Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

In this research we detail the professional life of Rachel Davis DuBois, with particular attention to her creation of the Woodbury Project and her work with the Intercultural Education Movement. Employing historical and biographical research methods, DuBois' archival materials at the University of Minnesota aided our exploration of the educational movement that DuBois was instrumental in establishing in the 1930s and that continued into the 1950s in the United States. In particular, DuBois founded the Service Bureau of Intercultural Education, where she designed several workshops to educate teachers on the curriculum and discussion methods of Intercultural Education. The goal of the movement was to promote understanding and respect between people of different races, ethnicities, and religions. However, DuBois left the bureau in the 1940's due to disagreements over its goals. DuBois' radical views on equality put her at odds with members of the bureau who favored a "melting pot" education approach that centered on tolerance. Yet, DuBois' work had a lasting legacy. By the 1980s, Intercultural Education had evolved into Multicultural Education. Her intergroup dialogue methods are still practiced today. Insights from the Intercultural Education Movement are relevant as racial, ethnic, and religious tensions are widespread in modern American society.

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