The theory of cosmopolitanism is built on a paradoxical commitment to a universal idea of humanity and to a respect for human pluralism. Toward an Imperfect Education critiques the assumed goodness of humans that underwrites the idea of humanity and explores how antagonistic human interactions such as conflict, violence, and suffering are a fundamental aspect of life in a pluralistic world. This book proposes that the inescapable difference between humans compels our ethical and political observations in education. Todd persuasively argues that facing humanity in all its complexity and...

The book explores the implications of Freirean theory for educational practice and shows how Freire can be helpful in bridging different genres and traditions. It addresses a number of themes, questions, and issues that have received relatively little attention to date, including Freire s conception of the critical intellectual, Freire and the problem of defining literacy, and the possibility of a Freirean response to debates over political correctness. Roberts also puts Freire s ideas into conversation with writers seldom considered by other Freirean scholars: Israel Scheffler, Fyodor...

The movement toward greater openness represents a change of philosophy, ethos, and government and a set of interrelated and complex changes that transform markets altering the modes of production and consumption, ushering in a new era based on the values of openness: an ethic of sharing and peer-to-peer collaboration enabled through new architectures of participation. These changes indicate a broader shift from the underlying industrial mode of production a productionist metaphysics to a postindustrial mode of consumption as use, reuse, and modification where new logics of social media...

The theory of cosmopolitanism is built on a paradoxical commitment to a universal idea of humanity and to a respect for human pluralism. Toward an Imperfect Education critiques the assumed goodness of humans that underwrites the idea of humanity and explores how antagonistic human interactions such as conflict, violence, and suffering are a fundamental aspect of life in a pluralistic world. This book proposes that the inescapable difference between humans compels our ethical and political observations in education. Todd persuasively argues that facing humanity in all its complexity and...

The widespread use of the measurement of educational outcomes in order to compare the performance of education within and across countries seems to express a real concern for the quality of education. This book argues that the focus on the measurement of educational outcomes has actually displaced questions about educational purpose. Biesta explores why the question as to what constitutes good education has become so much more difficult to ask and shows why this has been detrimental for the quality of education and for the level of democratic control over education. He provides concrete...

The book explores the implications of Freirean theory for educational practice and shows how Freire can be helpful in bridging different genres and traditions. It addresses a number of themes, questions, and issues that have received relatively little attention to date, including Freire's conception of the critical intellectual, Freire and the problem of defining literacy, and the possibility of a Freirean response to debates over political correctness. Roberts also puts Freire's ideas into conversation with writers seldom considered by other Freirean scholars: Israel Scheffler, Fyodor...

This is a book about what many teachers know but are increasingly being prevented from talking about: that real education always involves a risk. The risk is there because, as W. B. Yeats has put it, education is not about filling a bucket but about lighting a fire. It is there because education is not an interaction between machines, but an encounter between human beings. It is there because students are not to be seen as objects to be molded and disciplined, but as subjects of action and responsibility. Biesta's book opposes the risk aversion that characterizes many contemporary educational...

Cosmopolitanism and relevant notions are widely discussed in philosophy of education and educational studies more generally. There is a vast literature on the topic that often invites conceptual discussion and requires some work in the direction of crucial clarifications. Thinking Differently About Cosmopolitanism argues that a new conception of cosmopolitanism is needed and addresses this need by formulating a conception of cosmopolitanism as an "eccentric" ethico-political ideal. Such cosmopolitanism is eccentric in the sense that it decenters the self, it cultivates centrifugal virtues,...

The movement toward greater openness represents a change of philosophy, ethos, and government and a set of interrelated and complex changes that transform markets altering the modes of production and consumption, ushering in a new era based on the values of openness: an ethic of sharing and peer-to-peer collaboration enabled through new architectures of participation. These changes indicate a broader shift from the underlying industrial mode of production--a "productionist" metaphysics--to a postindustrial mode of consumption as use, reuse, and modification where new logics of social media...

This is a book about what many teachers know but are increasingly being prevented from talking about: that real education always involves a risk. The risk is there because, as W. B. Yeats has put it, education is not about filling a bucket but about lighting a fire. It is there because education is not an interaction between machines, but an encounter between human beings. It is there because students are not to be seen as objects to be molded and disciplined, but as subjects of action and responsibility. Biesta's book opposes the risk aversion that characterizes many contemporary educational...