PHILOSOPHY of EDUCATION SOCIETY

February 2008 Update

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Contents

  1. President’s Message.  Changing the Conference Yearbook: Michael Katz
  2. Five killer reasons to pay your dues now; Elections and the Scoop: Sasha Sidorkin
  3. Conference Update (with draft Program): Ron Glass
  4. Calls for proposals and announcements
  5. New books by PES members

President’s Message:  Changing the Conference Yearbook? 
Michael S. Katz

I am restraining myself here from discussing why I think this year’s PES program in Cambridge should be FANTASTIC, for doing so might be viewed as biased and  self-serving. But please look the conference program over carefully and plan on coming.  For Boston and New England sports fans, I am pleased with my fall presidential message predicting that this could become a miracle sporting year for Boston sporting teams. It has exceeded this Boston fan’s expectations, with the  Red Sox triumphing as World Series Champions, the New England Patriots going  to the Super Bowl in Arizona on February 3 undefeated in 19 games, and the Celtics playing  great basketball like Celtics teams of old.

But what I want to focus upon in this brief message is something rare in PES history—a chance for the membership to participate in a critical forthcoming policy decision—on whether to change the conference Yearbook to an online publication. The reasons for considering this momentous change are two-fold: a) the present volume has significant  rising costs and limited readership;  b) an online volume will have increased flexibility, significantly lower costs, far faster publication time,  and  potentially expanded readership.  One critical issue, however, is the status of online publications and the perceived legitimacy of the written responses.  In any case, a task force report will be found in this issue and an online dialogue will be occurring in the two months prior to the conference. My fervent hope is that all of you will take this critical issue seriously so that the business meeting of PES (where the issue will be decided) can be informed by your ideas—especially if you do not attend that meeting.  I realize this approach to “indirect democratic participation” in decision making is experimental at best, but I urge all of you to consider the strategic importance of the Yearbook to the well being of our field, a field that many view as “politically invisible” and “educationally irrelevant.” The conference this year illustrates that many philosophical scholars still seek to be published in our field—over 100 papers submitted for approximately 25-30 slots.  Serious competition!  So here is my appeal:  Please read the Task Force Report on the Yearbook carefully and make an effort to have your voice heard in the online dialogue that Executive Director Sasha Sidorkin is making available.  I will be grateful to all of you who do take this decision seriously.  It warrants your thoughtful attention. And I hope to see many of you in Cambridge in April.  I hope 2008 will be a great year for all of you.

Read the Yearbook Proposal and Dicuss it

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Dues, Elections. Scoop, too: Sasha Sidorkin

Five killer reasons to pay your dues

We need your money, folks. No, YOU need to pay PES your money. It feels good, it lightens your heart, and it is a right thing to do. Do it for the children. Make your mother proud. (1) If you are not among the 421 listed in the current Directory, we still like you, but just not as much. (2) Besides, you already have missed some great issues of Educational Theory, and will miss more. (3) Also, when you make it to the Conference Registration, you will pay $30 more than members. And (4) finally, I bet you did not get invited to vote or to serve on any of PES Committees this year. And (5) finally-finally: The Executive Board has just approved a new policy: to be published in the Yearbook in any capacity (except as guest speaker), you must pay the dues for the year of the conference. Otherwise, other members (including sore losers like me who got rejected again) will be subsidizing your brilliance. And it ain't fair... Therefore, consequently, and thusly, it is not too late. PES' collective heart is filled with boundless grace. Repent. Pay. Be exceedingly glad.

Elections

  • Nominated for Exec Board: Cris Mayo and Eduardo Duarte
  • Nominated for COPA: Denise Egea-Kuhne and Claudia Ruitenberg

Thanks to the Elections Committee under Kal Alston's leadership. Thanks to the candidates for their willingness to run. If you indeed a true member you have received a link to submit your on-line vote. If you feel you are a member in your innermost being, but have not received a link, contact Sasha

The Scoop

The Elections committee has identified future President-Elect, but we are not telling. You have to come to the business meeting to find out. The committee is also looking into retirement options for me, but you'd need to come to the business meeting to find out who's got the job. Another news: we just signed a contract with Hyatt Regency Montréal for 2009 conference. Thanks are due to Kevin McDonough, the Hospitality Chair, and to David Hansen, PES President-Elect. The rooms are at $149 CDN, which by Spring of 2009 will surely be back to normal $75 US. Mark your calendars March 19 to 22, 2009. See you all in Boston and then in Montréal.    

