Relevance of Tagore’s philosophy of education in postmodern era- a conceptual analysis

Abstract

Tagore, a great intellectual of the 19 century is perhaps one of the best social thinkers and reformers that the world has ever seen. His views on every aspect of the individual and social life have profound impact even after century. In his thoughts, one can find the culmination of both eastern and western ideologies. In today’s conflict ridden, complex society Tagore’s ideas act as a panacea for numerous issues that encounter us. Postmodernism on the other hand refers to that period of history, which has witnessed new circumstances of life in society. It represents important social and cultural changes of the present day and rejects the claims of classical social thinkers about the universalistic ideas about individuals, society and the world .It establish a highly pluralistic and diverse view about society with no grand narratives guiding its development. It suggests multiple quotations, cultural cross over and multicultural borrowing even in the field of education in general and society. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyse the relevance of Tagore’s philosophy of education in the postmodern era and how Tagore’s ideas are still in conformity with the major tenets of postmodern educational philosophy. Plethora of writings is available on Tagore’s philosophy and even on postmodernism. But very few attempts have been made on this specific arena. Therefore the paper entitled ‘’ RELEVENCE OF TAGORE’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN THE POSTMODERN ERA, A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS ‘’ has been designed with a view to analyze postmodern education and pointing out its essential similarities with Tagore’s philosophy of education.