Guardians of the Future: International Organisations, Anticipatory Governance & Education

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This webinar will see Susan L. Robertson (University of Cambridge) discuss her recent paper - a comparative analysis of the anticipatory practices deployed strategically and over time by two international organisations (IOs), UNESCO and the OECD, to govern education futures.

She will show how their coordination of education futures through anticipatory practices is mediated by:

1. their very different histories, missions, resources and geo-political alliances;
2. use of different anticipatory practices –a “philosophy of the future” versus a “science of the future”;
3. ongoing tensions between the two organisations around who dominates future-making in education; and
4. new challenges to be negotiated when anticipated futures arrive as problematic presents.

Her argument is developed around three moments of crisis which open up arenas for hyper-projectivity around possible futures (Mische 2014). In each of these moments of hyper-projectivity, she will explore the ways in which UNESCO and the OECD engage in efforts to frame, shape and materialise future presents, and in doing so, claim for themselves the role of guardian of education futures.

This event, along with the other activities of the ANGEL network, is co-funded by the European Union.*

Format & Sessions

This event is to be hosted via Zoom and will be Chaired by Massimiliano Tarozzi (ANGEL Coordinator / University Bologna). Registered participants will be emailed a link in the days before the event, and also 30 minutes before as a reminder. Time after the presentations will be given over to questions and discussion.

The ANGEL Webinar Series

This event is part of a series of online events run by the Academic Network for Global Education & Learning. The series is aimed at Global Education professionals, as well as anyone with an interest in research in the fields of Development Education, Global Citizenship Education, Human Rights Education, Education for Sustainable Development, Education for Peace, and Intercultural Education.

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Speaker

Susan L. Robertson is Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, Fellow of Wolfson College, and Distinguished Professor Aarhus University. She has written extensively on globalisation, regionalisation and state-craft, with a specific focus on education. Susan’s recent books include Global Regionalisms and Higher Education, and Public Private Partnerships in Education. She is also founding editor, and currently Co-Editor in Chief of Globalisation, Societies and Education.

* The establishment of this network and website has been made possible with funding support from the European Commission. The activities and publications of the network are the responsibilities of the organisers, the Development Education Research Centre, and can in no way be seen as reflecting the views of the European Commission.