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Conference Update: Ron Glass, Program Chair

Wow! An amazing group of papers (more than 100) and alternative session and works-in-progress proposals (more than 50) were submitted for consideration by the Program Committee! I was humbled by the range of philosophic traditions represented in the work, by the diverse approaches to both perennial and new questions, and by the vitality of the Society’s new generation of scholars. I must admit as well that reading through this incredible body of work made me sometimes feel quite old, and old-fashioned; I daresay these submissions stretched my conception of just what philosophy and philosophy of education are all about.

My wonderful group of reviewers worked long hours to carefully examine each submission, and the detail and depth of response that they provided made clear to me (and I hope also to the authors) that great care was given to their assessments. The guidance they gave me was crucial in the difficult task of selecting from among many worthy candidates to put together a program (I am now nearing completion of the program, and you can peruse the DRAFT by clicking here). I wish the conference could last twice as long to fully represent the strength of our Society and to afford more opportunity for sustained discussions on topics of mutual interest.

As it is, you will find much to whet your philosophical appetites with an incredibly strong group of sessions from beginning to end. Please plan to arrive early, and stay through the closing concurrent sessions. You won’t want to miss any of it.

The highlights include Richard Bernstein’s Kneller Lecture on Democracy and Education (responses by Walter Feinberg and Emily Robertson), and Bernstein’s dialogue with Nel Noddings on Evil and Education (moderated by Audrey Thompson). President Michael Katz will speak on Teaching with Integrity, with Deborah Kerdeman and Nel Noddings providing responses. Michael is the Society’s best known mensch, and his paper reflects his insights drawn from a career-long concern for his students’ well-being.

Our general sessions include:

  • a panel with Harvard philosophers Stanley Cavell and Hilary Putnam on the Education of Grown-ups (with commentary by Naoko Saito and Paul Standish);
  • a paper by Ann Chinnery on “premodern postures for a postmodern ethics” (response by Sharon Todd); and,
  • a paper by Jennifer Logue on “unbelievable truths and the dilemmas of ignorance” (response by Huey-li Li).

You will find thematic paths through the conference, linking papers, alternative sessions, and Topical Conversations (a new format that reconstructs what were formerly works-in-progress sessions). These paths center on topics in moral and political philosophy of education, and are meant to encourage sustained engagement with issues such as race, religion, or citizenship. There is also a thematic path that concentrates on the nature of philosophy of education, past, present, and future.

As always, we have a sprinkling of receptions for casual reconnections with old friends and the making of new ones, and we will share some good humor together when we celebrate the contributions of Denis Phillips with a roast at the Presidential Luncheon.

Altogether, this is a profoundly rich program; check it out for yourself! There is something here for everyone, and more than can be taken in by any one….     

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Hospitality Committee: Kelly Kolodny

April is a wonderful time in Boston.  Duck tour buses crowd the streets taking passengers to locations such as the golden-domed State House, Bunker Hill, the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Common, Copley Square, and the Big Dig. The jogging paths of the Charles River, located across the street from the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, are fully utilized.  The restaurants on Newbury Street are alive with laughter, discussion and music. The PES April 2008 conference promises to be memorable.

The PES hospitality committee members met in October 2007 to discuss and plan for the upcoming conference. They are a thoughtful and dedicated group who look forward to making PES members feel welcomed at the conference. Hospitality members include:

Ana Martinez Aleman, Boston College
Avi Bernstein Nahar, Hebrew College
Eduardo Duarte, Hofstra University
Ron Giacoponello, University of New Hampshire
Kelly Kolodny, Framingham State College
Barbara Peterson, University of New Hampshire
Doris Santoro Gomez, Bowdoin College
Dorothy Vasquez-Levy, Southern Connecticut State University

Plans are underway for a new member reception and a Kneller reception at the April PES meeting.  A fabulous Boston North End buffet is being planned for the Presidential luncheon. Following the format of previous PES conferences, continental breakfasts will be served in the morning, as well as some beverage breaks during the afternoons.

