What Makes a Progressive Education? Reconsidering Self-Development and Social Solidarity from an Educational Perspective
Baptiste Cornardeau (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

5.30-7.15 pm

Through education, as John Dewey pointed out, “a society transforms uninitiated and seemingly alien beings into robust trustees of its own resources and ideals.” Maintaining some degree of social coherence and solidarity is then inherent in any authentic educational process. But a truly democratic education must also guarantee significant opportunities for personal autonomy and individual creativity. How to make sure however that the legitimate concern for self-development is not turned into a managerial conception of the individual as a strategic agent responsible for the optimization of its use of the educational resources available? How should autonomy be balanced against solidarity?
 
Baptiste Cornardeau is a PhD student at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He graduated from École Normale Supérieure (ENS) and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, and was a teaching assistant at Harvard University. He was also a visiting student at the Sapienza University of Rome and a Fulbright visiting student at the University of Chicago. His research interests focus on American pragmatism (especially George H. Mead and John Dewey), moral and social philosophy, and the philosophy of education.
 
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