Toward a theory of the educational encounter: Gert Biesta’s educational theory and the right to the city

AbstractThis paper outlines a theory of the educational encounter, the space of, and the right to that encounter. Situated in response to neoliberal educational reforms, this theory is developed through a reading and synthesis of the educational theory of Gert Biesta, the architectural component of his theory, and literature on the right to the city. The author argues that the notion of the encounter is latent yet central in Biesta's work and that it can be further cultivated and more precisely attended to by turning to theoretical work on the right to the city, which is engaged here primarily through the lens of the encounter. Several themes are drawn out from the literature that can help in formulating a theory of the educational encounter such as the habitat/inhabit dialectic, the use/use-value/exchange-value framework of space, and the role of struggle in the production and maintenance of space.Keywords: educational theoryencounterGert BiestaHenri Lefebvreresponsibilityright to the cityurbanism Additional informationNotes on contributorsDerek R. FordDerek R. Ford is a PhD student in Cultural Foundations of Education at Syracuse University, where he also holds an MS degree. He studies philosophy of education, with a focus on the broad intersections of pedagogy, aesthetics, subjectivity, identity, and political economy. His research is guided by historical materialism and extensively informed by post-structuralism, Marxism, and continental philosophy. His writing has appeared in Educational Theory and Philosophy, Educational Change, borderlands e-journal, and Critiquing and Reimagining Society. Collaborating with his partner, Sarah Pfohl, he also makes art videos, one of which has been exhibited at PrattMWP.