1. I thought the following essay on Jacques Rancière by Nina Power may be of interest to group members: <br><br><a href="http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2010-07-01-power-en.html">http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2010-07-01-power-en.html</a><br>
<br>"Is education merely the transplanting of gobbets of information onto the
blank slate of a student's mind (we could call this the Lockean
approach), or are we drawing out forms of rational and creative capacity
possessed (equally?) by students <i>qua</i> rational beings? Jacques
Rancière contributes much to this debate, particularly in his work on
the unusual educator Joseph Jacotot in <i>The Ignorant Schoolmaster</i>.
This paper attempts to analyse the possibility of what could be called
the "utopian rationalism" of Jacotot (and of Rancière himself), within
the context of the modern university. Rancière's work will be read
alongside that of Pierre Bourdieu and Ivan Illich as other crucial
figures in the understanding of the way in which educational achievement
relates to certain assumptions about what teaching involves."<br><br>2. Also, I wanted to pass on this conference announcement: <br><br><font style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" face="book
antiqua,palatino" size="2"><i><b>Radical Nemesis: Re-envisioning Ivan
Illich's Theories on Social Institutions</b></i>. A symposium at
Western New England College, April 1, 2011.
<br>
</font>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">Grand theorist Ivan Illich wrote provocative texts in the
1970s and early 1980s examining major social institutions including,
for example,
<i>DeSchooling Society</i> (1971), <i>Tools for Conviviality</i> (1973),
<i>Medical Nemesis</i> (1975), and
<i>Gender</i> (1982). His work critiqued modern educational, medical,
and transportation schemes, among others, and examined the evolution of
concepts of class and gender.
</font></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">Thirty years ago, in <i>DeSchooling Society </i>(1971),
Ivan Illich set forth a radical framework for evaluating the
significance, effectiveness, and legitimacy of one of this country’s
major social institutions. While considered radical by
some, he has also been criticized, including by feminist scholars, as
deeply conservative and retrograde.
<i>See</i> Gloria Bowles in <i>Beyond the Backlash: A Feminist Critique
of Ivan Illich's Theory of Gender</i>, 3(1) Feminist Issues (Spring
1983).</font></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">We will revisit Illich’s works in a symposium at Western
New England College School of Law on April 1, 2011. What application,
if any, do Illich’s theories and ideas have for current social
challenges and social justice struggles? What can
they tell us, for example, about decarceration, educational equity,
racial justice, and health care access and self-determination? Are
Illich's ideas dated, or do they contain enduring insights for today's
scholars and activists?
</font></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">Papers applying, criticizing, or extending Illich's
theories to any area of scholarship or social activism are invited.
</font></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">The symposium will take place at Western New England
College School of Law on April 1, 2011. The College is located in
Massachusetts’s Pioneer Valley, close to Amherst and Northampton and
convenient to Bradley International Airport.
</font></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<font size="2">Anyone interested in presenting a principal paper should
submit an abstract to Erin Buzuvis (<a href="https://mail.shu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=7a8e69d495274d3fb9204214d85d068d&URL=mailto%3aebuzuvis%40law.wnec.edu">ebuzuvis@law.wnec.edu</a>)
by December 1, 2010. For more
information, see our website: <a href="https://mail.shu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=7a8e69d495274d3fb9204214d85d068d&URL=http%3a%2f%2flaw.wnec.libguides.com%2fcontent.php%3fpid%3d108557%26sid%3d816543" target="_blank">
http://law.wnec.libguides.com/content.php?pid=108557&sid=816543</a></font></p>*************************************************************************************************************************************************<br>
all best,<br>-Frank<br><br>