Title

Toward a Posthumanist Education

Abstract

The text of our manifesto will introduce posthumanism to a curriculum studies audience and propose new directions for curriculum theory and educational research more broadly. Following a description of what is variously called the “posthuman condition” or the “posthuman era,” our manifesto outlines the main theoretical features of posthumanism with particular attention to how it challenges or problematizes the nearly ubiquitous assumptions of humanism. In particular, we focus on how posthumanism responds to the history of Western humanism’s justification and encouragement of colonialism, slavery, the objectification of women, the thoughtless slaughter of non-human animals, and ecological devastation. We dwell on the question of how posthumanism may alter our understanding of the claim “education is political,” since humanism has shaped our very notions of “education” and “politics.” After outlining posthumanist discourse generally, and detailing the conceptual challenges it poses for education, we propose a list of possible new avenues for curriculum studies research opened up by posthumanism.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2014 Foundation for Curriculum Theory. This article first appears in Journal of Curriculum Theorizing 30:2 (2014), 39-55.

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Citation Example for Article (Chicago):

Snaza, Nathan, Peter Appelbaum, Siân Bayne, Dennis Carlson, Marla Morris, Nikki Rotas, Jennifer Sandlin, Jason Wallin, and John Weaver. "Toward a Posthumanist Education" Journal of Curriculum Theorizing 30, no. 2 (2014): 39-55.

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