Against Latour – On the Questionable Foundations of Post-Critical Pedagogy

Abstract

Critique has run out of steam – this diagnosis by Bruno Latour is crucial for the “Manifesto for post-critical education” as well as for the on_education issue “The Fatique of Critique?”. With this essay, we contradict Latour's diagnosis. Latour’s polemic against critique is based firstly on a questionable diagnosis of our time and secondly on a general and programmatic critique of sociology. Against that, we bring out two main points. The first insight highlights that change is initially dependent on variations that can only arise from a negation of the existing. The second insight comes from the sociology of critique, which paradoxically sees success in the failure of critique.

Debating Post-Critical Pedagogy: A Conversation in Letters

“…The keen intent of 'post critical' pedagogy seems to be to point out its positive aspects and what is worth preserving. Initially, I shared the criticism of Haker and Otterspeer (2020), that no criteria are given for what constitutes positivity and what is worth preserving or even how this could be determined. However, referring to two specific criticisms of educational research, there are certain traditions in educational research, that have been ignored.…”