Historical Studies in Education / Revue d'histoire de l'éducation

Comptes Rendus, Barnita Bagchi, Eckhardt Fuchs, Kate Rousmaniere, Robyn Sneath
unpublished
Rarely does a book come along that simultaneously fills lacunae in multiple areas of education research. Connecting Histories of Education does precisely that; ambitious in scope, the volume is a collection of thirteen case studies that relate broadly to issues of transnationalism, postcolonialism, and history of education, with the collective goal of complicating conventional assumptions of hegemonic pedagogical agendas attendant with colonial projects. To be sure, education served as a
more » ... tool of "indoctrination and acculturation" (142); however, as each of the cases demonstrates, the influence was not nearly as unidirectional as has been hitherto apprehended. Editors Barnita Bagchi, Eckhardt Fuchs, and Kate Rousmaniere state in the introduction that the purpose of this volume is to connect non-European scholarship "with the goal of highlighting the interconnectedness of histories of education in the modern world" (1). The endeavour is transnational in several respects-both contributors and the foci of their contributions is impressively global (though worth noting is the predominant focus on Southeast Asia), and tying each of the dispa-rate sections together is a common emphasis on the multi-directionality of transcul-tural transmission. Both formal and informal education are examined and the volume addresses four major themes: historiographical reflections; travelling concepts; Indigenous education and resistance; and women's education. In part one, Historiographical Reflections, contributors consider the relationship between transnationalism and the history of education. Rather than the centre-influencing the periphery trope common to earlier postcolonial scholarship, this book
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