Foucault and Education

Peter Lang Primers

by Gail Mcnicol Jardine

This book explores the works of Michel Foucault, emphasizing his relevance for educational theory and practice. Gail McNicol Jardine investigates Foucault's early examinations of the transformation of systems of knowledge as societies change, his in-depth, critical analyses of Knowledge-Power, and his increasingly more explicit examination of the relationship of the Self to acts of Knowledge-Power. Specific themes that are explored from Foucault's work are archeology, genealogy, disciplinary knowledge and power, normality, the gaze, panopticism, the examination, critique and resistance. This primer contains ample references that allow the reader to examine Foucault's own use of these important analytic concepts and tools. This book will be useful in undergraduate and graduate courses in education, critical theory, educational theory, critical pedagogy, philosophy, psychology, and sociology.

Genres: Education

129 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2005

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for elementary school teachers. It would be very useful, I'd imagine, for getting elementary school teachers to think about Foucault's ideas without necessarily having read him. Perhaps it would stimulate some interest.
If you've read a lot of Foucault and have a pretty good working-knowledge of his concepts and theories, this probably won't be very enlightening for you. It's pretty much a summary of Foucault's main points about education, extracted from his larger body of work.

[Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine summary; large number of typos

[jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent overview of works and theories pertinent to the modern educator; conclusion and call to action vague and weak.