Educational Studies and the Domestication of Utopia

Abstract

This paper offers a critique of educational real utopias. Real Utopias are experimental forms of thought and practice intended to harness the transgressive force of traditional utopianism while avoiding its associated dangers. The concept has been embraced by the field of educational studies and applied to the study of various educational settings, institutions and processes. This paper does four things. Firstly, it outlines the concept of utopian realism and highlights those aspects that are said to differentiate it from the utopia that supposedly played a role in the human catastrophes of the twentieth century. It then evaluates a selection of educational real utopias to assess whether they can, in fact, be said to have succeeded in the task of harnessing the intellectual force while overcoming the dangers of traditional utopianism. Thirdly, the paper offers a critique of utopian realism, arguing that the concept of utopia has become thoroughly domesticated. Finally, the paper defends the expansive and holistic concept of utopia that utopian realism rejects. The argument here is that only when utopia is understood as a holistic system is it able to produce its most potent pedagogical effects.

Education's Autonomy as a Utopian Polysemic Possibility: Challenges and a Path Forward

“…Darren Webb names three key factors of utopian realism that differentiate it from pure utopianism: immanence, partiality, and process; real utopias rely on some existing trends or practices, are limited, and settle for moving toward the utopian goal. 14 Webb criticizes utopias and educational utopias that are only real utopias and not pure utopias. He doubts the utopian nature of real utopias, arguing that the aspiration for feasibility has resulted in a situation in which "Utopia has been thoroughly tamed and domesticated."…”

Is Freire Incoherent? Reconciling Directiveness and Dialogue in Freirean Pedagogy

“…Freire affirms the goal of radicalisation (in the sense of pedagogy that defies traditional systems of oppression) as a ‘predominantly critical, loving, humble, and communicative’ process in which an educator ‘does not deny another [person's] right to choose’ but ‘tries to convince and convert, not to crush [their] opponent’ (, p. 10). In other words, the utopian educator, for Freire, paints ‘a picture of society as it could be’ (Webb, ).…”

Educational archaeology and the practice of utopian pedagogy

“…Over the past decade or so, utopianism has lost many of its pejorative connotations and has been heralded as a useful (even an essential) perspective from which to approach aspects of educational theory, policy and practice (e.g., Amsler 2015;Badley 2016;Barnett 2013;Busby 2015;Cooper 2014;Coté, Day, and de Peuter 2007;Fielding and Moss 2011;Firth 2013;Halas and Kantel 2008;Halpin 2003Halpin , 2007Horner 2013;Kraftl 2015;Moss 2014;Papastephanou 2009;Peeters 2013;Peters and Freeman-Moir 2006a;Prendergast 2011;Rambe and Nel 2015;Sawyer et al 2007;Starkey 2012;Sutton 2015;Teodoro and Torres 2007). Once the preserve of self-proclaimed militant utopians such as Henry Giroux, utopia has now been embraced by the educational mainstream (Webb 2016). Many educators would happily associate themselves with, or consider themselves sympathetic to, utopianism.…”