Special Session - (NBCC CE Credit: #1 hr and Conference Attendance Credit: #1 hr)

Sponsored by the Journal of Family Theory & Review; Organized by the Theory Construction and Research Methodology Workshop

Presenter: Awa Thiam, Ph.D., Senegal's Director of the National Center for Assistance and Training of Women under the Ministry of Women and Children

Facilitator: Kani Diop, Ph.D., Cochair, TCRM Workshop

Summary
We hold these truths to be self-evident – that the world has become “a global village” (McLuhan, 1964) and that without the knowledge of our divergent perspectives, western scholarship is doomed to produce, reproduce, perpetuate, and perpetrate potentially harmful dominant discourses in the fields of theory and research methodology. From the outset, the triptych Diversity, Inclusion, Expansion of Family Theories leads to three queries: 1) its meaning, 2) its dynamics, 3) its functionality. In this presentation, I will demonstrate certain theoretical models mostly relevant within the context where the models were developed, yet not applicable in different contexts within which the models are being implemented. My hope is to provide scholars at TCRM/NCFR the opportunity to engage with trans-cross-cultural application of family theories and integrate these multidimensional concepts into teaching and research that will render justice to global citizenship.

Objectives
-- Gain knowledge: the ability to recognize the suitability of theories paralleled with divergent contexts
-- Gain practical skills: Participants will engage in and with local knowledge to bridge gaps
-- Collaboration to build theories and research methodologies that transcend boundaries