equality and national unity for security. Osler argues that the Ajegbo review addressed teaching of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity but did not confront the inadequacies of British democracy or reassert social justice, a sense of shared humanity and a commitment to human rights. Proposing, let alone imposing, a definition of Britishness is futile, but it is possible to promote cosmopolitan patriotism supported by explicit principles, concepts and values.

Author(s):  
Karen Lyons ◽  
Nathalie Huegler

The term social exclusion achieved widespread use in Europe from the late twentieth century. Its value as a concept that is different from poverty, with universal relevance, has since been debated. It is used in Western literature about international development, and some authors have linked it to the notion of capabilities. However, it is not widely used in the social work vocabulary. Conversely, the notion of social inclusion has gained in usage and application. This links with values that underlie promotion of empowerment and participation, whether of individuals, groups, or communities. Both terms are inextricably linked to the realities of inequalities within and between societies and to the principles of human rights and social justice that feature in the international definition of social work.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Ife

The way in which a discourse of human needs has been appropriated by neo-liberal perspectives within modernity is well-documented. The construction and definition of “needs” by professionals has been criticised as “the dictatorship of needs”, and has readily excluded people other than professionals and managers from the definition of need. Need becomes objectified, something to be “assessed” by professionals using expert methodologies, rather than involving democratic participation. Here need becomes another excluding professional category, apparently objective and value-free, but in reality ideological. Furthermore, the deficit approach inherent in the idea of “need” runs counter to the more positive “strengths” approach of social work. “Rights” as an alternative to “needs” is superficially a more empowering discourse, and moving from a needs-based to a rights-based approach is therefore intuitively seductive, and has evidently appealed to social workers. However, ideas of “rights”, and especially “human rights” are also embedded within modernity and the privileging of the expert. The conventional discourse of human rights as defined by the UN or other legal bodies, applied universally, and protected through laws and legal institutions, is a negation of any democratic understanding of rights. “Human rights”, like need, thus becomes an objectified discourse of the powerful about the powerless. However the idea of human rights, if constructed from within a more postmodern framing, has the potential to move our understanding of a shared humanity beyond the constraints of modernity. Thus human rights per se is an inadequate, and potentially dangerous, formulation for progressive social work, unless democratic participation is restored to the human rights project. If human rights are understood as being embedded in a community of reciprocal rights and responsibilities, rather than as “things” possessed by individuals, human rights from below can become a powerful framework for the democratic renewal of practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 156-180
Author(s):  
Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi

Discrimination is prohibited in different provisions of the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda (the Constitution), in different pieces of legislation and in international and regional human rights treaties ratified by Rwanda. According to the 2003 Constitution, one of the fundamental principles which have to be upheld by the State is the ‘eradication of discrimination and divisionism based on ethnicity, region or on any other ground as well as promotion of national unity’. Article 15 of the Constitution provides for equality before the law and Article 16 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination and it provides for the grounds on which a person shall not be discriminated against. Rwanda is also one of the very few African countries whose constitutions criminalise discrimination and different laws have been enacted to deal with the offence of discrimination. The Supreme Court of Rwanda, the highest court in the country, has handed down decisions on Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution. The purpose of this article is to analyse these decisions and illustrate how the Supreme Court has dealt with the issues such as the definition of discrimination and the difference between discrimination and differentiation. The author also discusses the issues that the Rwandan judiciary and prosecutors are likely to face when dealing with the offence of discrimination.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-170
Author(s):  
AlubaBari Desmond Nbete

The Nigerian state is deeply polarised along ethnic and religious contours, with a widening gulf between the poor masses and the rich few, which reflects the culpability of the ruling elite. However, the actual character of the class struggle is often blurred by the politicization of ethno-cultural and religious differences in a manner that undermines political order and national unity. Ethnicity and religion are thus usedby the political class to manipulate the citizens' consciousness of their ethno-cultural and religious identities to serve the masked parochial class interests. This has made the political arena very volatile and conflict-laden. Stemming the tide of this incessant clash of values and violent ethno-religious conflicts requires a creative adaptation of multiculturalism and secularism. This paper defended a sophisticated understanding of state in the globalization era, which includes citizens' appreciation of their cultural differences, mediated by consciousness of their shared humanity and a strong commitment to the ideals of a civilized community. It argued for a genuinely humanistic secularization of state affairs, harnessing of the country's diverse cultural heritage, and promotion of religious accommodation rather than cultural assimilation and the interference of religion in state affairs, or vice versa.Key Words: multiculturalism, humanistic secularism, cultural diversity, cultural integration, national unity


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 31-62
Author(s):  
Dinesh Sharma ◽  
C. Elizabeth Leach

