Rob Reich and Danielle Allen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226012629
- eISBN:
- 9780226012933
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226012933.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Philosophy and Theory of Education
Education is a contested topic, and not just politically. For years scholars have approached it from two different points of view: one empirical, focused on explanations for student and school ...
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Education is a contested topic, and not just politically. For years scholars have approached it from two different points of view: one empirical, focused on explanations for student and school success and failure; and the other philosophical, focused on education's value and purpose within the larger society. Rarely have these separate approaches been brought into the same conversation. This book does just that, offering an intensive discussion by scholars across empirical and philosophical disciplines. The contributors explore how the institutions and practices of education can support democracy by creating the conditions for equal citizenship and egalitarian empowerment, and how they can advance justice by securing social mobility and cultivating the talents and interests of every individual. They then evaluate constraints on achieving the goals of democracy and justice in the educational arena, and identify strategies that we can employ to work through or around those constraints. More than a thorough compendium on a timely and contested topic, the book exhibits an entirely new, deeply composed way of thinking about education as a whole and its importance to a good society.Less
Education is a contested topic, and not just politically. For years scholars have approached it from two different points of view: one empirical, focused on explanations for student and school success and failure; and the other philosophical, focused on education's value and purpose within the larger society. Rarely have these separate approaches been brought into the same conversation. This book does just that, offering an intensive discussion by scholars across empirical and philosophical disciplines. The contributors explore how the institutions and practices of education can support democracy by creating the conditions for equal citizenship and egalitarian empowerment, and how they can advance justice by securing social mobility and cultivating the talents and interests of every individual. They then evaluate constraints on achieving the goals of democracy and justice in the educational arena, and identify strategies that we can employ to work through or around those constraints. More than a thorough compendium on a timely and contested topic, the book exhibits an entirely new, deeply composed way of thinking about education as a whole and its importance to a good society.
Michele S. Moses
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226344249
- eISBN:
- 9780226344416
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226344416.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Philosophy and Theory of Education
This book is ultimately about a puzzle: a puzzle about how to understand the nature of the deep disagreement about affirmative action, and beyond that, what to do about it. Relying on deliberative ...
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This book is ultimately about a puzzle: a puzzle about how to understand the nature of the deep disagreement about affirmative action, and beyond that, what to do about it. Relying on deliberative democratic theory, it makes a strong and well-reasoned argument for the deep democratic value of policy dialogue and deliberation to help citizens work through the moral disagreement about affirmative action and other controversial education policies, often having to do with issues of race and ethnicity. Both critics and defenders of affirmative action use the ideal of equality to make their–opposing–arguments about affirmative action policy. This highlights a central issue in the acrimonious debates over race-conscious affirmative action: how can citizens make sense of the policy within a sociopolitical context where both supporters and opponents use the same language to defend or critique it? Given this question, the book is not meant to be another defense of affirmative action. Instead it is a defense of dialogue and deliberation about affirmative action and other controversial race-conscious policies. Disagreements such as these are inevitable in a democracy. Dialogue is important for allowing people to stand in others’ shoes and for seeing each other’s humanity despite disagreement. Such dialogue is the heart of both education and democracy. Maybe dialogue and deliberation will not always (or even often) lead to agreement in policy issues related to moral views, but they have the potential to help us know each other, and understand each other better amidst moral disagreement.Less
This book is ultimately about a puzzle: a puzzle about how to understand the nature of the deep disagreement about affirmative action, and beyond that, what to do about it. Relying on deliberative democratic theory, it makes a strong and well-reasoned argument for the deep democratic value of policy dialogue and deliberation to help citizens work through the moral disagreement about affirmative action and other controversial education policies, often having to do with issues of race and ethnicity. Both critics and defenders of affirmative action use the ideal of equality to make their–opposing–arguments about affirmative action policy. This highlights a central issue in the acrimonious debates over race-conscious affirmative action: how can citizens make sense of the policy within a sociopolitical context where both supporters and opponents use the same language to defend or critique it? Given this question, the book is not meant to be another defense of affirmative action. Instead it is a defense of dialogue and deliberation about affirmative action and other controversial race-conscious policies. Disagreements such as these are inevitable in a democracy. Dialogue is important for allowing people to stand in others’ shoes and for seeing each other’s humanity despite disagreement. Such dialogue is the heart of both education and democracy. Maybe dialogue and deliberation will not always (or even often) lead to agreement in policy issues related to moral views, but they have the potential to help us know each other, and understand each other better amidst moral disagreement.
Donald N. Levine
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226475530
- eISBN:
- 9780226475783
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226475783.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Philosophy and Theory of Education
It is one thing to lament the financial pressures put on universities, quite another to face up to the poverty of resources for thinking about what universities should do when they purport to offer a ...
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It is one thing to lament the financial pressures put on universities, quite another to face up to the poverty of resources for thinking about what universities should do when they purport to offer a liberal education. This book enriches those resources by proposing fresh ways to think about liberal learning with ideas more suited to our times. It does so by defining basic values of modernity and then considering curricular principles pertinent to them. The principles the book favors are powers of the mind—disciplines understood as fields of study defined not by subject matter but by their embodiment of distinct intellectual capacities. To illustrate, the book draws on a lifetime of teaching and educational leadership, while providing a summary of exemplary educational thinkers at the University of Chicago who continue to inspire. Out of this vital tradition, the book constructs a paradigm for liberal arts today, inclusive of all perspectives and applicable to all settings in the modern world.Less
It is one thing to lament the financial pressures put on universities, quite another to face up to the poverty of resources for thinking about what universities should do when they purport to offer a liberal education. This book enriches those resources by proposing fresh ways to think about liberal learning with ideas more suited to our times. It does so by defining basic values of modernity and then considering curricular principles pertinent to them. The principles the book favors are powers of the mind—disciplines understood as fields of study defined not by subject matter but by their embodiment of distinct intellectual capacities. To illustrate, the book draws on a lifetime of teaching and educational leadership, while providing a summary of exemplary educational thinkers at the University of Chicago who continue to inspire. Out of this vital tradition, the book constructs a paradigm for liberal arts today, inclusive of all perspectives and applicable to all settings in the modern world.