Cultural Pluralism (1975)

Should America be a melting pot where people from diverse backgrounds shed their differences in favor of a common national identity or a mosaic that celebrates rich and varied subcultures? In the December 1975 issue of Educational Leadership, education professor Harry S. Broudy explores competing notions of cultural pluralism and suggests ways to resolve the tension between assimilation and diversity.

• Read the article: Cultural Pluralism: New Wine in Old Bottles (PDF)

Broudy begins by tracing the history of pluralism, noting that prior to the 1960s, the concept tended to emphasize how diversity could exist within a unified national experience. He also notes that the array of cultural customs that immigrants brought to this country were "to be respected (not derided or denigrated) and on occasions celebrated with folk song, costume, and ritual; but they were not expected to become autonomous cultures to be set over against the common culture."

Broudy contrasts this notion of pluralism to the one that began to emerge in the mid-1960s with the advent of the civil rights movement. Although the "common culture" of past decades was "predominantly white, Protestant, and Anglo-Saxon," new voices from the black, Hispanic, and Indian communities now strove to be heard.

Against an often-antagonistic backdrop fueled by discrimination and inequality, Broudy notes that this new vintage of pluralism demands that cultural and linguistic differences be brought to light in the classroom. Advocates of this approach call for bilingual schooling and demand that teachers encourage ethnic pride as a means of developing positive self-esteem. It is an approach that underscores and celebrates difference.

Broudy notes that the struggle is determining "how much diversity is compatible with the existence of a viable society." He argues that by going too far with the view that all cultures are separate, mainstream culture and minorities alike will miss out on experiencing the intellectual and artistic achievements of each other. Possibly more important, he notes, we might miss out on what unites us as humans if we consider ourselves "separate but equal."

In "My Back Pages," we look at important issues through the historical lens of the Educational Leadershiparchives. ASCD members can access EL issues from 1943 to the present by signing in at the right.