Dear Mike & Peter,
There's some interesting stuff on empowerment in relation to vocational
education - see esp. articles in "Journal of education and Work" and
"Evaluation and Research in education" I can dig out some of these if you
wish.(Bates,Inge and Hodkinson, Phil especially)
I'm currently working on a thesis about spatiality and adult learners and
one of my themes will be the relationship of empowerment and space. Bates
(1998)points out that current educational rhetoric about empowerment is
placing invisible boundaries around the concept - learners are only
'empowered within a very limited framework of vocational qualifications, and
the only way they can demonstrate real empowerment is to resist the
imposition of these qualifications by not turning up for classes or being
rowdy -thus the classroom becomes a contested space in which issues of
empowerment are brought to the fore.
regards Peter Gray
Institute of Education
University of Stirling
> ----------
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Reply To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 11:46 am
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: empowerment and praxis
>
> Mike,
>
> I've read plenty on empowerment, community activism and praxis, but
> not seen anything that directly connects theories of empowerment to
> Foucault's work. More to questions of resistance/praxis. I'd be very
> very interested in the references to the former you mention.
>
> You might want to look at my article in the new Society and Space on
> LETS where I start to play about with the idea of empowerment and
> heterotopia. I'd be very interested in any thoughts/references you
> might have to help me take that further.
>
> I'm just starting a research project about political learning and
> empowerment by/with community activists in urban politics, and want
> to take that forward using ideas of micro-politics within observable
> micro-political opportunity structures. I want to explore the extent
> that activists learn from and change from within the micro-political
> environments that urban regeneration provides. And I want to use
> Foucault's analysis of power circuits there.
>
> Any suggestions to ways to take that further would also be
> appreciated.
>
> Regards
>
> Pete North
> Research Fellow in Community Economic Development
> South Bank University, London
>
> > Dear all,
> >
> > I am seeking empowerment (many a true word said in jest).
> >
> > Does anyone know any good references on this (now less fashionable)
> term.
> > Better still references in which Foucault et al/postmodernism and
> > empowerment are mentioned in the same breath. I have some, but am I
> > missing anything?
> >
> > Is empowerment an unredeemably modernist concept? Is deconstruction of
> > dominant discourse the only possibility? I am trying to put square pegs
> in
> > round holes in the context of a discussion about gender sensitive
> > participatory HIV work in rural Africa.
> >
> > Secondly, there have been some theory versus empirical type debates
> > recently - but has anyone spotted any references that specifically
> address
> > praxis and geographical research/geographers?
> >
> > All tips, refs. and suggestions gratefully received.
> >
> > Cheers Mike Kesby [log in to unmask]
> >
> > School Geog
> > Uni St Andrews
> > Fife, Scotland
> > KY16 9ST
> >
> > 01334 463909
> >
> >
> >
> >
> _________________________________________
>
> Peter North
> School of Urban Development and Policy
> South Bank University, London
> Tel: 0171-815 7706
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>
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