Author Archives: Sarah Amsler

Call for Papers: Education and the Future

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First International Conference on Anticipation
November 5-7 2015
University of Trento, Italy

Anticipation is coming to the fore as an emerging field of study that is influencing a wide variety of disciplines. This international conference will explore the interaction among anticipation, uncertainty and complexity. Visit the conference website for further details.

We are now accepting paper abstracts for a stream on ‘Education and Anticipation’

Deadline: April 30, 2015

Education has long been understood as one of the primary mechanisms by which societies and individuals have sought to tame the future by acting on the present: future needs are forecast, educational interventions are designed, human capabilities and certificates that can act as talismans against future insecurity are achieved. In a morphogenetic society (Archer, 2012), in which radical novelty and unpredictable change are the norm, however, this linear model of projection and intervention is far from adequate. John Dewey once even argued that ‘the ideal of using the present simply to get ready for the future…omits, and even shuts out, the very conditions by which a person can be prepared’ for one (1938). How, then, might we begin to reconceptualise an educational system that is able to build personal, collective and societal capacity to hope and to create better futures in conditions of ongoing and radical disruptions? What new educational structures and practices – both inside and outside conventional schools and universities – are emerging in these conditions? What new conceptions of ‘being educated’ are emerging in these conditions and which should we be working towards?

This session invites proposals that provide a robust analysis of the contemporary situation and that also begin to identify sites of possibility and examples of potential change. We are interested in proposals from across the full range of disciplines, from sociology to computer science to philosophy.Papers might be interested in exploring issues that include but are not limited to:

The ‘Educated human’ in the morphogenetic society (What does being ‘educated’ mean in conditions of radical change?)

Prefigurative practice (the role of schools, universities and informal educational spaces as sites for the embodiment and development of ethical, reflexive anticipatory practices)

Technologies for democratisation (How/are new institutions, new technologies constructing the potential for more democratic and distributed forms of anticipatory educational practice?)

Who are the teachers & professors? (What new sites of expertise and insight are emerging that can build human anticipatory potential? How do these differ from existing patterns of professional development?)

Proponents

  • Keri Facer (University of Bristol)
  • Sarah Amsler (University of Lincoln)

Relevant information To submit an abstract to this workshop send a mail to both Keri Facer (keri.facer@bristol.ac.uk) and Sarah Amsler (samsler@lincoln.ac.uk).

  • Further information on the conference www.projectanticipation.org
  • Session’s speakers should register and pay the conference fee:
    • Early registration (before 1 September 2015): € 150
    • Late registration (from 1 September 2015): € 200

Important dates• Abstract submission: 30 April 2015
• Acceptance notification: 15 May 2015
• Final program: 15 June 2015
• Early registration: Before 1 September 2015
• Deadline registration: 20 October 20

New MA in Education!

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Details of our new Masters in Education have been published. The degree starts in September 2015 and we welcome enquiries from prospective students.

‘The MA in Education offers practicing and aspiring educators opportunities to learn, apply and produce critical knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of Education, and to use this to inform and transform future thinking, practice, policy and institutions. The programme includes core courses in the philosophical, social and historical foundations of progressive education and educational politics, the relationship between education and social justice, methodological approaches to research in education, and critical pedagogies and curriculum.

This Master’s enables you to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to design and create democratic, inclusive, co-operative and experimental learning communities in all educational settings. The content and curriculum are designed to facilitate the integration of theory, research, practice and social engagement and to create effective strategies for practice.

This programme is organised around the core themes of education and social justice, critical perspectives on current educational issues, pedagogies and curriculum design for critical thinking and inclusive learning, and methods for practitioner, school-based and academic research.’

The Education of Radical Democracy (new book)

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Education of Radical DemocracyDr. Sarah Amsler’s new book, The Education of Radical Democracy, will be published in April 2015.

The Education of Radical Democracy explores why radical democracy is so necessary, difficult, and possible and why it is important to understand it as an educative activity . The book draws on critical social theory and critical pedagogy to explain what enables and sustains work for radical democratization, and considers how we can begin such work in neoliberal societies today.

Exploring examples of projects from the nineteenth century to the present day, the book sheds light on a wealth of critical tools, research studies, theoretical concepts and practical methods. It offers a critical reading of the ‘crisis of hope’ in neoliberal capitalist societies, focusing on the problem of the ‘contraction of possibilities’ for democratic agency, resistance to domination, and practices of freedom. It argues that radically democratic thinking, practice, and forms of social organization are vital for countering and overcoming systemic hegemonies and that these can be learned and cultivated.

Reviews

“This is a beautiful, necessary and powerful book. Inspired in Ernst Bloch’s philosophy of hope, the book explores and discusses counter and post-capitalist and democratic possibility, thus bringing light to the darkness of the present. This book is opening a new path in the field of radical education.” (Dr Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, University of Bath)

“This is a stunning, scholarly and passionate book. It provides a clear-sighted analysis of where we find ourselves today, as well as offering intellectual and practical strategies for the urgent task of opening up spaces of possibility and hope. Everyone should read it.” (Keri Facer, Professor of Educational and Social Futures, University of Bristol)