Rancière: pedagogy and politics
Rancière's work on education is becoming widely known, but it must be understood in its context to avoid any misleadingly conventional readings and to grasp its general importance. The work on industrial history is obviously connected, but so are the more technical academic criticisms of Althusser, Bourdieu and Marx. These add considerably to conventional discussion by identifying a crucial contradiction between emancipatory goals and necessary hierarchies based on expertise. Rancière's work on aesthetics as a democratic arena has inspired some recent educational experiments in participation. His historical research can also be seen as providing support for current educational struggles against neoliberalism. Rancière's methods are assessed critically in turn, and the connections with Foucault can be seen to both unify the work overall and raise difficulties of its own.