This seminar is designed to fill a gap in the current philosophy of education program: until now, no class has been available to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the issues, authors, and philosophical perspectives that presently constitute philosophy of education as a field of study. The reading list for this course includes some of the most interesting and provocative essays published or presented in North America over the past few years. Represented are many of the leading scholars in the field today, and many of the younger generation of philosophers who will influence the field in the future.
Beyond the survey nature of this reading list, however, the articles are selected and organized so as to frame serious philosophical issues that we will try to understand and investigate in our own discussions, contributing to these ongoing debates. Some of the essays are written as direct responses to one another; some are paired by topic or contrasting point of view; and others are juxtaposed to illustrate different approaches to the philosophical study of educational problems. Together, these readings, and our discussions of them, will provide a rich, multifaceted perspective on the state of scholarship in the area of philosophy of education. While any such course involves a degree of selectivity, I have tried seriously not to slant the readings toward or against any school of thought or philosophical method.
The requirements for this course include coming to class having completed the readings in advance; and being prepared to discuss them, to raise issue with them, and to explore their implications for educational thought and practice. The main writing requirement for this course is to select four essays during the course of the semester and to write for each one a Response in the manner of the PES responses we will read: these responses may be, variously, a criticism and counterargument to the claims put forth in the article; a sympathetic extension of the article in some original direction; or a constructive attempt to revise and strengthen the arguments of the article. It is not part of this assignment to write an independent article stating some new position on the issue; the purpose is to engage some of these papers (whether critically or not), on their own terms. Each paper should be no more than 1800 words (about six pages of normal font size). All papers must be completed by the final day of class; please do not leave them all for the end of the semester.
Jan 24 B. Arnstine, Rational and caring teachers (Raywid, Siegel responses)
Jan 27 S. Haroutunian-Gordon, Evaluating teachers: The case of Socrates
K. Alston, Teaching philosophy and Eros: Love as a relation to truth
Jan 31 W. Kohli, Critical hermeneutics: Toward a philosophical foundation for the empowerment of teachers
M. Ross, Teacher empowerment: Unmasking disciplinary power
Feb 3 N. Burbules, The tragic sense of education (Arcilla response)
S. de Castell, Literacy as disempowerment: The role of documentary texts
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND MORAL EDUCATION
Feb 7 A. Diller, Pluralism for education: An ethics of care perspective
E. Callan, Finding a common voice
Feb 10 A, Thompson, Disarming the baby with the gun
E. Callan, Indoctrination and parental rights (Page response)
Feb 14 S. Rice & N. Burbules, Communicative virtues and educational relations
P. White, To be totally frank: Teaching the complex virtue of honesty
Feb 17 D. Nyberg, The moral complexity of deception (Morgan, Phillips responses)
Feb 21 I. Scheffler, Vice into virtue, or seven deadly sins of education reconsidered
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, RATIONALITY, AND CRITICAL THINKING
Feb 24 S. Norris, Bachelors, buckyballs, and ganders: Seeking analogies for definitions of critical thinking
C. McCarthy, Why be critical? On the justification of critical thinking (McPeck, Siegel, Ennis responses)
Feb 28 J. Garrison & A. Phelan, Toward a feminist poetic of critical thinking (Bailin response)
B. Thayer-Bacon, Caring and its relation to critical thinking
Mar 3 S. Bailin, Rationality and intuition
H. Siegel, Rationality and ideology
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND POSTMODERNISM
Mar 14 M. Kiziltan et al., Postmodern conditions: Rethinking public education
C. Nicholson, Postmodernism, feminism, and education
Mar 17 P. Lather, Deconstructing/deconstructive inquiry: The politics of knowing and being known
Mar 21 Philosophy of Education Society meetings
Mar 24 C. Beck, Postmodernism: Pedagogy and philosophy of education (Feinberg, Greene responses)
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, COMMUNITY, AND MULTICULTURALISM
Mar 28 K. Hostetler, Solidarity and moral community (Kohli response)
L. McCarty, Out of isolation: Philosophy, hermeneutics, multiculturalism (Kerdeman response)
Mar 31 K. Strike, On the construction of public speech: Pluralism and public reason
Apr 4 W. Feinberg, A role for philosophy of education in intercultural research (Goldstone response)
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND FEMINISM
Apr 7 J. Martin, Redefining the educated person: Rethinking the significance of gender
M. Leach, Is the personal political?
Apr 11 M. Leach & B. Davies, Crossing the boundaries: Educational thought and gender equity
S. de Castell & M. Bryson, En/Gendering equity: Emancipatory programs or repressive regimes of truth? (Morgan response)
Apr 14 S. Laird, Reforming Woman's true profession: A case for feminist pedagogy in teacher education?
J. Pagano, Teaching women
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Apr 18 M. Matthews, Old wine in new bottles: A problem with constructivist epistemology
D.C. Phillips, Deconstructing constructivism
Apr 21 J. Noel, Intentionality in research on teaching
M. Ross & M. Selman, Epistemology, practical research, and human subjects
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY
Apr 25 N. Noddings, Excellence as a guide to educational conversation (Arnstine response)
Apr 28 M. Prakash and L. Waks, Four conceptions of excellence (Strike response)
F. Margonis, The co-optation of at-risk: Paradoxes of policy criticism
May 2 D.C. Phillips, Philosophy of education on cloud nine (Arnstine response)
J. Giarelli, Philosophy, education, and public practice