Postmodernism, Unraveling Racism, and Democratic Institutions

Download or read book Postmodernism, Unraveling Racism, and Democratic Institutions written by John W. Murphy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1997-05-28 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professors Murphy and Choi use postmodern philosophy to expose an important source of racism and cultural domination. They examine foundationalism, which they see at the core of the Western intellectual tradition and which is shown to foster a metaphysics of domination. By contrast, postmodernism undermines this root of racism. They demonstrate that foundationalism is not needed to support identity, institutions, or political order. Indeed, they assert that true pluralism is possible once foundationalist approaches to knowledge and order are set aside. Special attention is directed to two current modes of discrimination: institutional racism and symbolic violence. Murphy and Choi provide an intriguing look at ways to undercut the justification for racism and other threats to cultural difference. This volume will be of particular interest to scholars and other researchers in the areas of race relations, cultural studies, and political theory.