Thinking and Conversing With Illich and Baldacchino

Abstract

B aldacchino begins Educing Ivan Illich by affirming that the book is not a primer. I recognize that reading such a statement was a bit disconcerting. How was I going to read and review such a book without being very familiar with Illich’s work? Some art educators may ask themselves the same question. However, I should say that I found the experience of reading Educing Ivan Illich very significant. Not only did it widen my understanding of Illich’s ideas, but also, I found Baldacchino’s conversation with such ideas helpful in defining philosophical, ethical, and creative frameworks for how to relate to contemporary educational institutions and how to make connections to economic and political powers. Ivan Illich (Vienna 1926–Dresden 2002) was an intellectual formed in the hybridity of the Catholic and Judaic traditions from Southern Europe. His family was originally from the Dalmatian region in Croatia. He studied theological philosophy and priesthood. Through his career, he developed scholarship and political practice in the fields of social theory, health care, and education,