CFP: Critical Geographic Theories of Public Education’s Problems and Struggles

Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, 12-16th April 2011, Seattle, USA.

Any critical study of the terrain of education must grapple with systemic phenomena - racism, neoliberalism, sexism, segregation, tracking, charterization, privatization, standardization, among others.   In order to situate, describe, and explain these phenomena and their intersections, geographers draw upon many different critical theories, such as Foucauldian, Marxist, Gramscian, Deleuzian, anarchist, queer, feminist, post-colonial, post-human, post-structuralist, and others.  Rather than fixating on a particular definition of 'critical theory,' this panel aims to foster a conversation about what constitutes a critical theory of education and how geography can contribute to these discussions.  In addition to highlighting analyses of the spatial and temporal aspects of education, we seek presenters who not only use these theories to critique the dominant institutions but also to speak to practical possibilities for resistance and subversion. 

Interested contributors should contact one of the organizers of the panel.  Please contact us and submit abstracts by October 15, 2010.

Organizers: Christopher Riley, The Ohio State University ([log in to unmask]) and Eli Meyerhoff, University of Minnesota ([log in to unmask])