This introductory chapter introduces the main arguments of the book. After illustrating the problem of the use of unit thinking that views the world as made up of bounded, internally homogeneous units and its forceful implementation through normative unit thinking (e.g., through standardization and assimilation), this chapter explains how we continue to use such unit thinking—willful ignorance—through the concept of fetish as suggested by Slavoj Žižek. Then, by introducing the theoretical framework of Integrationist Linguistics as proposed by Roy Harris, who argued that meanings of words are contextual, this chapter introduces a new way to see units—“contextual unit thinking”—as merely “hinting” at one possible meaning out of many in each specific context. This chapter then explains post-unit thinking pedagogies that provide opportunities for students to experience diverse contexts that bring out different meanings of categories/units—what I call “post-unit contexts.” This chapter ends with an overview of the structure of the book.

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Introduction: An Exploration of Post-Unit Thinking Pedagogies

  • Neriko Musha Doerr

摘要

This introductory chapter introduces the main arguments of the book. After illustrating the problem of the use of unit thinking that views the world as made up of bounded, internally homogeneous units and its forceful implementation through normative unit thinking (e.g., through standardization and assimilation), this chapter explains how we continue to use such unit thinking—willful ignorance—through the concept of fetish as suggested by Slavoj Žižek. Then, by introducing the theoretical framework of Integrationist Linguistics as proposed by Roy Harris, who argued that meanings of words are contextual, this chapter introduces a new way to see units—“contextual unit thinking”—as merely “hinting” at one possible meaning out of many in each specific context. This chapter then explains post-unit thinking pedagogies that provide opportunities for students to experience diverse contexts that bring out different meanings of categories/units—what I call “post-unit contexts.” This chapter ends with an overview of the structure of the book.