Symposium Funded Through a Faculty of Education International Research Visiting Fellowship
This is an event series of four symposia featuring Dr. Walter Omar Kohan, researcher of the National Council of Research of Brazil (CNPq). His main area of inquiry is the relationship between childhood, education and philosophy, and is currently a Visiting Researcher at ECPS.
Symposium 1: “Child-time, Timing Childhood”
Friday, October 20th, 2017
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Neville Scarfe Building 2125 Main Mall, Room 310
In this symposium, we will go back to Heraclitus to take a look at the relationship between time (aion) and child (pais). In addition, we will examine other concepts of Greek time (e.g. chronos, kairos) to consider alternative concepts of childhood. Finally we will explore how a concept of time affects our understanding of childhood and how a concept of childhood affects our understanding of time and education.
Bibliography:
Jacques Derrida (1991), Donner le temps. Paris: Galilée,
Heraclitus (2001). Maior Edition by Miroslav Marcovich. Sankt Augustin: Academia Publisher.
Kohan, W. (2014). Philosophy and Childhood. New York: Palgrave.
Symposium 2: “What Does it Mean to Teach? Between Ignorance, Invention and Emancipation”
Friday, February 2nd, 2018
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Neville Scarfe Building 2125 Main Mall, Room 310
In this second symposium, we will connect the ideas of ignorance, invention, and emancipation. We will start with different notions of ignorance in order to question the role of the educator. Here we will examine the Socratic ignorance through the critiques of “The ignorant schoolmaster” by J. Rancière. We’ll also present the idea of invention inspired by Simón Rodríguez (far from the neoliberal apology of creativity and invention). The question “What does it mean to teach?” will be raised in this symposium.
Bibliography:
Kohan, W. (2015) The inventive schoolmaster. Rotterdam: Sense.
Plato. The Apology of Socrates. Several Editions.
Rancière, J. (1991) The ignorant schoolmaster. Translated by Kristin Ross (Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Rodríguez, S. (2001). Obra Completa. Caracas: Presidencia de la República.
Symposium 3: “What Does it Mean to Think? From Philosophy for Children to Childhood in Philosophy”
Friday, March 16nd, 2018
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Neville Scarfe Building 2125 Main Mall, Room 310
This symposium will focus on Deleuze and the dogmatic image of thinking. We will contrast ‘thinking as a skill’ with ‘thinking as encounter’. We will be talking about Foucault’s two notions of philosophy in his later words, i.e. Socrates and philosophy as way of life; Thinking, education and dialogue as well as a philosophical revisit of Paulo Freire.
Bibliography:
Deleuze, G. (1994) Difference and Repetition. New York: Columbia University Press.
Foucault, M. (2001) The hermeneutics of the subject. New York: Palgrave
______. (2011) The courage of truth. New York: Palgrave.
Kohan, W. (2015) Childhood, education and Philosophy. New York: Routledge.
Plato. The Apology of Socrates. Several Editions.
Symposium 4: “In Between University and Public Schools: a Research Project at the State University of Rio de Janeiro”
Friday, May 4nd, 2018
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Neville Scarfe Building 2125 Main Mall, Room 310
This symposium will address: school and schole; public school in Latin America: an extension Project in a Public University; teacher education and philosophical inquiry; Children, adults and childhood in the philosophical and educational adventure.
Bibliography:
Kohan, W. Olarieta, F. (2012). A escola pública aposta no pensamento. Belo Horizonte: Autêntica.
Kohan, W. (2013) Does Philosophy Fit in Caxias? A Latin American Project In: Goering, S. & Mohr Lone, J. (eds) Philosophy in Schools.New York : Routledge, p. 86-96.