Althusser and Education: Reassessing Critical Education

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David I. Backer (West Chester University, USA) Derek R Ford (Depauw University USA)

Althusser and Education

Reassessing Critical Education

David I. Backer (West Chester University, USA), Derek R Ford (Depauw University USA), Tyson E Lewis (University of North Texas USA)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
21 March 2024

Philosophy & theory of education

Series: Radical Politics and Education

Louis Althusser's thinking laid the groundwork for critical educational theory, yet it is often misunderstood in critical pedagogy, sociology of education, and related fields. In this open access book, David I. Backer reexamines Althusser’s educational theory, specifically the claim that education is the most powerful ideological state apparatus in modern capitalist societies. He then presents this theory’s flawed reception in critical educational research and draws out a lost tradition of educational thinking it inspired with important applications to race, gender, ideology, and the concept of social structure in education. Correcting the record about Althusser’s thinking in the traditional narrative of critical educational research becomes an opportunity to revisit fundamental questions for thinking about school in its social context. For students and researchers of education, critical theory, sociology of education, and critical pedagogy, this book will be a resource for rethinking the social foundations of education, both as a field and as a set of theoretical frameworks for educational research.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.

By: David I. Backer (West Chester University USA)
Edited by: Derek R Ford (Depauw University USA), Tyson E Lewis (University of North Texas USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350226845
ISBN 10: 135022684X
Series: Radical Politics and Education
Pages: 228
Publication Date: 21 March 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Part I: Education as an Ideological State Apparatus: Eleven Rules 1. An Attempt to Interpret the Events of May 2. The Rule of Keys: Social Reproduction 3. The Rule of Hands: Relations of Production 4. The Competency Rule 5. The Rule of Special Thirds: Base and Superstructure 6. The System, Toe, and Anchor Rules: ISA Basics 7. The Causality Rule: Grey Cows and Green Cheese 8. The Struggle Rule: The Necessity of Contingency 9. The School Rule 10. The Go Rule 11. Conclusion Part II: The Common Sense About Althusser: Foundations of Critical Education 12. The Three Critiques 13. Foundations of Critical Education: Apple and Giroux’s Indecision 14. Roots of the Common Sense 15. Against Generality: Hirst 16. A Trotskyite Calling Stalin: Callinicos 17. The Eagle’s Apostasy: E. P. Thompson 18. Ashes and Promiscuity: Willis and Connell 19. Conclusion Part III: Structural Education: Towards an Althusserian Pedagogy 20. Developments in Structure, Reproduction, and the Relations of Production 21. The Structure of Race in Education: From Hall to Leonardo 22. Structural Analysis of Girls’ Education: AnnMarie Wolpe 23. Gender, History, Duality: Barrett 24. Marxist Feminist Education Research: Arnot, Deem, and Vallis 25. Ideology in Struggle: Advances in Interpellation Conclusion Epilogue References Index

David I. Backer is Associate Professor of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies at West Chester University, USA. He writes a weekly newsletter called Schooling in Socialist America.

Reviews for Althusser and Education: Reassessing Critical Education

In this significant contribution to critical educational studies, Backer rethinks common interpretations of Althusser as unable to recognize human agency and re-establishes Althusser's ideas in conversations about social and cultural reproduction. This is the most comprehensive and nuanced reading of Althusser's thinking about education available in the English language. --Isaac Gottesman, Lenore Tingle Howard '42 Associate Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Education, Connecticut College, USA Backer delivers a detailed critique of the ideologies pervading critical education studies today, and offers a much-needed route towards an Althusserian pedagogy. Backer shows us that pedagogy, much like philosophy, is a battleground. His original reading of Althusser introduces a decisive theoretical weapon onto this terrain. --Samuel J.R. Mercer, Lecturer in Social Policy, School of Social Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, UK