This paper emerges from a set of questions about what it means pedagogically to undertake the paradoxical and difficult task of "unlearning" the emotional experience of imperialism. The analysis discusses the notion of 'emotional imperialism' and the various forms in might take; to do so, the author draws on concepts from affect theory…

'Cosmopolitan nationalism' may be employed by international English language schools (IELS) as an ideology to create representations that simultaneously account for local/national agendas and support cosmopolitan understandings and practices. A fundamental factor for IELS' popularity is their ability to mobilize themselves within students' and…

Responding to both recent interest in sound within qualitative education research and sound studies literature that conceptualizes sound as a posthuman technology, we use this paper to explore the following research questions: How does sound both enact and unveil posthuman learning ecologies? And how can education scholars engage sound within…

Dual language (DL) programs in the United States are increasingly promoted as a promising model that serves both language majority and minoritized children. However, many researchers also question whether the programs are truly serving the language minoritized students, or are these programs only treating their language as a resource to serve the…

This paper critically analyzes gap discourses in student learning, starting from the achievement gap, education debt, and opportunity gaps, applying the lens of coloniality, racial-capitalism, and modernity (CRCM). Gap discourses are the prevalent rationale behind educational policies and school reforms globally. Specifically in the United States,…

In this theoretical and provocative paper our aim is to problematize universal ideals, and the closely related belief in educationalization, that frame education today. Inspired by the ethico-political work of Agamben ([2007]. "Profanations." New York: Zone Books), and his focus on profane acts of play, and Zupancic's ([2008]. "The…

This paper uses critical discourse analysis and critical literacy to analyze the first in a series of literacy primers developed with US support for children in Afghanistan in the 1980s, called 'Jihad literacy'. The text is analyzed for its ideological content as related to the themes of religion, violence, and martyrdom in the historical…

In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which the notion of 'home' has been invoked in the context of ideas about belonging and nationalism in the wake of the recent EU Referendum in Britain. I focus particularly on Roger Scruton's account of 'oikophobia', and explore some ways in which, while questioning the pathologisation of 'not…

Elite schools, both private and public, consistently top metrics of success around the world. This article mobilises an antistrophon -- turning an argument against itself -- to expose elite schools' rhetorical defences. As part of this device, four provocations are offered -- knowledge, excellence, merit, values -- that coincide with elite…

This paper explores school structure in an all-girls, predominantly African American middle class school to examine the ways in which discourses of education, race, gender, and science work to position middle school, African American girls as outside of science. Using discourse analysis, two prominent school signs are presented, a bulletin board…

English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and students are often pressured to use generic, globally published textbooks featuring 'inner-circle' social realities. While some studies look at specific instances of content that socially marginalizes their intended audiences, few attempt comprehensive examinations of the multimodal ensembles on…

Turkey has become a powerful example of rising ethno-religious nationalism since the ruling Justice and Development Party allied with the Nationalist Movement Party in 2016. Conceptualising the political ideology in power as Islamic nationalism, I expose ways in which this ideology is articulated in the education reform discourse of 'new Turkey'…

This article examines the role of school textbooks on nation-building in China by examining how the Chinese concepts of "minzu" and "Zhonghua Minzu" are constructed in elementary language and social studies textbooks. This study draws on the relationships between ideology and school curriculum as its theoretical framework and…

This article conceptualizes religion as a critical theory challenge to sexuality education. Religious views in sexuality education are often perceived as intolerant and incompatible with today's progressive and modern society. This article engages with the idea that the inclusion of religious viewpoints on sexuality will challenge the efficacy of…

The aim of this paper is to consider the ways in which Arendt's writings on totalitarianism act as a warning sign for political and miseducational circumstances in the USA. Because the term totalitarianism has been used imprudently (largely in the mass media) to express repressive conditions in so-called models of democracy, this paper seeks to…