Most existing professional and scholarly journals may set aside a few pages in select issues to address "feminist concerns" or "the minority perspective." These "special" issues almost always present a singular or a unified perspective of "the other" (non-middle-class white males).  The popular misconception among the vast majority of American intellectuals and professionals is that "the other" speaks in one voice, thinks with one mind, and shares only one opinion.  Too often we hear, "What does the minority community think!" or "How do women feel!" as if "the other" were only one community.  The reality is that we are not a monolithic people.  We are as intellectually diverse, socially heterogeneous, and culturally varied as we are numerous.  Publications such as Appendx will provide the much-needed stage upon which the rich variety of heretofore silenced intellectual voices can be heard.   Appendx provides a critical space to question the status quo of architecture and design in particular, and American intellectual life in general.  Questions about power and authority, who holds it and what is its nature, can be addressed by professionals who, until now, have not had a welcoming place to express their opinions.  Issues con- cerning the emotional climate of classrooms and boardrooms, and how that climate directly relates to the attainment of academic and professional success, can be addressed.   Appendx will play a large role in broadening academic discourse, which currently devalues or ignores the knowledge, experience, and contributions that come from the "other" or the "outside" perspective.   If, as postmodern scholars argue, all knowledge is a social construction, then it is time that traditional disciplines reflect the concerns and experiences of all members of our society, not just the perspective of the privileged few.   The shape and use of space affects all of us, and all of us should be heard.   Appendx will provide the place for progressive dialogue in which the partici- pants need not worry that racist or classist notions, or a disapproving audience, will automatically denigrate the message or devalue the messenger. The real-world experience of the "other," and our learned techniques of survival, have not been drawn upon as a basis of culture, knowledge, theory, or public policy.  Appendx is the place where we can rethink the relations between culture, knowledge, policy, and power.  Instead of reinforcing the standard intellectual model that only reflects the cultural experiences and mores of the intellectual elite in our society, Appendx contributors will be able to propose alternative models honoring multiple cultural and intellectual experiences and modes of knowledge.   I welcome the arrival of Appendx, a new voice in the field of architecture that honors the numerous intellectual experiences of our culture, contributes to the acquisition of new knowledge, analyzes the basis of this knowledge, and honors the new values of the discipline.  Appendx is a journalistic first step in recognizing the voices and opinions of all scholars interested in architecture, design, and culture, and in affirming the dignity and joy architecture can add to the rituals of the daily lives of all people. 

Ronee C. McLaughlin