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Dear All - I'm wondering if our responses to Peter's and Barbara's postings might move us on into original contributions in our understandings of the standards of judgment we use to evaluate the quality of our contributions to educational knowledge. What I've got in mind is a conversation in the last couple of months of this year's e-seminar where we explore the implications of Barbara's point about Ubuntu that might move us into new understandings (and logics) of the standards of judgment that are emerging from our knowledge-creation as practitioner-researchers. I'm thinking particularly of engaging with Eden Charles' doctoral research programme on: How Can I Bring Ubuntu As A Living Standard of Judgement Into The Academy? Moving Beyond Decolonisation Through Societal Reidentification And Guiltless Recognition I'm hoping that Eden's thesis will be flowing through web-space in the next couple of weeks and this will give us plenty of time to explore its implications before the end of July. On 6 Jun 2007, at 15:47, Peter Mellett wrote: Holding the flavour of this mixture up against the concept of ‘standards of judgment’ makes me wonder if we are ever going to meet the aims of this seminar by using the established categories and vocabulary while we look for alternative ‘rules of engagement’ (logics) for them to relate within. On 7 Jun 2007, at 11:00, Barbara Nussbaum wrote: > If indeed, some of us believe that ubuntu may be able to provide us > with new pathways of understanding and living our common humanity > and our inter-connectedness as a business community, we need to > begin to dialogue about how we may label, learn and integrate some > of the concepts more fully. She asked, > > * What new words, new concepts might be necessary then to stimulate > our thinking about how we can BE more connected as Business in > Community? ((I'm suggesting that we focus some of our conversations on beginning and sustaining this dialogue. Eden's originality is focused on his Ubuntu way of being, enquiring and knowing and he explores and explains the meanings of his ideas on guiltless recognition and societal reidentification in moving beyond decolonisation.) > > * What will it take to produce not only the shift in consciousness, > but the change of heart that will be needed to begin to think about > the idea and practice of Business in Community? > > * What kind of language can Africa help us find to describe and > define ways of being together, of working together in relationship, > in community? > > Verna Allee’s words and questions offer a wonderful challenge and > invitation to African thinkers to dig deep into our languages and > our indigenous knowledge. To my mind there is a thirst for African > concepts and African wisdom in the west, all we need to do in South > Africa is to be more articulate about that wisdom and determine > more consciously, what elements of that wisdom are both universal > and easily transferable to other cultural contexts. Do have a look at the brief (6 minutes 34 seconds) video-clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RIyoEZ3t5s in which Eden is exploring a question about having an explicit agenda on Ubuntu and designing a course on Ubuntu. I'm hoping that Eden's doctoral research programme could provide a focus for our dialogue over the next couple of months. Love Jack.