BEF 510 - Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Course Time: Tuesday, 5-7:50
Instructor: Dr. John Petrovic
Office: 307 Graves Hall
Office Hours: M0R, 8-12:00 or by appointment
Contact: 205-348-0465, petrovic@ua.edu

View the full syllabus here. 

 Schedule of Topics and Readings (Fall 2017)


Unit 1: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Political versus Intellectual (or the limits of patriotism)

 
Aug 29
 
Course overview and introductions: What is democracy? What have been the purposes of schooling historically? What are they contemporarily? What should they be?
 
No reading

Sept 5          What is justice? What were Plato’s views on democracy? What were the purposes of education for Plato? To what extent do these same goals and views drive education today?
 
Plato, Chs. 4-6
Spring, pp. 3-27

                                          
Sept 12        What is the social contract? What makes it democratic (or not)? How does education mediate this relationship?       

Rousseau                                                                  
Locke          
 
Sept 19        What is ideology? What is the impact of ideology on education? What is interpellation         and how is it a function of ideology? How do the political purposes of education [really or potentially]
impact the intellectual purposes?
                                    
Kavanagh  
Chomsky
Althusser
                                     
  
Sept 26         What is enlightenment? What is truth? Is it important? How does Martin’s epistemology differ from Plato’s? What are the implications for educational policy and practice and the general        
purposes of schooling?

Plato   
Martin     
Kant                                    
 
Unit 2: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Economic (or education for a proletariat)
 

Oct 3              What are the economic purposes of schooling? What are the purposes of schooling in a capitalist society? How do ideological positions engage epistemological questions?                   

Anyon, 1-18
Hewitt
Apple, ch. 2
 
Oct 10           What is classism? What is equal educational opportunity? What have been the effects of class on equal educational opportunity?        

Anyon, pp. 19-37
Kozol
 
Oct 17           No class meeting. Please use this time to put the finishing touches on your Paper #1 which is due at 8:00. I encourage you to make an appointment with me to discuss any questions or doubts you may have about your content. I will be available for appointments all day, until 7:00 pm.

Oct 24          What does conservative modernization look like in terms of the distribution of wealth and [educational opportunity] and in terms of educational policy broadly speaking?    
        
Apple, ch. 3
Anyon, 39-64
Duncan & Murnane

Oct 31           How/why does education policy substitute for economic reform? Can capitalist schooling or schooling for consumption be democratic?

Anyon, pp. 65-80
Sandlin, et al

 
Unit 3: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Social (or educating for cultural hegemony)

 
Nov 7            What is racism? What is the relationship between class and race? What does it mean to be “color blind?” Is color blindness a “privilege?” What are the effects of racism on equal educational opportunity?
 
Harris
Whiby 
Schofield
 
Nov 14          How does the history of American race relations support/negate the social and racial contracts? To what extent and in what ways is this question still relevant? What’s the difference between anti- racist education and multicultural education?
 
DuBois 
Wilson 
Blum
 
Nov 21          What is sexism? How does it affect opportunities for women/ girls? How does it affect the educational experience of men/boys?
 
Martino 
Davis
 
Nov 28         What is heterosexism? How is it related to sexism? How does it affect everyone’s educational experience?

Elze
Murray
 
Dec 5           Why/how is Marxism still relevant?

Anyon, pp. 81-106


 
 

 


 
 

 
 
 
 


 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 


Date
Reading/Discussion Questions
Reading

Unit 1: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Political versus Intellectual (or the limits of patriotism)

 
Aug 29
 
Course overview and introductions: What is democracy? What have been the purposes of schooling historically? What are they contemporarily? What should they be?
 
 
What is justice? What were Plato’s views on democracy? What were the purposes of education for Plato? To what extent do these same goals and views drive education today?
 
Sept 5
 
Plato Plato
Spring, pp. 3-
27

                                          
Sept 12        What is the social contract? What makes it democratic (or not)? How does education mediate this relationship?

Rousseau
Locke          
 
Sept 19        What is ideology? What is the impact of ideology on education? What is interpellation and how is it a function of ideology? How do the political purposes of education [really or potentially] impact the intellectual purposes?

 Kavanagh  
 Althusser
 Chomsky                                                                                                  

Sept 26         What is enlightenment? What is truth? Is it important? How does Martin’s epistemology differ from Plato’s? What are the implications for educational policy and practice and the general        
purposes of schooling?

Plato  
Martin                              
Kant

Unit 2: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Economic (or education for a proletariat)
 

Oct 3              What are the economic purposes of schooling? What are the purposes of schooling in a capitalist society? How do ideological positions engage epistemological questions?                 

Anyon, 1-18
Hewitt
Apple, ch. 2

Oct 10           What is classism? What is equal educational opportunity? What have been the effects of class on equal educational opportunity?        
                                                                                                                                     
Anyon, pp. 19-37
Kozol

Oct 17           No class meeting. Please use this time to put the finishing touches on your
                      Paper #1 which is due at 8:00. I encourage you to make an appointment
                      with me to discuss any questions or doubts you may have about your content.
                      I will be available for appointments all day, until 7:00 pm.

Oct 24           What does conservative modernization look like in terms of the distribution of wealth and [educational opportunity] and in terms of educational policy broadly speaking?                                          

Apple, ch. 3
Anyon, 39-64
Duncan & Murnane

Oct 31
How/why does education policy substitute for economic reform? Can capitalist schooling or schooling for consumption be democratic?

Anyon, pp. 65-80
Sandlin, et al

 
Unit 3: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Social (or educating for cultural hegemony)

 
Nov 7
 
What is racism? What is the relationship between class and race? What does it mean to be “color blind?” Is color blindness a “privilege?” What are the effects of racism on equal educational opportunity?
 
Video: Ethnic Notions
 
How does the history of American race relations support/negate the social and racial contracts? To what extent and in what ways is this question still relevant? What’s the difference between anti- racist education and multicultural education?
 
Video: The Color of Fear
 
What is sexism? How does it affect opportunities for women/ girls? How does it affect the educational experience of men/boys?
 
Video: The Mask You Live in
 
What is heterosexism? How is it related to sexism? How does it affect everyone’s educational experience?
 
Video: Bullied
 
 
Why/how is Marxism still relevant?
Harris
Whiby Schofield

 
 
Nov 14
 
DuBois Wilson Blum

 
 
Nov 21
 
 
 
 
Martino Davis

 
 
 
Nov 28
 
 
Elze
Murray
 
 
 
 
Anyon, pp. 81-106

 
 
 
 
Dec 5