Overview
- Provides an in-depth examination of Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary theory in its 18th and early 19th century contexts
- Comprehensively elaborates Jefferson’s role in developing an ideological rationale for public education in the United States
- Applies the insights afforded by this theory to the contemporary and future educational scene
Part of the book series: The Cultural and Social Foundations of Education (CSFE)
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Table of contents (11 chapters)
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Promise: Revolutionary Rhetoric for a Democratic America
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Declension: Betrayal of Founding Principles
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Renewal: Reconstructing Educational Purpose
Keywords
About this book
This book newly interprets the educational implications of Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary thought. In an age where American democracy is imperilled and the civic purposes of schooling eviscerated, Burch turns to Jefferson to help bring to life the values and principles that must be recovered in order for Americans to transcend the narrow purposes of education prescribed by today’s neoliberal paradigm. The author argues that critical engagement with the most radical dimensions of Jefferson’s educational philosophy can establish a rational basis upon which to re-establish the civic purposes of public education. Bracketing the defining features of Jefferson's theory throughout each of the chapters, the author illuminates the deficiencies of the dominant educational paradigm, and charts a new path forward for its progressive renewal.
Reviews
—Johann N. Neem, Professor, Western Washington University, USA, and author of Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America (2017)
“Burch intriguingly brings Jefferson to bear on significant struggles in American life today. Emphasizing Jefferson’s call to cultivating the critical and experimental dimensions of active citizenship, Burch offers helpful curricular suggestions that cultivate democratic habits, call students to inquiry, and ignite their openness to change. Burch crafts an imaginative space that encourages all of us to reconstruct American democracy and our lives as citizens.”
—Sarah M. Stitzlein, Professor of Education and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy, University of Cincinnati, USA, and author of Learning How to Hope: Reviving Democracy Through Our Schools and Civil Society(2019)
“Democratic education in the United States is endangered. Maybe it is time for a revolution. Kerry Burch reminds us of the insurgent spirit endemic to our nation by returning us to Thomas Jefferson’s educational philosophy and the democratic-revolutionary tradition initiated by the American Revolution.”
—Jim Garrison, Professor in the Foundations of Education Program, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Kerry T. Burch is Professor of Philosophy of Education at Northern Illinois University, USA. He is the author of Democratic Transformations: Eight Conflicts in the Negotiation of American Identity (recipient of the 2014 Society of Professors of Education Book Award) and Eros as the Educational Principle of Democracy (2000). In his teaching and research, he is committed to a vision of democratic moral education anchored in the need to keep the enlightenment-oriented spirit of education alive.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Jefferson’s Revolutionary Theory and the Reconstruction of Educational Purpose
Authors: Kerry T. Burch
Series Title: The Cultural and Social Foundations of Education
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45763-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-45762-4Published: 28 May 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-45765-5Published: 29 May 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-45763-1Published: 27 May 2020
Series ISSN: 2946-2177
Series E-ISSN: 2946-2185
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 201
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour
Topics: Educational Philosophy, History of Education, US History