EPS Seminar on May 28, 2020 (The Question of Universality)

The seminar of the Education-Politics-Society research cluster on the morning of May 28 will focus on the issue of universalism. Two presentations are scheduled:

Tommy Terraz, an associate member of the laboratory and a researcher in the philosophy of education, proposes to(re)examine the concept of the universal in educationthrough the lens of the Anthropocene.

“The growing number of crises facing humanity (pandemics, climate change, etc.) is making us realize, more than ever, that humanity is one, interdependent, and interconnected. Yet the universal too seems to be in crisis, caught between the double trap of nihilistic relativism on the one hand (indifference that can lead to violence) and dogmatism on the other (identity-based withdrawal that can lead to violence). While the etymology of the word “crisis,” from the Greek “krisis,” signifies judgment or decision, it is essential to make choices and to have “universalizable” reference points (Drouin-Hans, 2004) for education. Not to mention that education, as a living and necessary human relationship, cannot do without conditions, but also values and goals, which must be posited and constantly re-examined. This proposal will therefore consist of questioning together, starting from a radical inquiry in the philosophy of education, the universal in education. Why keep asking ourselves about educational universals? And how can we go about it? We will also seek to clear up certain confusions and work through paradoxes and points of tension: between universality and singularity, and also among republican principles (liberty, equality, fraternity, secularism, respect for diversity, etc.).
A preliminary bibliographic reference: Alain Policar: “The Disturbing Familiarity of Race,” Decolonialism, Intersectionality, and Universalism, ed. Le bord de l’eau,Whispershttps://www.editionsbdl.com/produit/linquietante-familiarite-de-la-race-decolonialisme-intersectionnalite-et-universalisme/

Geneviève Zoïa, from the CEPEL Laboratory and the Faculty of Education, will provide empirical insights into the issue of universalism in educational research. She will presentthe book *Education and Diversity*, edited by Françoise Lorcerie, and her contribution to this volume on the relationship between diversity and universalism (http://www.pur-editions.fr/couvertures/1611134525_doc.pdf)