Theory and Praxis: A Case Study of Kawaida Theory and the Institute of Positive Education
Author:
Andre Smith
Degree Date:
August, 1984
Committee Chairperson:
James Turner
Call Number:
Thesis DT 3.5 1984 S642
Description:
v, 105 leaves; 29 cm.
Abstract:
Maulana Karenga has made a valiant attempt to create a synthesis of thought and praxis into a new theory. This critical theory of cultural and social change is Kawaida. Kawaida theory was selected as the foundation of this thesis because it offers a continuous uncompromising criticism of the established order of things and poses correctives based on the possibilities it perceives. In this thesis, the crucial and critical test of Kawaida is its applicability to the social context in which it is created. As a philosophical framework, the criteria for judging Kawaida is not simply how well it explains and understands reality, but also how well does it contribute to solving the theoretical problem of self-consciousness and the social conditions that sustain it.
Living in the city if Chicago afforded me the opportunity to come in contact with the Institute of Positive Education (IPE) in 1974. As an independent community organization, IPE has attempted to actualize many of the concepts of Kawaida. In this study, IPE provides us with a model, a subject by which to measure the validity and value of Kawaida theory. This study is dialectical in the sense that it seeks to relate theory to practice as well as practice to theory.