[Xmca-l] Re: Critical Early Learning

[mike cole]

This question is way late.... interest in discussing Paul and colleagues'
paper appears to have died out.

Martin sent us a paper that I take to be part of his "changing classes"
book project. In it he makes the following comment (the whole paper was
interesting to me).

*The developmental processes in school involve ontological change--change
in the kind of person a child becomes--and increasing this is becoming a
“relationalist ontology” as rationalization [of schooling] has its effect.*

I am still early in the process of learning to get with the "ontological
turn"
in Anthropology that Latour discussed at the Anthro meetings recently.
So mostly I am full of questions and uncertainties.

Here is one.  It has been fashionable for some time to talk about identity
formation in relation to ontogenetic development. In that way of talking,
I would translate the phenomenon "change in the kind of person a child
becomes" as "change in the child's identity as function of schooling" or
some such phrase.

What violence does such a translation create? Identities are "kinds of
people" and "kinds of entities in the world" is, I think, what ontology is
about.

mike

PS-- I recommend the article!



On Mon, Nov 11, 2013 at 2:14 PM, Martin John Packer <mpacker@uniandes.edu.co
> wrote:

> Looking back through old files I found a chapter I wrote over 10 years ago
> exploring some of these issues. In case some of you have nothing better to
> do on a three-day weekend I'm attaching it.
>
> Martin
>