John Dewey and His Legacy for Education

The Center for Dewey Studies, the School of Education, the School of History & Philosophy, and the Morris Library at Southern Illinois University invite you to an interdisciplinary, international conference celebrating the legacy of John Dewey for education, broadly construed. Dewey’s pragmatist and progressive philosophy of education has had a significant, worldwide impact on theory, policy, and practice for well over a century, and the significance of and appreciation for his ideas continues to grow. In particular, Dewey’s philosophy of education has been highly influential on education theory and pedagogical practice in China in recent years. This conference will explore Dewey’s philosophical and practical contributions, especially with respect to the study and practices of education, as well as further developments of Dewey’s ideas in contemporary theory and practice. We are especially interested in work that speaks to the relevance and impact of Dewey internationally.

Invited Plenary Speakers

• Larry Hickman – Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Center for Dewey Studies (1993-2015), Southern Illinois University
• Sarah Stitzlein – Professor of Education & Affiliate Professor of Philosophy, University of Cincinnati; Co-Editor of Democracy & Education.
• Jim Garrison – Professor Emeritus in Foundations of Education at Virginia Tech; winner of the 2023 SAAP Herbert Schneider Award for his career-long achievement of distinguished contributions to the understanding of American Philosophy. 
• Additional speakers TBA

Program Committee

• Matthew J. Brown, Program Chair – Director, Center for Dewey Studies at SIU
• Matt Ferkany – Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University
• Johnathan Flowers – Department of Philosophy, CSU Northridge
• Kyle Greenwalt – Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University
• Megan K. Halpern – Michigan State University
• Bethany Henning – Department of Philosophy, Xavier University
• Danielle Lake – Director, Center for Design Thinking, Elon University
• Grant Miller – School of Education, SIU
• Peter Nelson – School of Education, SIU
• Stefan Neubert – Dewey Center & Human Sciences, University of Cologne
• Sun Ning – Dewey Center & School of Philosophy, Fudan University
• Becky L. Noël Smith – Liberal Studies, Education & Human Development, CSU Fresno
• Zachary Piso – Department of Philosophy & Hanley Sustainability Institute, University of Dayton
• Barbara Stengel – Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University
• Kenneth Stikkers – Philosophy & Africana Studies, SIU
• Mark Tschaepe – Philosophy & General Studies, Prairie View A&M University
• Chris Voparil – Humanities and Culture, Union Institute & University
• David I. Waddington – Department of Education, Concordia University
• Leonard Waks – Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership, Temple University