The University of Sheffield is hosting a free one day conference on Michel Foucault’s relevance to education. The conference will be held January 24, 2014.  The deadline for abstract submissions is September 20, 2013.

This conference will critically review the extended impact of Michel Foucault on educational research. Educational researchers have made frequent use of Foucault’s ideas, concepts and perspectives. The common assumption that Foucault ‘would have something to say’ or that the Foucauldian perspective must have something to offer, has brought Foucault into the educational canon. This conference will examine the costs of this widespread adoption, for Foucault, his ethos, and for educational research.

Those ‘faithful’ to a Foucauldian ethos may, indeed, sense these dangers most acutely. This conference will ask whether those committed to a spirit of critique that retains its value only to the extent that it remains marginal, able to upset convention, common sense, and popular perception, might wish to reconsider their allegiances. Now that Foucault has become a mainstream educational theorist, is it finally time to Forget Foucault?

Find out more from the University of Sheffield website.

[Via Foucault News]