Theory and philosophy can function as resistor to disciplinary thinking. This occurs in part because theory and philosophy are generated across disciplinary boundaries, but also because it functions at the deepest roots of human academic endeavor to interrogate the genealogy of knowledge itself. Integrating more theory and philosophy into the EDEA curriculum would enable more focus on research and induce thinking that is able to resist the confines of the discipline and open up thought. It could also help to introduce new students into higher education thought. New students can be those who are new to the curriculum of higher education administration but who have worked in the field in some capacity, as well as those who have never before worked in the field. Sometimes we cannot know anything about a discipline until we can view it from the outside. A course built around theory/philosophy would promote deep thinking that does not have to rely upon experience or practice in the field.
I envision a first semester course where students discuss the functioning of power, agency and governance. In order to understand how power works you have to talk about governance, and understanding power is essential to identify when change is needed. This approach promotes accountability for what is being delivered rather than accountability for only meeting standards or outcome.
If we are educating people to be successful in a world that does not yet exist then we need more than a paradigm shift. Don't we need the tools by which we can question the very foundations of paradigms and the thought that creates them?
I do think it would have been helpful to read Tagg's book earlier in my college career. I do not think I would have been able to handle it as a freshman, but maybe in my senior year as I prepared to apply for graduate schools. It would have introduced me to a new way of learning.
ReplyDeleteAfter your first paragraph, I thought the course would fall in the same category as the 602 course. But as I read on, it sounded closer to 657 Intro. In class we discussed when 657 should be taken. Maybe the course you suggest should be taken early on, within the first year of the program (I only say this because if some students are only able to take one class per semester, then they would have to choose between your course and the 657). Ideally, I think the two would complement each other well if taken together.