mozambicanscholar

Rhythm, Blues, and a Soulful Mission

I was born in a land of rhythm
some blues, but mostly rhythm
Rhythm made me forget the blues
The blues of political instability and economic turmoil
the blues of wondering why some children were orphaned
the blues of wondering why there were so many children in the streets

Yes…
There were many children in the streets of the places I walked…
And by the way… when I say children, I mean people like you and I
People of all ages, all genders, all colors, all shapes, all abilities… PEOPLE

Yes…
There were many children wandering and wandering and wandering…
They were wandering… they are wandering… they may continue to wander…
They wander the streets of Syracuse, Chicago, Cape Town, QwaQwa, Mbabane, and Maputo…
For some, because it was cool to hang out in the streets
for many, because they were street children
They wander the roads of Kamanzi and Worawora
for some, because these roads are filled with promises
For many, because these roads are filled with uncertainty

It is when I looked in the eyes of these children
Children of the streets, masters and mistresses of their own destinies
the mysteriously dark and gloomy destinies that we,
In the comfort of our relying in the destinies drawn from our faith in Jesus,
Cannot fathom the seemingly aimless destination of our traveling companions...
Yes, the destinations of those who have no sense of reliance on the daily comforts of the material world
They are involuntarily wandering and yet… not always wondering because they have answers to questions I do not have answers to; they have questions to answers I have no questions to
They have walked in places I have never dared to walk
I have walked in places they have not been privileged to walk

See...
In moments when such realizations emerge in the trepidations of my innermost being
Those moments inundated in fears, anxieties, unrests…
Moments when soul meets blues and my world becomes rhythmic… again
yes, rhythmic because I finally get it
I get it, I get it, I GET it!
No... Maybe… but only MAYBE I get it…

In introspection I feel as though I finally grasp, even if ONLY in part
I grasp glimpses of my purpose and calling
The purpose and calling to live wrestling with such difficult and complex paradoxes
that I can be enlightened about the difference between…
Having and not having,
Giving and not giving,
Knowing and not knowing,
Feeling and not feeling,
Seeing and not seeing,
Hearing and not hearing,
The difference between…
Being heard and not being heard,
Being seen and not being seen,
Being felt and not being felt,
Being known and not being known,
Being given and not being given

It is in this moment when blues meets rhythm,
That my soulful Jesus-bound-love-driven mission is born
because I feel as though I know why I met you
I feel as though I know you, yes you
I know you because whether I like it or not our destinies are tied together
Yes, and guess what?! Where your blues meets your rhythm, you are soul and so am I
There you have it… you are soul, I am soul
There you have it… you and I are the same
You are me!

Because you are me
It does not matter what streets you belong to
What knowledge you possess
What language you speak
What color you are
What continent you live in

Because you are me
Our heart is here… experiencing the blues and the rhythm of Syracuse
Our heart is in the long travelled roads of Kamanzi and Worawora
Feeling the joy of nature nurturing our whole being,
Feeling the hardship of nature refusing our being
We are here and there, knowing that today we are strong and alive
We are here and there, not knowing if tomorrow we’ll survive

It is in this moment when blues meets rhythm,
That I finally grasp the concept of this soulful Jesus-bound-love-driven mission
A mission that commissions me to love you
A mission that commissions me to first, but not only, love myself
Because unless I journey through loving myself,
There is no way I can love you, give to you, share with you, be with you …
How can I? You and I are soul
The embodiment of divine mission
The actors and the acted upon in this love-driven mission
Yes… yes… yes… we are called to love… to mission!

