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Bucher, D., R. (2000). Diversity Consciousness: Opening Our Minds to People, Cultures, and Opportunities (4th Eds). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Press. 288 pp., ISBN: 13- 9780321919069. $ 45.72
This book has been written to enable the students to develop a mental and cognitive diversity consciousness in order to help them become successful in their personal and professional lives and to increase their sensitivity on diversity. Therefore, the target audience of the book is students. The author offers perspectives through the interviews he had with students, examples from previous studies and analyses on real-life events to achieve his goal. The book is presented in the scope of multicultural education, and more specifically, under the title of diversity consciousness. A product of an empirical study, the book touches on notions such as racial and ethnical relations, cultural diversity, multiculturalism, social media, communication, leadership, social work, empathy, social equality, social justice, democracy, assimilation, pluralism, teacher training courses, professional development, conflict, cooperation, problems in workplace, group dynamics and personal development. The author includes many concepts related to diversity with examples and definitions. Since the book targets students, it's written in a non-academic, plain and comprehensible language. The author occasionally adopts a descriptive and analytic approach to the subject of diversity consciousness. The book comprises seven chapters, namely: Diversity: An Overview, Diversity Skills and Success, Personal and Social Barriers to Success, Developing Diversity Consciousness, Communication in a Diverse World, Teamwork and, Conclusion. In the chapters that are directly related to diversity consciousness, the author treats the subjects on diversity consciousness in a detailed manner. Also, each chapter starts with the objectives of the chapter, contains questions encouraging the reader to think and ends with studies on the subject. Additionally explanatory tables and illustrations and entertaining photographs shared in the book are to be remarked.
Culture is a phenomenon contributing to the richness of the world's societies (Bucher 2000). Thanks to multicultural education, it has been appreciated that cultures are richness and culture started to receive the attention it deserves (Aydın, 2013). Written from the point of view that cultures are richness, the book encourages people from different cultures to be proud of their culture and thus increases their self-confidence. Bucher (2000) asserts in his book that students with...