Pedagogy Against The State: Some Remarks Upon Events Of Learning

This paper presents a philosophical sketch, based upon the writing of Alain Badiou, in which real learning is viewed as a movement into new ontological possibilities. The idea of a pedagogy against the state functions on a series of inter-related levels in that the term “state” embraces local ontological states of learning, traditions of teaching and curriculum policy as well as wider political contexts within which educational practices are situated. A key concern of the paper is that by viewing learning as an ontological shift opening up new possibilities for learners, an ethical imperative for pedagogy has to deal with expanding our grasp of what learning is.