The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau will provide PES conference participants with maps of Boston as well as a visitor guide. In addition, BostonUSA cards will be distributed that provide discounts to various places in the city.

Please be sure to reserve your room at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you at the PES conference in April 2008.

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Conference registration and Hotel reservations: Sasha

The registration and reservation information has been available on-line for quite a while. Remember, we have an on-line registration and hotel registration, and the deadline to get a discounted hotel room is 3/20/2008. The on-line registration is really the most convenient for all persons involved, including your humble servant. You can pay with credit cards or checks, through the on-line registration system. It's $120 for members, $150 for friends and fellow-travelers, $30 for student members, and $60 for student friends and fellow-travelers. The unemployed people have always been treated by PES as students. This is really a good deal. Compare to International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association, which charges $225. Rural Water Association of Utah conference will set you back $395.00. Even the Science Fiction Research Association Conference is $180. Of course, the Gas Turbine Users Association conference is going to cost you $695. As you can see our fees are below competition.

A special message to the new generation of (student) scholars Ron refers to in his update. If you posses vitality, but lack funds, the Society will cram up to four of you in one room for mere $25 a night. You might share a bed with a stranger, but it is a good way to meet other vital people, who will eventually inherit the Earth and PES. The student rooms are close to being full, but I still have a few places left, so e-mail me to find out how to reserve and pay.     To Contents

Book Fair: Joe Meinhart

Joe Meinhart, from the University of Oklahoma, has agreed to serve as the Coordinator of the Book Fair for the Cambridge conference.  If you have a recently published work, contact Joe before March 1st to make sure it is available in the Book Fair. With the help of the Library for Social Sciences, we expect a good Book Fair experience. As we did last year, the Book Fair will be hosting Authors' Chat Sessions. If you would like to participate in a Chat Session or if you have thoughts about materials for the Fair, please email him at jmeinhart@gmail.com. To Contents

Calls for proposals and announcements

  • Call for papers for the 3rd International Conference on Philosophical Pedagogy, held under the patronage of the B.F. Trentowski Society of Philosophy of Education, Łódź, Poland, 19th - 21st September 2008.
    The conference's key theme: 20th century philosophy of education in Europe. Bogdan Suchodolski's works in the field of philosophy of education. The aim of the conference is to trace modernist and postmodernist concepts in the field of the philosophy of education which came into being during the turbulent 20th century. All those who are interested in participation are kindly asked to download the conference registration form from the www.pedagogika-filozoficzna.edu.pl  website. Please send the registration forms by 15th February, 2008.
  • We are pleased to announce the third annual International Philosophy of Education Student Summer School at Roehampton University in London from Monday 30 June to Friday 4 July 2008. This intensive one-week Summer School will be led by Professor Harry Brighouse and the theme is to be Social Justice and Education.
  • Conference: “Education forum ‘Right to Education: Future Perspectives,’” organized by the Turkish Education Association.  The forum will take place at the TED Ankara College in Ahlatlibel, Ankara, between Monday 28th and Wednesday 30th January 2008.  This anticipated event will bring together a mixture of prominent scholars and leaders in education, business, academics, journalism, as well as leading politicians from Turkey, member states of the EU, and other countries. If you are able to attend, please reply to the conference secretariat in Ankara, where Mr. Serdar Dinler (serdar.dinler@ted.org.tr) will co-ordinate replies. 
  • Call for Papers: Journal of Educational Controversy, an interdisciplinary journal of ideas Special Issue in Honor of Maxine Greene Winter 2009 Volume 4 Number 1. Theme: Art, Social Imagination and Democratic Education.
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New books by PES members

CONTACT: PES Executive Director Jeff Milligan
850-644-8171; milligan@coe.fsu.edu