World Views Deconstructed

Susan Place (center), Geography, listens as Terri Elliott
(left), and Sara Trechter (right) present "Deconstructing World Views"
for the Global Change Series. (photo BA)
Terri Elliott, Philosophy, and Sara Trechter, English, presented "Deconstructing and Recreating World Views" at the third of a series on global change sponsored by the International Forum. Elliott explained that "a world view is a set of beliefs about the world and one's place in it." This perception influences practice and can have enormous impact on the world. For example, European colonists in America defined a world view "according to which native Americans were savages and could be killed for their land."

Sometimes a given world view may prove unserviceable and a culture may need to recreate it.

Trechter's discussion of the control of linguistic representation was an extended example of this process. She presented three models of overt and covert policy. "In India,"she said, "any language is official that is spoken; therefore, different languages are taught in the schools. Constitutionally, you can learn in your minority language. In practice, these rights are not enforced."

Japan designated the language of the Tokyo elite as standard Japanese early in this century. Japan has men's and women's languages. "Women's language, based on the language of the tea houses, emerged at the same time that there was a push in education to teach women how to be good wives and mothers," explained Trechter. "You'll find young Japanese women, to this day, using male language to resist a bit."

Although the United States has no overt language policy, she said, "There is incredible covert pressure to become English speakers and people do it by the second generation." Trechter asked, "Why is there a push toward a language policy?" Since there is no threat to English as an official national language, this push "is properly understood as something else. . . .the desire to control group representation or access to linguistic capital."

For more intriguing and provocative discussions, attend the Global Change Series on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Ayres120.