My Teaching, My Philosophy

John Baldacchino is Chair of Arts Education at the University of Dundee in Scotland. He specializes in art, philosophy, and education and is the author of nine books, including Education Beyond Education (2009), Makings of the Sea (2010), Art’s Way Out (2012), Democracy without Confession (with Kenneth Wain, 2013), and John Dewey (2013).Simone Galea is Senior Lecturer of Philosophy of Education at the Department of Education Studies, University of Malta. Her lecturing and research focus on philosophy of education, feminist philosophy and theory, narrative research, antiracist education, and educational aspects of migration.Duncan P. Mercieca is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Education Studies at the University of Malta. His teaching and research are in the areas of philosophy of education, research methodology, and inclusive education.

• Content: John Baldacchino/Simone Galea/Duncan P. Mercieca: Introduction. My Teaching, My Philosophy – David N. Aspin: Kenneth Wain and the Protean Challenge of Lifelong Education and the Learning Society – Peter Mayo: Revisiting «Lifelong Learning». 13 Years after the Memorandum – Marianna Papastephanou: What’s in an Examined Life? Longing for Philosophy in the Age of Learning Societies – Ronald G. Sultana: Lifelong Guidance, Citizen Rights, and the State: Reclaiming the Social Contract – Peter Serracino Inglott: Toward an Auto-Poetic and Postmodern Europe – Laura Elizabeth Pinto/John Portelli: The Dangers of Liberal/Rationalist Policy Discourse and the Role of the Philosopher in Disrupting It – Michael A. Peters: White Philosophy in/of America – Joe Friggieri: Objectivity, Evidence, and Truth in History – Simone Galea: Self-Writing, the Feminine, and the Educational Constitution of the Self – Sharon Todd: Pedagogy as Transformative Event: Becoming Singularly Present in Context – Pádraig Hogan: Integrity and Subordination in Educational Practice – Tone Kvernbekk: My Practice, Our Practice – Raphael Vella: An Apprenticeship in Resistance: Art, Education, and Book Burning – Ivan Callus: Tall Buildings, Taller Orders, or, the Immodesty of Literature – Daniela Mercieca/Duncan P. Mercieca: Initiating a Different Kind of Conversation between Philosophy of Education and Educators – John Baldacchino: Art, Paralogy, and Education: In Conversation with Kenneth Wain’s Philosophical Interlocutors – Kenneth Wain: Autobiography: Self-(re)-Education beyond Literature and Philosophy – Sandra M. Dingli: The Role of Philosophy: Questions Rorty Raises – Paul Standish: Momentous Occasions: Philosophy and Autobiography in Richard Rorty, Stanley Cavell, and Kenneth Wain – Richard Smith: Citizenship, Therapy, and the Politics of Irony.

«A fitting tribute to one of the University of Malta’s leading and most internationally published philosophers. He has inspired generations of prospective educators and philosophy students with his lectures and writings since he first joined the university thirty-five years ago. A role model for any scholar and teacher.» (Peter Mayo, Professor of Education, University of Malta)«Kenneth Wain is an acute observer of the contemporary philosophical landscape and his analyses and commentaries always rank with me as among the most intelligent, critical, and fair of our generation. He has a wealth of experience in senior positions, as an advisor to government, and in administrative matters yet despite the huge demands on his time he somehow found the time to read widely and carefully. His work has made a big difference to the discipline and I enjoyed collaborating with him. He is an exemplary academic and intellectual as I think this edited collection amply demonstrates.» (Michael A. Peters, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois; Professor, Policy, Cultural, and Social Studies in Education, University of Waikato)«Kenneth Wain’s pioneering educational-philosophical thought introduced valuable sensibilities and critical insights regarding, inter alia, governmentality, rhetoric, truth, lifelong education, the learning society, and the educated self. After Wain’s handling of such issues philosophers of education can no longer turn an ‘innocent’ gaze to the constellation ‘power, knowledge, and performativity’ without exposing themselves to the charge of researching inadequately and ignoring much important ground that Wain has already covered. Thus, Wain’s work rightfully merits its prominent position (within and outside our field) as a point of reference for any future exploration of related topics.» (Marianna Papastephanou, Professor of Philosophy of Education, University of Cyprus)