Editorial: Teaching and the Event

Abstract

All of us, whether we know it or not, are immersed in the question of what it means to have an educational experience, a moment of learning or unlearning.  This issue gathers together a collection of essays (and an interview) from some of the finest critics in education, philosophy, literature and cultural studies in order to make sense of that very question. Readers will find here the voices of students and teachers alike on what has made these educational “events” salient and salutary. From Badiou to Zizek, Shakespeare to The Grand Hotel Budapest , each essay is itself a unique response to the question of what constitutes a learning event: an example as well as a sample. In this age of corporate models and top-down educational administrations, where bottom lines, learning agendas, strategies and outcomes have become the norm, we need such critical voices to stand up for a concept of education without outcome, without agenda; for an education, that is, to come.