This book introduces educational practitioners, students, and scholars to the people, concepts, questions, and concerns that make up the field of critical social theory.
Beyond Critique by Bradley A. U. Levinson and collaborators is a well-documented survey of critical social theories applied to education. It is a journey through theories--as they aptly termed their work-- and constitutes a valuable attempt to move beyond description, analysis, and critique, offering a new and informed contribution in the sociology of education. Beyond Critique is a very useful textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in the field.
--- Dr. Carlos Alberto Torres, Professor of Social Sciences and Comparative Education Social Sciences and Comparative Education (SSCE) Division Head Director, Paulo Freire Institute
Innovative knowledge can only emerge from innovative processes of knowledge creation. Herein lies the key for the much needed renewal of critical social theory. This outstanding book bears witness to the new possibilities lying ahead.
--Boaventura de Sousa Santos, University of Coimbra and University of Wisconsin-Madison
Beyond Critique draws clear connections between social theory and education. Levinson's engaging introduction is essential for showing how critical theories are closely linked to certain strands of liberalist thinking. Subsequent chapters focus on key authors and, like the intro, are lucidly written for beginning and advanced students alike. This is an important resource for thinking about big ideas. Who said social theory was dull?
--Amy Stambach, author of Faith in Schools: Religion, Education, and American Evangelicals in East Africa (Stanford UP 2010)
This is a rich and readable volume written with voice, gusto, and insight. I know of no better book to introduce graduate students in education to the ideas, values, and immediacy of social and critical theory to our work.
--Walter Parker, University of Washington, Seattle
Beyond Critique allows us to explore the contours of critical theory without sounding like a stuffy lecture. By demystifying critical theories in education, the book breathes life into a field desperately needed in these days and times. Thanks to the authors for humanizing us readers!"
-- David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago
Beyond Critique is an impressive collective accomplishment; six emerging scholars, under the skillful guidance of Bradley Levinson, offer incisive complementary accounts of critical social theories that challenge the inequities still prevalent in educational systems the world over. By situating classical and contemporary social thought in historical context, the volume invites further critique and advocates further dialogue on the deep implications of theory for educational research and practice.
-- Elsie Rockwell, Departamento de Investigaciones Educativas-CINVESTAV, Mexico
