Critical Theory, Postmodern and Feminist Perspectives

Points that will influence my future job include issues on race, gender, class and power. It teaches me to be more careful when addressing issues concerning individuals, so that am not prejudiced in my judgment. This chapter analyses the issues of gender, race and class affect performance in learning and working places. This chapter has taught me that I should deal and view people as individuals without being influenced by their gender, race, or power. In doing my working I will try to respect others cultures and the values that they hold. In my work, I will hold ones cultural background, as more of strength and teach individuals to appreciate different diversities. Races that have fallen victim to biasness include Blacks, Hispanics, Latina and Asians.

Individuals are also judged by their gender and class. The female gender has been dominated by the male gender, such that men are considered better overall than women are, while individuals of high classes are given better priorities. Points that will also influence how I do my job are theoretical analysis on knowledge. Knowledge has been defined, according to the different theories and socio-cultural contexts. People acquire knowledge depending on their societal contexts. This will influence my work in teaching individuals and giving them knowledge on different contexts. This knowledge will also enable me to deal diligently with issues at work, that relate to different diversities.

This chapter increased my awareness on the effects of the social cultural contexts in which learning takes place. Discrimination and segregation of individuals because of their race, gender and class will affect how they perform and acquire knowledge. Education insists more on the technical knowledge, in order to professionalize an individual to a certain field. This in turn distorts learning, as it does provide a platform to gain and share practical knowledge of individuals. This learning also inhibits the fighting of social injustices through learning, as it does give practical and emancipatory knowledge.

My personal definition of knowledge was reevaluated, after reading this chapter. Different theories define knowledge differently. Critical theory suggests three different types of knowledge, emancipatory, practical and technical. Technical knowledge has to with facts, which can be verified through reviewing documents and other records. Practical knowledge involves communication, where knowledge is verified through dialogue with individuals. Emancipatory knowledge on the other hand addresses the forces of power in the society where some people are given more power than others are. In this case, different kinds of knowledge serve different interests. Knowledge is also determined by socio-cultural contexts, where knowledge is determined depending on how the community holds the view.

Postmodernists suggest that there are many different kinds of truth and that no truth is accepted in one context. Therefore, truths or knowledge is constructed. Feminists’ theories also suggest that the knowledge acquired by a woman, is dependant upon the socio-cultural context in which she is based. Women build knowledge through five ways. One feminist theory defines knowledge of women as personal, where one integrates an experience in their own personal way and comes up with their own kind of knowledge. Ones ability to acquire knowledge is also influenced by the social cultural issues of gender, race and class. In this case, the lack of knowledge would be viewed in broader perspectives, of other issues that have led to this status.