Call for Papers: history and philosophy of education for The Business of School: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Educational-industrial Complex

Call for Papers: history and philosophy of education

for

The Business of School: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Educational-industrial Complex, edited by Michael Hanegan and Joshua Ward Jeffery (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock).

This volume is intended to examine and interrogate the historical and ethical constructions  of education (from both philosophical and theological points of view) as a business enterprise or “industrial complex.” While we seek to incorporate theological concepts and methods into the conversation of ethics in education, this text’s intended audience and goals are broad and inclusive, embracing both the religious and secular. Therefore, contributions to the volume are sought from a broad base of scholars, including historians and philosophers of education, other scholars of education, historians, philosophers, ethicists, religious studies scholars, and theologians. Scholars of religion from outside the Christian tradition are also welcome. This text, as part of a larger series on the ethics of business, should provide a compendium of neo-liberal, global, and capitalistic effects on the entirety of human lives, related to education. 

The volume will include four parts. Part one will serve as an introduction to the theological/education foundations of the study and ethical critique of education, featuring an invited senior scholar. Sections two and three will examine the history, philosophy/theology, and ethics of education. Section two will be centered on K-12 education, while section three will be centered on higher education. Section four will provide theological and ethical responses to the business of education, using the common threads that develop over the course of the chapters in sections two and three, and will be written by invited scholars. An appendix will feature a curated bibliography of sources that touch upon the critiques and constructive alternatives articulated in relation to the educational industrial complex. 

The editors are currently seeking contributions for sections two and three, on the history and philosophy of education. 

For Section 2 (History/Philosophy of K-12 Education), we invite contributions that address our topic broadly, but we are especially interested in proposals that address or provide:

• A brief survey of the history and ethics of American K-12 education

• History and ethics of Indigenous Education

• Privatization and philanthropic Impacts on K-12 (Pedagogy for other people’s children)

• The impact of homeschooling and textbooks 

• Assessment and the big data complex in K-12 Education

• History of inequality in education (Brown vs. Board, cutting education funding, etc.)

For Section 3 (History/Philosophy of Higher Education), we invite contributions that address our topic broadly, but we are especially interested in proposals that address or provide:

• A brief survey of history and ethics of American higher education

• The economic shifts from affordable to crippling student debt as a gateway to higher Education

• The history of the impact of the National Defense Education Loan Program (including the end of this program without replacement, the GI Bill, etc.

• The entanglement of political ideology and higher ed funding (e.g., Red Scare)

• History and ethics of Christian education (rise of Liberty and BJU and Regent as a possible teleology).

• The entanglement of college sports and the economic lifelines of higher ed

Contributions from scholars at all career levels are welcome, and contributions from early-career scholars and scholars from underrepresented groups are highly encouraged. The editors are committed to social justice and will make a sustained effort to ensure the broadest possible representation in the contributor pool. 

In your proposal, please include a 100-word abstract, as well as a detailed proposal of up to 750 words including proposed title, argument, sources, and methodology. Also, please include a short form CV with your proposal, and send to: michael@moralcare.org and j.jeffery@navajotech.edu, by June 1, 2021.