Diversifying curriculum as the practice of repressive tolerance

Abstract

Diversifying curriculum is often assumed to be an unequivocal good in higher education—a way of opening up an educational conversation to include the widest possible diversity of perspectives and intellectual traditions. This democratic attempt to be open and inclusive springs from a humanistic concern to have all student voices heard, all experiences analyzed, and all viewpoints honored. Herbert Marcuse's concept of repressive tolerance stands directly against these sentiments. Marcuse argues that an alternative idea, concept or text can be inserted into a curriculum of familiar, mainstream materials in such a way that serves only to underscore the normality of the center while positioning the alternatives as exotic others. As a result, the attempt to diversify actually undercuts the serious consideration of diverse perspectives. This paper explores how this process occurs and suggests how it might be countered.