Jacques Rancière on Radical Equality and Adult Education
- Paper: Jacques Rancière on Radical Equality and Adult Education. Juha Suoranta.
Abstract
"French philosopher Jacques Rancière's (1940—) has furthered the idea of radical equality in his book The Ignorant Schoolmaster (1991) in which he studies his countryman’s Joseph Jacotot's (1770—1840) ideas on teaching and learning without authorities entitled the basic statement being as follows: “teach what you don't know.” In particular Rancière criticizes sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s reproduction thesis as too deterministic and French reformist educational policies in general. More positively Rancière develops and defenses an enlightened idea of radical equality, which is useful in re-evaluating the overall project of modernity in terms of education as one of its grand narratives as well as developing new autonomic spheres of learning and participation."