Professor Ali Mazrui embodied an optimistic universalism and the capacity to find common ground for global dialogue amidst conflicts. When receiving a lifetime achievement award – Mazrui, in his acceptance speech, pointed to two specific poems of Rumi and Wordsworth as a source of inspiration for awakening the ‘love of beauty and the beauty of love.’ In the context of the shared humanity of these experiences, one realizes the ability of such experiences to create a common language across barriers, a language of social justice and human rights. Using integrative interdisciplinary approaches from the fields of comparative religion and comparative literature, this essay explores the similarities and differences of the messages of Mazrui, Rumi, and Wordsworth to achieve an awakening. Such an awakening involves the individual’s awareness of being a part of something greater, often achieved in nature, which may serve as a basis for the universal grammar of social justice and human rights. Hermeneutic and phenomenological approaches, including intersubjectivity, are employed in the exegesis of the poetic material and its context. Also explored are the historical similarities and differences, anthropological and psychobiographical factors in the life histories of Mazrui, Rumi and Wordsworth. Ultimately, the dialectic between the polarities of themes of the pain of separation and longing for union, often linked to losses and life changing experiences such as migration, can be understood as opportunities for personal growth – motivating individuals to reach toward connection, reparation and the ability to engage in cultural dialogue and move past difference toward social justice and human rights.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Otto Gusti Ndegong Madung ◽  
Winibaldus Stefanus Mere

This article aims to describe the role of Pancasila as an ideological basis and collective identity for the multicultural society of Indonesia. Pancasila has historically been proven to be able to unite Indonesia’s diverse peoples and cultures. Pancasila means five principles that construct the ethical basis for one common home, i.e. Indonesia. The principles are belief in one God, humanity, Indonesia’s national unity, representative democracy, and social justice for all Indonesian citizens. This article argues that in the midst of democratisation and the openness to globalisation, Pancasila needs to be re-interpreted and given a place in contemporary political discourse. It proposes that Pancasila should be read in the light of the contemporary political discourse between communitarianism and liberalism. Such a dialogue is fundamental to coping with the dogmatisation of Pancasila, which can result in the loss of its political relevance as a collective identity. Furthermore, liberalism and communitarianism are the two fundamental philosophical pillars beside socialism upon which the concept of human rights is developed. Therefore, combining Pancasila with the two philosophical concepts is very important to strengthen the role of Pancasila in promoting the idea and practices of human rights politics in Indonesia.


Housing Shock ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 217-236
Author(s):  
Rory Hearne

This chapter outlines the centrality of housing as a home for human dignity and wellbeing, using a social justice, human rights and psychological approach to housing. It details the impact of homelessness and housing insecurity on child and family wellbeing. It explains how and why housing is a human right in international law, including the UN definition of adequate housing, and the right to housing in European law and European countries. It details the new housing movement, The Shift and housing strategies based on human rights, key principles of a human rights-based housing strategy. It then outlines the status of right to housing in Ireland, its absence in law, and recent debates around its inclusion in the Constitution. It details the case for why the Right to Housing should be included in Irish law and the Constitution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 778-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick T. L. Leong ◽  
Wade E. Pickren ◽  
Melba J. T. Vasquez
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Marika Cifor ◽  
Jamie A. Lee

Neoliberalism, as economic doctrine, as political practice, and even as a "governing rationality" of contemporary life and work, has been encroaching on the library and information studies (LIS) field for decades. The shift towards a conscious grappling with social justice and human rights debates and concerns in archival studies scholarship and practice since the 1990s opens the possibility for addressing neoliberalism and its elusive presence. Despite its far-reaching influence, neoliberalism has yet to be substantively addressed in archival discourse. In this article, we propose a set of questions for archival practitioners and scholars to reflect on and consider through their own hands-on practices, research, and productions with records, records creators, and distinct archival communities in order to develop an ongoing archival critique. The goal of this critique is to move towards "an ethical practice of community, as an important mode of participation." This article marks a starting point for critically engaging the archival studies discipline along with the LIS field more broadly by interrogating the discursive and material evidences and implications of neoliberalism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-179
Author(s):  
Alessandro Suppa ◽  
Pavel Bureš

SummaryNowadays, an important role in the world is played by Multinational Corporations (MNCs). They hire, produce, and influence the international economy, but also, they exploit, pollute. Their business activities might have a worldwide effect on human lives. The question of the responsibility of MNCs has drawn the attention of many scholars, mainly from the study field labelled “Business and Human Rights”. The present paper does not examine the topic under the same approach. The authors aim at presenting the issue in a broader perspective, exploring the concept of due diligence both in international and corporate law. In this paper, authors strategically use the uniformity of national legislations as a possible and alternative solution to the issue. They are aware of three fundamental factors: 1) the definition of MNCs needs to be as clear as possible, so to avoid any degree of uncertainty; 2) the outsourcing phenomenon interacts with that definition; 3) in case of no possibility to include outsourcing in the definition of MNC, the original question arises in a significant way.


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