Feats of Strength for Weak Utopianism: Giorgio Agamben,Educational Potentiality and the Studious Spatiality of the Active Learning Classroom

One outcome of the increasing interest from philosophy of education circles in the work of Giorgio Agamben has been the possibility of apparently small alterations to enact a radical emancipatory change. This ‘weak utopianism’ (Lewis, 2013) found in Agamben's work means that traditionally radical changes are viewed with skepticism, as grand alternative designs often merely result in the operationalisation and actualisation of new ordering rather emancipation. In a recent commentary on Agamben's philosophy of education, Igor Jasinski (2018) argues that the theory of weak utopianism means that innovative classroom designs ‘should not be considered’ examples of Agambenian philosophy of education at work. In this article, I respond through an analysis of the case of active learning classrooms. Despite existing as a form of innovative classroom design, I argue that they nevertheless abide Agambenian principles in the philosophy of education as spaces open to—without demanding—study. The active learning classroom is not the ideal‐type studious space but a paradigm, the case that stands outside of (while standing in for) the rest of the set. Situated in‐between inspiration and implementation, I argue that active learning classrooms are the paradoxically strongest form of weak utopianism, leaving educational potentiality open while also representing a significant rethinking of the spatiality of the classroom. Active learning classrooms thus pose significant questions both for Agambenian philosophy of education in particular and critical pedagogy in general.     

Kant versus the Managers: Historical Reconstruction and the Modern University

This paper examines the role of normative ideals in contemporary critiques of the university. It begins by suggesting that the normative ideal of the university advanced by Immanuel Kant in The Conflict of the Faculties is particularly relevant to current critiques, as exemplified by a manifesto produced at the University of Aberdeen entitled ‘Reclaiming our University’. The second portion of the paper notes that such critiques cannot however encompass all aspects of the modern university. The paper thus concludes that a Kantian framework enables a narrower, but more powerful critique of New Public Management, which foregrounds issues of legitimate conflict within the university and its institutional reproduction over time instead of speaking to broader concerns about the university's civic/humanist origins     

丰田背后二三事

丰田到底怎么啦? 其实也不是太大的问题.至少不是工程、机械,甚至是质量的问题.如果你像丰田那样能生产出高品质的汽车,你就可以在全球汽车行业中高速前进.尽管汽车已经是人们所熟悉的机械设备,但它也是非常复杂的东西.     

The Effects of Group Supervisor Roles on Practicum Students' Interview Behavior

This study investigated the effects of two supervisory roles (restrictive and nonrestrictive), when used within the small group practicum seminar, on counselor trainees' ability to emit understanding, affective, and exploratory responses in their final counseling interviews at the end of training. These results were compared to those of a control group that did not use a supervisor. Significant differences were observed only in the ability of the trainees to emit understanding responses.     

Systems Techniques Applied to Teaching Listening Skills

The application of systems techniques to counselor education is explored as one means of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of counselor education. The application of systems technology to counselor education is demonstrated by the use of the systems approach in the teaching of a basic counseling technique—the open-end lead. The “Open-end Lead Training Package” is presented to demonstrate the necessary developmental steps involved in the application of systems techniques to the teaching of a counseling skill. The developmental steps are (a) determine the training objective, (b) identify the tasks that will best meet the objective, (c) arrange the tasks in the most efficient and effective order, and (d) collect data that will verify or question the success of the training decisions that have been made. The strengths and weaknesses of systems techniques as applied to counselor education are discussed.     

Human Sexuality Instruction in Counselor Education Curricula

The authors sent a questionnaire assessing curricula on sexual counseling to chairpersons of all counselor education programs in the United States. Results show the current status of sexuality instruction for counselors.