ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I suggest that we now live in a contradictory space defined by growing levels of transnational interconnectivity on the one hand and our continuing attachment to local values and traditions on the other. Key elements of contemporary politics are now located within this space. I argue that such a space has given rise to a range of perplexing ethical challenges that are not only political but also pedagogic. Politically, these challenges relate to the need to forge ethical communities that can generate collective action in the face of growing levels of global interconnectivity and “superdiversity,” as well as a seemingly hegemonic nationalist politics that is deeply distrustful of cultural diversity and exchange. Educationally, these challenges demand pedagogic approaches that assist students in making a better sense of the contradictory world in which they now live and learn, helping them develop a practice of ethics that foregrounds difference, complexity, contingency, and uncertainty.
