earticle

영어

The internationalization of the labor force creates a dilemma for education. It is multicultural education for the immigrants. This study aimed to discuss the US conservatives cultural policies in a multicultural society. Since the late 1980s, very serious and extensive debate over the multicultural education has been going on in America. This debate was brought about by publication of Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind and E.D. Hirsch's Cultural Literacy. Bloom contains that the major factor which caused the failure in America education is the cultural relativism. In other words, this failure is derived from the current idea that all societies and all cultures are equal. Bloom argues that equality is the democratic prejudice and it proves to be an obstacle to pursue the higher and the more valuable. To solve the problem of multicultural education in American schools, he maintains, students should master the basis of western civilization. For that purpose, the Great Books approach is needed. Central to Bloom's defense of basing education on Western cultural traditions is a concern with preserving the natural rights doctrine. Central to this cultural tradition is respect for the free exercise of reason. But within the framework of Bloom's arguments, natural rights philosophy might contain the seeds of its own destruction. For instance, it is in the self-interest of those with wealth and power to limit the free exercise of reason, because that use of reason might result in criticism of concentrations of wealth. And, of course, since natural rights philosophy protects the pursuit and retention of property, it protects concentrations of wealth. According to Bloom. if the free exercise of reason is limited, then the cultural supporting a natural rights philosophy is undermined. Therefore, the right to pursue and retain property might, at least within the framework of Bloom's argument, destroy the culture necessary for maintaining natural rights. The cultural literacy argument was popularized in E.D, Hirsh's Cultural Literacy, which includes a list of 5,000 names, phrases, dates, and concepts that, according to the author, Americans need to know to be culturally literate. Cultural literacy is the ability to read with full understanding. Cultural literacy includes an unconscious schema for organizing impressions from the outside. His concept of cultural literacy is relative to a particular period of time. He claims a program of cultural literacy would help to alleviate poverty in the U.S.A. and provide the cultural unity that is necessary for the maintenance of the state. But the central problem in Hirsch's call for national unity through cultural literacy is deciding what the cultural model will be. Who will define literate culture is also a problem. Consequently, cultural literacy involves the imposition of culture.

한국어

이 글은 보수주의자인 Bloom과 Hirsch의 문화통합과 문화교양 정책을 분석하고, 비판적으로 논의하는데 목적을 두었다. 미국 사회의 다문화 정책은 백인 청교도 문화로의 동화주의, 용광로 이론, 집단간 교육운동, 다민족주의 운동 등을 거쳐 현재의 다문화주의 시대로 진행되었다. 미국 보수주의자들은 다른 문화에 대한 편견을 줄이고, 다양한 문화를 올바로 이해하고자 하는 다문화 교육을 강력히 비판하였다. 보수주의자인 Bloom은 󰡔미국 정신의 종말󰡕을 통해 문화적 상대주의를 비판하면서 미국의 전통인 서구문화가 교육의 기본이 되어야 하는 이유를 모든 인간이 동등한 권리를 가지고 태어났다는 자연권 보호를 통해 주장하였다. 그러나 그가 주장하는 서구의 고전은 제1차 세계 대전 이후에 등장하여 제2차 세계대전 이후에 침체된 것으로 미국의 역사를 대표하는 것으로 보기 어려웠고, 그가 주장한 자연권 개념에도 논리적 문제가 있었다. Hirsch는 세 명의 대학 교수가 작성한 목록을 토대로 미국인으로 살아가기 위해 반드시 알아야 할 5,000명의 유명인사, 관용구, 기념일과 개념 등과 같은 문화교양(cultural literacy) 을 주장하였다. 그러나 모든 학생들에게 공통 문화를 가르치는 것은 이주민에 대한 지배문화의 주입정책이며, 문화교양을 위한 목록 작성 과정이 비민주적이며, 문화교양이 특정집단의 이익 증진 도구로 활용될 것이라는 비판을 받았다.