In this essay, we critically reflect upon the ephemeral nature of theatre. Such a reflection becomes particularly important in participatory refugee theatre, since the process of participants' bearing witness to experiences of trauma and violence is emphasised as the core impetus. To this end, we investigate the experiences of Syrian young adults…

This paper is a reflective response to Tena Thau's suggestion -- in her 2024 piece 'Moral Philosophy as War Propaganda' -- that philosophy has little to teach about the war in Gaza (and, by extension, similar cases of widespread, horrific human suffering). I first reconstruct one of the arguments that Thau makes in her piece. I then show that her…

This article examines how the concept of freedom has been appropriated by the far right to impose a number of authoritarian policies designed to dismantle the critical functions of public and higher education. It explores, in particular, the ways in which Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has used an appeal to freedom to punish critics,…

The ongoing ecological crisis and the more recent Coronavirus crisis challenge the grand narrative of Enlightenment that human beings are 'masters of nature'. For millennia, human "social learning" has allowed "Homo sapiens" to outpace most of our competitor creatures and live a comfortable life, but this competitive success…

First Public Lecture sponsored by Teaching Public Administration (delivered at the Public Administration Conference, University of Northumbria 12 September 2018). The author provided views on why public administration is needed now more than ever, outlining how current events necessitate the need for research to inform our teaching and learning.…

In this interview, Prof. Vittorio Bufacchi examines in detail the relationship between two equally challenging issues, i.e. violence and social (in)justice [and their intersection]. In the introductory part, he dicusses what triggered his own interest in violence. At the same time, he examines philosophy's main contribution to discussions over…

An expert on extremism, far-right movements, and youth radicalization, Cynthia Miller-Idriss is the director of research at American University's Center for University Excellence, where she runs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). PERIL addresses issues of youth polarization and extremist radicalization through…

In this Q&A, NEJHE Executive Editor John O. Harney asks Mary K. Grant, president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, about the institute's work connecting postsecondary education to citizenship and upcoming elections.

For many US citizens, the election of Donald Trump was an event that will be etched into our collective psyche. As educational researchers, the challenge is how to prevent it from becoming an Event with a capital E. That almost 63 million US voters, many of whom have attended or graduated from public schools, supported Donald Trump makes the…

On January 10, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Albert Shanker Institute cosponsored a panel moderated by AFT President Randi Weingarten on the role that American education should play in responding to the threats confronting our democracy. Two leading public intellectuals, Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History…

What the election result highlighted for the author is that we definitely need to create broader senses of coalition among many different peoples, whether they be Native American people at Standing Rock, or the Black Lives Matter Movement or our Dreamers--anyone who has been disenfranchised. These are the folks who we need to start building…

Writing this article has been challenging and frustrating, as each passing day brings new assaults against the fundamental values of a democratic society. The core values associated with responsible citizenship, ethical behavior, respect for self and others are virtually absent from the speech and actions of many of the individuals entrusted with…

The paper "American democracy is distress: The failure of social education" presents several "symptoms of democracy's dysfunction in the United States". These include the extreme reliance on campaign contributions, giving the donors--economic elites and groups representing business, frequently operating at a transnational…

In this article, the author highlights the post-election priorities of the Southern Education Foundation (SEF). Leadership is a big priority and the SEF is working with a different notion of leadership that has more to do with collective--as opposed to individual--actions, systemic change, and more focus on the issue of care and empathy.…

As higher education professionals, we all wield power to shape the educational environment for our students. Conor P. McLaughlin and Christopher B. Newman use the metaphor of the superhero, whose power has the potential to be both democratic or fascist, to consider how we use our power as higher education professionals. More specifically, they…