Abstract
ABSTRACTThis 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.
Highlights
For a number of years writers have noted ‘a surprising return to the theme of utopia in educational philosophy’ and pointed to ‘the educational comeback of utopia’ more generally (Lewis, 2007, 683; Papastephanou, 2013, 23)
What this means for a utopian realism is that ‘we look to utopia not as a place we might reach but as an ongoing process of becoming’
The educational real utopias discussed in this paper are symptomatic of what Fred Inglis terms the stunting of the utopian imagination (2004, 4)
Summary
For a number of years writers have noted ‘a surprising return to the theme of utopia in educational philosophy’ and pointed to ‘the educational comeback of utopia’ more generally (Lewis, 2007, 683; Papastephanou, 2013, 23). In order to avoid sacrificing its intellectual force without at the same time ignoring the bitter experiences of that which has been done in its name, we would have to redefine utopia in a way that distinguishes it from the utopia that played a role in the human catastrophes of the twentieth century (Rüsen, 2005, 278). To outline the concept of utopian realism and highlight those aspects that are said to differentiate it from the utopia that supposedly played a role in the human catastrophes of the twentieth century. The paper secondly evaluates a selection of educational real utopias to assess whether they can, be said to have succeeded in the task of harnessing the intellectual force while overcoming the dangers of traditional utopianism. The paper concludes by defending 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
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