The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice

by Bradley A. Levinson (Editor)

Eleven historical-ethnographic case studies examine the social and cultural projects of modern schools, and the contestations, dramatic and not, that emerge in and around and against them. These case studies, ranging from Taiwan to South Texas, build upon an original joining of anthropology, critical education theory, and cultural studies. The studies advance the concept of cultural production as a way of understanding the dynamics of power and identity formation underlying different forms of "education." Using the concept of the "educated person" as a culture-specific construct, the authors examine conflicts and points of convergence between cultural practices and knowledges that are produced in and out of schools.

Genres: Education, Anthropology, Ethnography

338 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

My interests include student culture and identity formation at the secondary level, in Mexico and the United States; civic and citizenship education for democracy, especially in Latin America; the sociocultural practice of policy formation and implementation; critical social theories in education; transnational migration and education; and ethnographic research methods.

Bradley A. Levinson is a native of Los Angeles, California, and graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1984. He taught immigrant students at a middle school in San Diego for 2 years and then completed a doctorate in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, in 1993. His dissertation research explored the construction of national identity, equality, and civic solidarity at a Mexican secundaria. Over the next several years, he completed follow-up research on Mexican youth identity formation, and eventually published his book, We Are All Equal: Student Culture and Identity at a Mexican Secondary School, 1988-1998 (2001, Duke University Press; translated and published as Todos somos iguales, 2002, Editorial Santillana, Mexico City).
Currently, Dr. Levinson is Professor of Education at Indiana University, with Adjunct or Affiliate appointments inAnthropology, Latino Studies, and Latin American Studies. He is also a proud father of 2 bilingual daughters, 6 and 8 years old (in 2011). Levinson specializes in ethnographic studies of youth and student culture, and reform processes, in secondary schooling; civic and citizenship education for democracy; the culture and politics of educational policymaking; and transnational migration and education. He has edited or co-edited a series of books, including: The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice (1996, SUNY Press); Schooling the Symbolic Animal: Social and Cultural Dimensions of Education (2000, Rowman and Littlefield), Policy as Practice: Toward a Comparative Sociocultural Analysis of Educational Policy (2001, Ablex), Reimagining Civic Education: How Diverse Societies Form Democratic Citizens (2007, Rowman and Littlefield) and Advancing Democracy through Education? U.S. Influence Abroad and Domestic Practices (2008, Information Age Publishing), A Companion to the Anthropology of Education (2011, Wiley-Blackwell), andBeyond Critique: Exploring Critical Social Theories and Education (2011, Paradigm). From 1999-2007, Dr. Levinson conducted team research on the integration of Latino newcomers to the state of Indiana (see research). He has also published on civic education in the International Journal of Educational Development, Theory and Research in Social Education, The Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, and Anthropology and Education Quarterly, as well as in numerous books and Spanish-language publications. Dr. Levinson was a founding editor of the Inter-American Journal of Education for Democracy, and for the academic year 2007-08, he held a Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship, to study “democratic transition and civic education reform in Mexico.” He was on sabbatical for 2011-2012, serving as a Guest Professor at the Danish Pedagogical University-Aarhus University, Denmark, from Feb. 1-June 30, 2012.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my Comparative Education class. The readings were fascinating and very readable.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding and critical for educators and those in intl development/education.