Interrupting the Politics of Learning

Abstract

In this article, the author raises critical questions about the notion of ‘learning’, the language of ‘learning’ and the discourse of ‘learning’. The analytical and critical device used is the idea of the ‘politics of learning’, through which the author highlights the powerful work that is being done by, and which at the very same time is hidden behind, the discourse of ‘learning’. The author focuses on the field of lifelong learning, not only because it is here that claims about and demands for learning are most explicitly articulated, but also because this field, through both policy and research, is contributing most strongly to an apparent ‘common sense’ about learning in contemporary societies. Based on this analysis, the author argues that there is a need for an interruption of the politics of learning in order to reclaim the emancipatory potential of education.