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Journal Discussion Thread

Outsider Theory
Mirror Sites:
CSUDH - Habermas - UWP

Caliifornia State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: August 31, 2001
Latest Update: August 31, 2001
E-Mail jeannecurran@habermas.org
E-Mail takata@uwp.edu

Ivy Covered Ivory Tower Welcoming Outsiders Ivy Covered Ivory Tower Welcoming Outsiders
Outsider Theory:
Expanding Public Discourse

Collaborative Journal Thread: Outsider Theory
Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors: August 2001.
"Fair use" encouraged.

Not letting the dark side blind us

Journal entry by Marvin Barrera

On Friday, August 31, Marvin Barrera wrote:

hello dr. jeanne. just emailing you to say hello, and let you know i'm in your undergraduate theory class. been reading some of the "outsider theory" article. i am very interested in coming to an understanding of this postmodern and critical theory business, postcolonialism, deconstructionism, and all these words that i keep hearing being thrown around. why is it that we are to think differently about the world and reality? what justifies our doubting of the order of things? it's challenging to my dearly held beliefs, but i think that's a good thing, a healthy thing. these are indeed exciting times we are living in, but can sometimes be unsure, confusing; that's why searching for truth is something that is very, very important to me. cause i don't want to be deceived. i may not know much, but i know lies exist, and that lies can damage lives, and i don't want to buy into any. not "letting the dark side blind us" as you say.

God bless you.
Marvin Barrera

On Friday, August 31, 2001, jeanne responded:

Hi, Marvin. That's a wonderful explanation of what the Dear Habermas site is trying to do. I'm not sure that we can ever no a "lie" definitively, any more than we can "know" the truth definitively, because I suspect that our perspective and the structural context prevent any single absolute answer. But we can certainly come closer to understanding each other and surviving together on a sustainable planet if we are willing to consider many perspectives in "good faith." I look forward to working with you. love and peace, jeanne