Critical Consciousness A Study of Morality in Global, Historical Context

Subjects:

• Psychology » Developmental Psychology
• Religious Studies » Theology/Spirituality

Reviews:

• While the central content of this book defends a critical consciousness framework, the final chapters challenge readers to add spirituality to educational programs and psychological research. Readers who search for cultural homogeneity are likely to find comfort in the theoretical emphasis on unity; cultural homogeneity appears to be prized over plurism. Others of us will find relief in listening closly to the perspectives of adults from Bulgaria and the United States who reveal the improbability of achieving this agenda.
  —Journal of Moral Education March 2004
• [w]ideranging and highly original....Dr. Mustakova-Possardt takes the concept of critical consciousness to the next level....Dr. Mustakova-Possardt's emphasis on the fundamental importance of possessing a global vision, as one of the milestones of critical consciousness, suggests a new framework for moral empowerment in an era of globalization.
  —One Country July-September 2003

• Endorsement From Sharon Daloz Parks
  author, Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mustakova-Possardt shines further light on the path to a vital integration of perspectives, creating fertile ground for re-thinking education in ways that rejoin systemic thought with the moral passions of both heart and mind to form the critical consciousness so essential for citizenship in today's world.
• Endorsement From Melvin E. Miller, Ph.D.
  Norwich University, co-editor of Spirituality, Ethics, and Relationship in Adulthood: A book that needed to be written. In this volume Mustakova-Possardt has brilliantly woven together a number of essential, groundbreaking ideas that are urgently needed to promote the evolution of human consciousness. The timing of this volume's publication is impeccable. These thoughtful notions, taken seriously, constitute a powerful force that has the potential not only to promote individual moral development, but also international peace and good will. This is a courageous tour de force on the order of Maslow's Toward a Psychology of Being ; it is a landmark contribution to the field. This inspiring volume will be used as a resource for many years to come.
• Endorsement From Rhett Diessner
  Professor of Psychology & Education, Lewis-Clark State College: This book is both brilliant and beautiful. It is an exposition of 'critical consciousness,' an account of the development of the integration of the intellectual, emotional, moral, and spiritual aspects of the human being....It is an aspiring and uplifting text, leaving the reader with a strong sense of the difficulties of human development in the matrix of the various political and social systems in which we find ourselves thrown, yet enhancing our sense of realistic hope for our individual and collective development. My best advice: obtain a copy and read it.

Table of Contents:

• Dedication
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Introduction
• The Current Tensions in Our Collective Consciousness
• Critical Consciousness as an Individual Way of Being
• Two Ordinary Lives: The Tenuous Boundary Between Mature C.C. and Its Sub-Optimal Counterpart
• Cross Cultural Vicissitudes of Character, Motivation, and Intellect
• Degrees of Courage
• Education for Critical Consciousness
• Spiritual Psychology: The Emerging Psychology of Integration
• Appendix
• References