Poststructuralism, Politics and Education

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The poststructuralist critique of subject-centered reason is investigated, both historically and theoretically, against the background of the modernity/postmodernity and information society debates. Peters criticizes neoliberal constructions of the subject in education that rest heavily on the assumption of economic man. He searches for viable contemporary political forms by investigating the role of intellectuals and education in postmodern culture; the neoliberal doctrine of the self-limiting state; and its construction of market subjects such as education and the politics of space, ethics after Auschwitz, science and technology, the critical role of mass media, cybernetics and cyberspace, democracy and the politics of difference.

Reviews

"Mike Peters is one of the few contemporary educational theorists who knows the urgent questions that need to be raised and has the intellectual guts to bring them into the arena of debate....it is difficult not to remain highly impressed by the range and scope of Peters' erudition and his scholarly grasp of the field."-Peter McLaren, School of Education University of California, Los Angeles
"Through a number of publications over the last three years, Michael Peters has established himself in education as a leading scholar on poststructuralist thought. This book, along with his recent collection on Lyotard, Education and the Postmodern Condition (Bergin & Garvey, 1995), confirms this judgement. Peters brings together in this latest book...fresh content and insights gained from his extensive and ongoing reading of the original and secondary sources. This will be an important source for educationalists interested in poststructuralist thought and French philosophy since World War II."-James Marshall, Professor and Dean of Education The University of Auckland, New Zealand
"Wide in scope and generous in its insight, Michael Peters' book makes fascinating connections and serves up a smorgasbord of thematic delights as it courses its way through highways and byways of contemporary scholarship. The book is a treasure trove for connoisseurs of postmodern thought."-Colin Lankshear, School of Language and Literacy Education Queensland University of Technology, Australia
A provocative book that also provides a clear insight into the ideas that cluster around the terms "post-structuralism" and "postmodernism." Peters also supplies a cogent theoretical framework for resisting the corporate takeover of education.-Teachers College Record
"A provocative book that also provides a clear insight into the ideas that cluster around the terms "post-structuralism" and "postmodernism." Peters also supplies a cogent theoretical framework for resisting the corporate takeover of education."-Teachers College Record

Author Bio

MICHAEL PETERS is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He is a contributor to Kanpol and McLaren's Critical Multiculturalism: Uncommon Voices in a Common Struggle (Bergin & Garvey, 1995). and editor of Education and the Postmodern Condition (Bergin & Garvey, 1995), a collection of essays on the signficance of Jean-Francois Lyotard for the field of education.