Session #2: Informational Power

Informational power manifests in the relationship between a provider, rather than a mere emissary, and a recipient. Informational power can result from a lack of shared understanding between the producer and the consumer of the information being disseminated or from the lack of a shared understanding between the international parties involved in its production. It is also characterized by an emphasis on the responsibility of providing information that leads to an effective decision-making. The perception herein is that to provide information is in essence empowering. Although this is a commonly held perception of empowerment within functionalist contexts where information is transmitted to mold the individual to “better function” within a given society, and “functional” is defined by the dominant culture, this perception is problematic. In the international context where rationalist conceptions such as context-bound considerations co-exist with realist conceptions informed by functionalism it is problematic to assume that the culture-bound information being passed is empowering to all who receive it regardless of their cultural context.[i]
There is a tendency for international institutions, and to some extent regional institutions, to place local governments at the mercy of their information by defining what successful institutions should look like, how policies should be crafted and implemented for better societal functioning, what constitutes good governance, how educational reform should look like, and so forth. This renders international institutions, both at the global and regional level, to a position of indispensable expertise, which makes them guardians of indispensable information.
For me, as an expert in comparative and international education, this should be disconcerting and a matter to be addressed. In my observation, the field of comparative and international education is at a cross-road of defining itself in regards to its agenda. This position of being at a cross-road, amidst the pressure of competition to accumulate informational power, would require that comparativists ask themselves very hard questions such as, ‘should we sponsor a perspective of international and of development education founded on the information era project [my own term] of creating information banks to inform the so-called developing world on educational policy formation and implementation, teacher training, curricula, good governance of educational and political institutions, literacy campaigns, peace education, etc.?’ or ‘should we embark on a learning experience and a campaign for equality of acceptance and equity of engagement of multi-contextual knowledges from the various ethno-geographic contexts about each of these issues?’ This is a matter to be tackled by those whose burden is to continue the legacy on which the field seems to have been founded, as many delight in citing Sadler’s analogy, of mutual learning amidst the pressure of competition for monopoly of expertise and intellectual colonialism [my term].
In summary, although not always recognized by those involved in negotiations over (educational) policy, informational power plays an important role in the fairness of negotiations. The more active role a party has in establishing an agreement, the more likely it is to actively participate as expert in bringing the terms of the agreement to fruition. The goal should be to have no provider and recipient, but co-sharers of information that has the same weight in value and utility.

[i] According to Moseley (2006) political rationalism emphasizes the employment of reason in social affairs: that is, individuals ought to submit to the logic and universality of reason rather than their own subjective or cultural preconceptions. Rationalists argue that reason unifies humanity politically, and hence it is a conducive vehicle to peace. Political realism is a theory of political philosophy that attempts to explain, model, and prescribe political relations. It takes as its assumption that power is (or ought to be) the primary end of political action, whether in the domestic or international arena. In the domestic arena, the theory asserts that politicians do, or should, strive to maximize their power, whilst on the international stage; nation states are seen as the primary agents that maximize, or ought to maximize, their power. The theory is therefore to be examined as either a prescription of what ought to be the case, that is, nations and politicians ought to pursue power or their own interests, or as a description of the ruling state of affairs-that nations and politicians only pursue (and perhaps only can pursue) power or self-interest.

Reflecting on “Education as that which liberates” and “Worldwide Education Revolution”

