Keynote Speakers:
Paul Smeyers (University of Leuven)
Gert Biesta (University of Luxembourg)
John Holmwood (University of Nottingham)
Craig Calhoun (London School of Economics)
From the first moment of life\, men ought to begin learning to deserve to
live\; and\, as at the instant of birth we partake of the rights of
citizenship\, that instant ought to be the beginning of the exercise of our
duty. If there are laws for the age of maturity\, there ought to be laws for
infancy\, teaching obedience to others: and as the reason of each man is not
left to be the sole arbiter of his duties\, government ought the less
indiscriminately to abandon to the intelligence and prejudices of fathers
the education of their children\, as that education is of still greater
importance to the State than to the fathers: for\, according to the course
of nature\, the death of the father often deprives him of the final fruits
of education\; but his country sooner or later perceives its effects.
Families dissolve but the State remains. (Rousseau\, A Discourse on
Political Economy\, 1755: 148-9)
Critical pedagogy and Philosophies of Education can be traced as far back
as to the time of Plato and Socrates. \;These two Greek philosophers
recognised the importance of dialogue for human interaction and for
education. \;In the Republic\, Socrates challenged his student\, Plato\, to
think critically about educational\, social and philosophical issues\, and
advocates overtly\, through the figure of philosopher-kings\, that
philosophers are a 'special kind' for their capacity to critically analyse
issues. \;It is arguable Rousseau&rsquo\;s Emile is\, after Plato&rsquo\;s Republic\, the
next most influential text on education if we follow a historical
timeline. \;In this work\, Rousseau deals with the relationship between
individual and society\, and how the individual might retain its original
innate goodness while being part of a corrupting community &ndash\; which are
views he already expressed in the Social Contract.
This tradition of critical thinkers in education remains strong and
influential\, and has in the likes of Paulo Freire and John Dewey two of its
most important proponents and educationists of the 20th century. \;Michael
Apple and Henry Giroux are\, perhaps\, the most recent proponents of this
school of thought. \;That said\, is there a lack of attention being paid by
governments and the wider society to the thought of dominant thinkers on
the relations between the individual and state\, and its implications for
education?
paulofreire@hope.ac.uk
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