This article shares reflections from members of the community of philosophers of education in the United States and Canada who were invited to express their insights in response to the theme ‘Snaps...

Drawing primarily on the work of John Dewey, Kathy Hytten argues that rethinking democracy can help us to respond more productively to the challenges of globalization. Dewey maintained that democracy is much more than a political system; instead it is a personal way of life, a mode of associated living, and a moral ideal. Yet this is not the vision of democracy prevalent today, especially within the rhetoric of globalization. Hytten begins by describing some of the challenges of globalization. She (...) then shows how Dewey faced similar challenges, discussing why Dewey's ideas are still relevant. Hytten goes on to trace how Dewey's conception of democracy can help us to think differently about these challenges. She concludes by arguing that Dewey offers us some valuable democratic habits, dispositions, and visions that remain important resources in building a pluralistic, socially just, inclusive, and enriching community within our globalized world. (shrink)

In this article we argue for the importance of building critical communities as an integral, yet neglected, aspect of education for social justice. We begin by defining critical communities and by describing goals and vision for social justice education. We then explore how community is discussed in the education literature, limitations and challenges of calling for community, and images of critical communities in social justice work. We end by exploring the role that individuals can play in nurturing and enabling social (...) justice efforts, offering some strategies to promote community building within and beyond higher education. (shrink)

(2010). AESA 2009 Presidential Address Cultivating Hope and Building Community: Reflections on Social Justice Activism in Educational Studies. Educational Studies: Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 151-167.

Over the past few decades, there has been a complicated and often paradoxical public dialogue around the idea of hope. While hope has always been called upon as part of the struggle for social justice and as a motivator and sustainer of work toward creating a better world; it is also something many see as fleeting and naïve, something that can actually get in the way of righteous indignation and revolutionary action. Hope has been discussed as a character trait, similar (...) to grit, for example, as something that successful people possess.1 It has also been described as a habit and way of being in the world that can be nurtured. Former President Obama's election campaigns were built around audacious hope,2 and for a... (shrink)

In this essay review of three recent edited books , Kathy Hytten reflects on the relation among education, democracy, and social justice. She argues that in our current climate, progressive educators need a more powerful and compelling educational discourse that foregrounds issues of social justice. The three books under review in this essay provide a number of resources for this discourse. Hytten explores these contributions in relation to the theories that animate education for social justice, in particular, critical pedagogy, globalization (...) theory, and cultural studies. In the end, she revisits the vision and promise of education for social justice, considering what these edited collections offer, reflecting on their gaps and weaknesses, and providing some direction for what kind of work we still need to make social justice a reality. (shrink)