Education, Social Justice and the Legacy of Deakin University : Reflections of the Deakin Diaspora

The late Joe Kincheloe once wrote that ‘... the amazing Deakin Mafia provided innovative and unprecedented critical scholarship on education for a few short years’. Informed by various theoretical perspectives (eg., critical theory, neo-Marxist, poststructuralist, postcolonial, feminist, critical literacy, Bourdieuian, Foucauldian) key Deakin University scholars pursued their commitments to social justice though education. A certain criticality characterised their work. Individually and collectively they created a national and international reputation for critical scholarship in education. Since that time (the 1980s and 90s), however, most of the Deakin ‘mafia’ have moved to senior academic posts elsewhere in Australian and internationally and their influence in educational research and discourse now continues as members of the ‘Deakin diaspora’. This collection is an account of the stories of many of these scholars. It will provide valuable reading for any scholar of education who is particularly interested in critical pedagogy and the critical project in education more generally. It also provides insights into what makes a faculty of education successful at a particular point in time. Front Matter....Pages i-xxv And What Rough Beast, Its Hour Come Round At Last, Struggles ...To Be Born?....Pages 1-13 Enactments, Networks and Quasi-Objects: A Stranger in A Strange Land....Pages 15-26 Education@Deakin: the Pleasure of Intellectual Travel and the Baggage of Staying Home....Pages 27-40 Reflections on the Deakin Assemblage Of/For the Critical Project....Pages 41-52 My Deakin Days....Pages 53-64 Remembering and Forgetting....Pages 65-75 Becoming Critical at Deakin....Pages 77-91 A Melancholic Melody....Pages 93-103 Writing the Past, Writing the Self, Recollecting Deakin....Pages 105-115 Leftist Hegemony: Personal, Professional and Institutional....Pages 117-134 Avenging Betty....Pages 135-143 Contesting Criticality in a Scholarly Diaspora....Pages 145-156 Transformative Knowledge Exchange and Critical Pedagogy....Pages 157-171 The Deakin Experience....Pages 173-185 There Are Many Places to Start and Each Leads in a Different Direction....Pages 187-192 Back Matter....Pages 193-196 This collection is an account of the stories of many scholars that started their careers at Deakin University and have since the 1980s and 90s have moved to senior academic posts in Australia and internationally. A certain criticality characterised their work, individually and collectively they created a national and international reputation for critical scholarship in education. It will provide valuable reading for any scholar of education who is particularly interested in critical pedagogy and the critical project in education more generally. It also provides insights into what makes a faculty of education successful at a particular point in time. -- back cover