Inventing the Modern Self and John Dewey (PDF)

THOMAS S. POPKEWITZ is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

'In this fascinating book, a group of distinguished scholars from twelve countries examine the historical role of John Dewey as an 'indigenous foreigner,' whose ideas about pragmatism, the child, and the school were reconstructed and re-assembled in one cultural setting after another around the world. At one level, the authors are exploring the historical development of the discourses of modernity, which provided visions of how the school could form the child into the citizen. At another level, the authors are disrupting the smooth texture of the current discourse of globalization, showing how local cultures have adapted and redirected ideas from abroad in historically specific ways.' - David F. Labaree, Stanford University, author of The Trouble with Ed Schools

'In my library, a special place is reserved for the books of Thomas Popkewitz. Two remarkable features of his work always amaze me: his creativity in choosing and defining the 'problem' and the intellectual sophistication that he brings to the analysis and to the discussion Popkewitz has done it again with this new book. It is a wonderful work that opens new avenues to read John Dewey and the 'traveling of pragmatism' in the light of a broader discussion about modernities. It is a book that illuminates new facets of John Dewey, multiplying the possibilities to problematize an 'author' and his circulation, appropriation, and transformation The book invites the reader to react, to question, and to struggle with the theses and ideas that are presented. To read Popkewitz is to enter into a critical dialogue, to join an intellectual game of interpretations and illuminations. This is a brilliant book by one of the most challenging authors of our times.' - António Nóvoa, Professor of Education, University of Lisbon

'This collection shows how educational ideas have always traveled across the world, well before the fashionable talk of globalization. For most of the twentieth century, traveling ideas