Is ‘the posthuman’ educable? On the convergence of educational philosophy, animal studies, and posthumanist theory

Abstract

Formal education in Western society is firmly rooted in humanist ideals. ‘Becoming human’ by cultivating certain cognitive, social, and moral abilities has even symbolised the idea of education as such in Enlightenment philosophical traditions. These ideas are increasingly coming under scrutiny by posthumanist theorists, who are addressing fundamental ontological and epistemological questions about defining an essential ‘human nature’, as well as the elastic boundary work between the human and nonhuman subject. This paper responds to the ongoing discussions on the diverse articulations of posthumanism in education theory and animal studies by investigating possibilities of a shared conceptual framework that allows for a productive dialogue between them. By analysing some of the meanings attached to the notion of posthumanism in education theory and animal studies, the paper begins to identify some instabilities of humanist traditions/ideals of education and explores posthumanist challenges to research on the institutionalised production, mediation, and development of knowledge.