Reflecting on “Education as that which liberates” and “Worldwide Education Revolution”: Themes from the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conferences, 2011 & 2012
To reflect on/about something requires that we have a memory of some aspects about such a thing we are wishing to reflect about. In this podcast, I wish to reflect on the CIES 2011 theme “Education is that which Liberates” as a gateway to preparing our minds to the CIES 2012 theme “The Worldwide Education Revolution”.
In my view, as expressed in the poem I read, with Yvonne Kamugisha’s vocal accompaniment in song, during our opening highlighted session, there is a need to push the boundary of our discussions beyond the comfortable zone of educational rhetoric and what sounds like genuine problematizing of education framed within an appeasing of (higher spirits and) forces that could jeopardize our professional careers, if offended. We educators, in this sense, tend to be very superstitious; aware of the realities of everyday injustices yet holding on to the constant appeasing of those who have the power to influence our economic security. We engage in the problematic to the extent that it is within the comfort zone of the dominant powers in our most influential institutions (e.g., government, funding agencies, universities, etc.). This conflict between the awareness (and dislike) of social injustices and social evils amidst the need to preserve our socio-economic comfort turns the old Sanskrit motto “education is that which liberates” into a myth, adding to the many myths that have characterized formal education since its inception. This is not to say that all educations are myth-laden, but that the dominant form of education, upon which we have made many messianic claims is myth-laden; perhaps only by virtue of our own narcissistic presentation of such education as the solution to the world’s problems, which in turn dictates how we shape its appearance in regards to curricula, values, and ultimate goals. If we were true to our own struggles with global injustice and even more true to the fact that, despite our claims, we often contribute to the perpetration of such injustice, perhaps we would be myth-ridden in our articulation of the ends of the education we promote.
Today, it is very fashionable in academia to claim militancy for social justice; yet, we often miss the fact that claiming social justice does not imply living a social justice life-style. We are comfortable talking about social justice and liberation, to some extent within comfortable philosophical settings, yet we are not bold enough to confront ourselves about how our human core has been tempered with by misconceptions of the essence of justice and, therefore, of liberation. Does education really liberate? If my answer is ‘yes’, I will be succumbing to the status quo; if my answer is ‘depends’ or ‘maybe’, I will be succumbing to the realm of mere intellectual argumentation; if my answer is ‘no’, I will be entering a rebellion against all that I have been taught that is founded on some of what I have learned from those who have sacrificed their comfort for the sake of those who are not recognized as part of the mainstream—in this case, I may not be denying the mere fact that “education is that which liberates” as much as I may be accepting the possibility of another form of education as a means of liberation provided I do not frame such education and freedom within the framework of my comfortable perception of what it means to be an educated person, i.e., a liberated person.
In my article “African Renaissance and Globalization: A Conceptual Analysis” (http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8k7472tg) I argue that,
there is a deeper dimension of freedom demanding that its meaning be interpreted by the oppressed in a way that the oppressed auto-conceives its nature. This auto-conceived meaning is beyond one that is communicated (even if consensually) to the oppressed; that is, beyond what a class of educated and concerned people think freedom means. Therefore, it is imperative that those who interpret freedom and progress do so in view of, not only the audience’s languages but also, their cognitive processes and abilities…
This, then, would lead me to reflect about a true “worldwide educational revolution”.

Education is that which Liberates

Education is that which liberates: Part 1
Copyright©2011 José Cossa
This idea... that "education is that which liberates" Triggers in me "uma inquietacao", a state of mind that is turbulent at best It tortures me... It torments me... It traumatizes me...
For many, this is liberating: That I learned to read in linguistic codes foreign to my people That I embraced the value system of those who once oppressed my people That I became complacently accepting of the cognitive system of those who disregarded mine Now I am highly educated yet Now I am inescapably trapped in a reality of utmost dependence
But... This I must deny This I must accept as liberation This I must believe is good for me, for my people, for my world
Encapsulated in this reality is a world out there... my world, our world A sea of people waiting to be liberated A sea of people waiting to be educated A sea of people... A sea... of... people!
Encapsulated in this purgatory of hope is a myriad of souls hopeful souls A myriad of souls awaiting their turn to savor a liberating education Encapsulated, waiting, hopeful...

