Overview

Troy Richardson works in the area of philosophy of education, employing Continental and Indigenous philosophical traditions to the question of building more ethical and hospitable relationships across cultural differences. His primary research focus is in multicultural education, where he investigate the benefits and limitations of this educational programme and how it is being re-conceived by a variety of philosophers and theorists for the 21st century.

Research Focus

A significant part of Dr. Richardson`s research agenda has to do with the development of multicultural philosophies of relationships in education. As one trained in the discipline of philosophy of education, he takes seriously that tradition of thought that pursuits the question of relationships across cultural, linguistic, and gendered difference through the framework of liberal democratic ideals. At the same time however, he takes the philosophies of relations from these differing groups just as seriously, particularly those of the Indigenous peoples of North America. Dr. Richardson`s research investigates and juxtaposes the conceptual foundations for these "other philosophical traditions " as they align with, challenge, or depart from the normative discussion of "democratic relations " within philosophy of education, (e.g. Vine Deloria Jr. as a Philosopher of Education: An Essay in Remembrance, 2007). Through his continuing investigations of differing philosophical conceptions of hospitality for example, he seeks to formulate a multiculturalist philosophy of relation in education articulated within a reconfigured, Indigenous inflected cosmopolitanism. To this end, he also engages with a group of Native and non-Native activists, community members, researchers, and scholars through the Trans-Boundary Indigenous Water Program to advance philosophies of stewardship to the natural world in educational settings.

Instruction Focus

Dr. Richardson`s courses in education introduce graduate students to primary texts in philosophy of education, continental philosophy, multicultural education, and post- colonial studies. He understands his primary task in graduate coursework as not simply the introduction of a set of topics or readings, but to assist students in developing defensible interpretations of often difficult texts. Dr. Richardson strives to create learning environments for graduate and undergraduates wherein students have the opportunity to develop their interpretive skills individually, with regard to their own research projects, and collectively as they speak to larger educational and social concerns regarding ethical relationships, social justice, and educational equity. Dr. Richardson also teaches an undergraduate course in American Indian Studies introducing students to the complexities of contemporary American Indian experiences from a multi- disciplinary perspective which includes Federal Indian law, American Indian literature, film, American Indian Education, theology, and Indigenous Philosophies.

Additional Links

• Cornell University Department of Education
• Link to CALS Research portal
• Link to CALS Impact statements

Honors, Awards and Appointments

• Buffalo Spirit Award, Cornell University American Indian Graduate Students Association - 2006-2007
• Spencer Fellowship Dissertation Fellow - 2005-2006
• AERA (American Educational Research Association) Minority Dissertation Fellowship - 2004-2005

Selected Publications

• Richardson, T. (in press). Indigenous Philosophy, Maintaining Integrity and the Problems of Development. (Vol. Ed.), Indigenous Educational Models for Contemporary Practice: Vol. 2. In Our Mother`s Voice. Routledge/Falmer Press.
• Richardson, T. (2007). "Vine Deloria Jr., as a Philosopher of Education: An Essay of Remembrance, " Anthropology of Education Quarterly, 38(3), 221-230.
• Richardson, T. and Villenas, S. (2000). "Other " Encounters: Dances with Whiteness in Multicultural Education. Educational Theory, 50(2), 255-273.

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