Sociology, General

Previous research has failed to show that women's attitudes toward the
women's liberation movement are related in any systematic fashion to
their social position. Utilizing a national. representative sample of
826 women, this thesis develops and tests a framework of attitude format
ion which links a woman's location in the social structure to her
attitude toward the movement. Drawing on the Mannheim tradition, the
framework hinges on the importance of two distinct ideologies which
intervene to bring the movement into focus as either a Reformist,
egalitarian movement or a Radical, change-oriented movement. We find
that a woman's objective position in the social structure does determine
her attitude toward the women's liberation movement, only indirectly,
through her subjective interpretation of the movement which takes the
form of an intervening ideology.

Structural hierarchies are deeply embedded in institutions such as our educational system. It can be argued that this type of model reinforces an aggressive worldview and fosters an atmosphere of violence. Teaching students to communicate compassionately should promote empathy, discourage verbal aggression and reinforce a more peaceful worldview. To accomplish this, educators need a means of replacing hegemony that assumes hierarchy and aggressive conflict are inevitable. Marshall Rosenberg's (2001) Nonviolent Communication (NVC) may provide educators with an appropriate tool. Rosenberg's model counters the prevailing hegemony making it an ideal candidate to explore in relation to these issues. This paper examines the impact of adding an NVC workshop to two types of communication courses and whether Rosenberg's model would be a useful addition to a college curriculum.