Session #1: Hermeneutical Power

Hermeneutical Power
Hermeneutical power is the attribution of power imbalances to a lack of understanding of both the nature of the implications and the essence of the agreements or documents embodying such agreements. Based on understanding and interpretation of text, hermeneutical power places the groups proposing the agreements at an advantageous position. Arguably, it is insightful to note that those who propose the agreements and conceive the documents establishing such agreements know better the language of the documents as well as the essence and the implications of the agreements. They know what they seek through these agreements and “know” the spirit of the document. That is, they perceive the intrinsic and extrinsic meaning and implications of the given agreement or document.
The “knowledge” of the spirit of the agreement penetrates deeper than the text per se to the sources evoked in the text, i.e., classical authors with theoretical, epistemological, ontological, and axiological kinship to those who propose the agreements. The theoretical, epistemological, ontological, and axiological proximity of a particular party and distance of the other, to the classical sources of knowledge inspiring the agreements is essential to the concern with power dynamics since the hardest hermeneutical (interpretational) task is to establish authorial intent. Thus, degrees of closeness (that is, proximity and distance) to the author’s thought process constitute the measure of mastery of textual content and, in turn, mastery of textual content signifies an ability to manipulate content by unearthing the subtleties concealing essential meanings.
Inherent in the nuances of hermeneutical power is also the fact that closeness and distance leads to mediation between the core, i.e., the institutions or parties who originate the agreements, and the periphery entities, i.e., African institutions to whom the agreements are presented. Since mediators are not from neutral entities, rather personnel from core entities (e.g., consultants, retired or former officials, former government officials in countries where the institution is based, etc.), mediation results in the preservation of hermeneutical power in that it does nothing to change the text or the content of negotiations, but ultimately enhances the center’s understanding of the periphery. Thus, mediation becomes a tool to preserve hermeneutical power.
This preservation of power through mediation resonates with the inverted allegory of the cave thesis in Wa Thiong’o (1998) regarding the role of the interpreter. Wa Thiong’o borrowed from Socrates’ allegory of the cave where Socrates portrayed the philosopher as one whose knowledge of both the cave and the outer world illuminated the residents of the cave by interpreting the essence of the shadows that they saw in the cave as mere reflections of what was actually happening in the world outside.[i] Wa Thiong’o argued that the interpreter ought to be sensitive to the reality of those in the cave when attempting to interpret the reality found outside the cave. I argue, however, that this instance of my use of ‘mediator as interpreter’ is the reverse of the allegory of the cave thesis because while in Wa Thiong’o the interpreter aims at converting the cavers’ perspective into that of the outer world, the aim of international mediators is not to convert non-African institutions, but to help these institutions understand how to adapt their strategies for effectiveness in dealing with Africa.
In summary, hermeneutical power plays an important role in the fairness of negotiations. To reiterate, the closer a party is to the spirit of the text establishing the terms of an agreement, the more likely they are to catch the nuances and implications of such agreement.

[i]For additional readings on the Allegory of the Cave see Allan (1940); Aristotle (1938); Loeb Classical Library (1982); Loeb Classical Library (1987); and, Oxford Classical Texts (1992).

Introduction to Power Dynamics Series

Qualities of Power

Definition


Hermeneutical


Interpreter’s proximity to the authorial intent of a given text


Information

The ability to generate and disseminate what is considered true and valuable information at a given time


Manipulative

The ability to persuade another to adopt a perception and behavior that benefits the persuader


Monetary

The influence one exerts on another through the ability to provide monetary rewards or incentives


Regulatory

The ability to make rules or give directives that are perceived as binding

Power, Politics, and Higher Education in Southern Africa

Synopsis: This book addresses the manifestations of power dynamics in negotiations between international organizations operating at the global level (e.g., the World Bank, WTO, and UNESCO) and international organizations operating at the regional level (e.g., NEPAD, SADC, and AAU). It further addresses how these dynamics influence the educational autonomy of governments in the region. Although it focuses on Southern Africa, the principles drawn and the models developed therein can contribute to a better understanding of inter-organizational interactions in other regions of the world.
This study also illuminates specific and general instances of power dynamics, which resulted in models and categories of power that are useful to inform a wide variety of academic disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities. The RIF model (Regimes as Intermediate Factors) adds to the regime formation discourse by providing a visual representation of the complex role of regimes as intermediate between a system’s power structure and the negotiations and decision-makings that occur within the system. The NSPD model (Necessary and Sufficient conditions plus Properties and Dimensions) provides a tool with which to engage in basic conceptual analysis. The FET model (Filter Effect Theory) adds to the periphery-center discourse by providing a visual representation of the interactions between Global International Regimes, Regional International Regimes, and Local Governments in relation to the code of international negotiations. The SRHP model (Schematic Representation of Hermeneutical Power) adds a discourse of hermeneutical proximity-distance in areas concerned with textual interpretation.
Collections in African studies, education, and political science will find this book to be a valuable addition.