Inhuman educations: Jean-Francois Lyotard, pedagogy, thought

100 Pages·2021·1.484 MB·English

by  Derek R. Ford

B R I L L G U I D E S T O S C H O L A R S H I P I N E D U C A T I O N B R I L L G U I D E S T O S C H O L A R S H I P I N E D U C A T I O N
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Inhuman Educations h
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Jean-François Lyotard, Pedagogy, Thought E
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Derek R. Ford a
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In the fijirst monograph on Lyotard and education, the author approaches Lyo tard’s s Jean-François Lyotard,
thought as pedagogical in itself. The result is a novel, soft, and accessible study(cid:4)of
Lyotard organized around two inhuman educations: that of “the system” and that
Pedagogy, Thought
of “the human.” The former enforces an interminable process of development, dia-
logue and exchange, while the latter fijinds its force in the mute, secret, opaque, and
inarticulable.
Threading together a range of Lyotard’s work through four pedagogical process-
es—reading, writing, voicing, and listening—the author insists on the distinct ed-
ucational logics that can uphold or interrupt diffferent ways of being-together in
the world, touching on a range of topics from literacy and aesthetics to time and
political-economy. While Inhuman Educations can serve as an introduction to Lyo-
tard’s philosophy, it also constitutes a singular, provocative, and fresh take on his
thought.
“Inhuman Educations takes us through the difffijiculties, challenges, and excitement
of thinking Lyotard in relation to pedagogy and the inhuman. As our guide, Derek R.
Ford carefully leads the reader through diffferent practices—reading, writing, voic-
ing, and listening—in order to challenge today’s dominant pedagogical assump-
tions.” – Kifff Bamford, Reader in Contemporary Art, Leeds Beckett University
“Deftly but subtly connecting Lyotard’s postmodern peregrinations with his invest-
ments in revolutionary politics, Derek R. Ford’s erudite study brings to the fore
pedagogical practices that—in errant and disparate ways—contest the grip that
the extant system has on how we think, speak and act.” – Gabriel Rockhill, Profes-
sor of Philosophy, Villanova University
“In this mind-expanding book, Derek R. Ford engages with Lyotard to question
and challenge the developmental model of modernity, the inhuman system bound
up with progress, capitalism, and white supremacy.” – Noni Brynjolson, Assistant
Professor of Art History, University of Indianapolis(cid:4)
D
e
Cover illustration: Artwork by Sarah Pfohl re
k
R
. F
o
ISBN 978-90-04-45878-9 rd Derek R. Ford
ISSN 2590-1958
BGSE 7
Spine
<00 mm>
Inhuman Educations
Brill Guides to
Scholarship in Education
Series Editors
William M. Reynolds (Georgia Southern University, USA)
Brad Porfilio (Seattle University, USA)
Editorial Board
Donna Alvermann (University of Georgia, USA)
Antonia Darder(cid:4)(Loyola Marymount University, USA)
Petar Jandrić(cid:4)(Tehničko veleučilište u Zagrebu, Croatia)
Lagarrett J. King (University of Missouri, USA)
Sherell McArthur (University of Georgia, USA)
William F. Pinar(cid:4)(University of British Columbia, Canada)
Pauline Sameshima (Lakehead University, Canada)
Christine Sleeter (California State University Monterey Bay, USA)
VOLUME 7
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bgse
Inhuman Educations
Jean-François Lyotard, Pedagogy, Thought
By
Derek R. Ford
leiden | boston
Cover illustration: Artwork by Sarah Pfohl
All chapters in this book have undergone peer review.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 2590-1958
isbn 978-90-04-45878-9 (paperback)
isbn 978-90-04-45879-6 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-45881-9 (e-book)
Copyright 2021 by Derek R. Ford. Published by Koninklij ke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklij ke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nij hoff, Brill Rodopi,
Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag.
Koninklij ke Brill NV reserves the right to protect this publication against unauthorized use. Requests for
re-use and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklij ke Brill NV via brill.com or copyright.com.
This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
Advance Praise for
Inhuman Educations
“Inhuman Educations takes us through the difficulties, challenges, and excite-
ment of thinking Lyotard in relation to pedagogy and the inhuman. As our
guide, Derek R. Ford carefully leads the reader through different practices—
reading, writing, voicing, and listening—in order to challenge today’s domi-
nant pedagogical assumptions. In addition, this well composed volume does
an important job in drawing educational philosophy and theory away from its
focus on The Postmodern Condition to new questions prompted by infancy and
the inhuman.”
– Kiff Bamford, Reader in Contemporary Art, Leeds Beckett University
“Deftly but subtly connecting Lyotard’s postmodern peregrinations with his
investments in revolutionary politics, Derek R. Ford’s erudite study brings to
the fore pedagogical practices that—in errant and disparate ways—contest
the grip that the extant system has on how we think, speak and act.”
– Gabriel Rockhill, Professor of Philosophy, Villanova University
“In this mind-expanding book, Derek R. Ford engages with Lyotard to question
and challenge the developmental model of modernity, the inhuman system
bound up with progress, capitalism, and white supremacy. Education is the key
theme here, but the wide-ranging discussions will also resonate for those inter-
ested in art, literature, music and politics, and beyond that, for anyone seeking
to nurture their secret inner lives instead of continuing to build the system.”
– Noni Brynjolson, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of
Indianapolis

To my parents, Janet and Bob, who relentlessly
believed in and supported my childhood
∵
Perhaps words themselves, in the most secret place of thought, are
its matter, its timbre, its nuance, i.e. what it cannot manage to think.
Words ‘say’, sound, touch, always ‘before’ thought.
J.-F. Lyotard, The Inhuman (1988 /1991)
∵
Contents
Acknowledgements xi
About the Author xii
Introduction: Lyotard’s Thought as Pedagogy 1
1 Why Lyotard? 2
2 The Inhuman System 5
3 Inhuman Infancy 9
4 Pedagogical Forces 11
1 Reading 14
1 The Text and the Line 16
2 Developmental Reading and Childish Reading 18
3 Secret Reading and Public Reading 20
4 Racist Reading and Quiet Reading 21
5 Re-Reading: An Invitation 24
2 Writing 25
1 Writing and the System 28
2 The Idiocy of Writing 30
3 Re-Writing: As If! 31
4 The List… 33
Intermezzo: From the Beautiful to the Sublime 37
1 Sublime Thinking 40
2 A Sublime Re-Writing 43
3 Voicing 44
1 Sonorous Voices 45
2 Voicing Words 48
3 Voicing Matter 51
4 Voicing the Mute 53
4 Listening 55
1 Musicking Matter 56
2 Listening to Listening 58
3 Elliptical Listening 61
4 Elliptical Listening and Timbre 63