Discourses of Education in the Age of New Imperialism

Book excerpt: This fourth volume in the Discourse, Power, Resistance series takes the theme into new territory, setting educational thinking and practice firmly in its global political context. Drawing on schools of thought as diverse as Marxism and eco-feminist theology, the contributors to Part 1 (Global Imperialism and Terror: The Theory and Practice of Othering), led by Peter McLaren, examine the possibilities for critical thinking and transformative practice in the aftermath of 9/11 and the new age of cultural and political imperialism. In Part 2 (Praxis: Thinking and Doing) contributors draw on a range of critical perspectives to examine both the theory and practice of education, taking the reader from the self to the system and back again via dynamic systems theory, flow theory and a multiplicity of diverse (and often conflicting) practices of subversion. The book closes with two radical departures from the norm: a seriously playful transgression into the fields of pop art and film, and a searing poetic lament on the current state of educational policy and practice. As educators, we are all, in William Pinar's words, 'behind enemy lines', in a field which, despite our continued bids for autonomy, is increasingly hijacked by globalizing political forces. This book offers modes of resistance which are startling, unsettling and challenging. It will be of deep interest to students, tutors and researchers in education, policy studies and related fields, and to those who are involved in training, or becoming, the educators of the future. The contributors are Peter McLaren, William Pinar, Mike Cole, Lisa Isherwood, Elizabeth Atkinson, Tamsin Haggis, Sue Clegg, Gill Boag-Munroe, Ros Ollin, Victoria