Nostalgia, dialogue and silence : on the ethics of curriculum studies / Petro du Preez

Abstract

Ecological crises, advances in biogenetic research, imbalances within the economic systems, and an exponential growth of social divisions and exclusions have led to a global capitalist system that is approaching an apocalyptic zero-point. Within this uncertain and unstable context, humans need to rethink their own subjectivity in relation to that of others. This requires that we rethink how we speak and listen as relational, embedded and embodied beings. We can therefore not be comforted by pseudo-reassurances that promise "business as usual". We need to collectively step out of our comfort zones and work towards a new language to express the social issues we are confronted with. To meaningfully contribute to revolutionary, emancipatory moments, we need to allow ourselves to withdraw in silence to look at ourselves through foreign eyes. Rethinking our subjectivity and arriving at a new language to voice the complexities we face in the 21st century requires an acute awareness of ethics. With this in mind I will make three proposals. Firstly, I propose that curriculum scholars should think about how nostalgia, dialogue and silence could create a space for them to think of a new language to do justice to the ever changing times they find themselves in. Secondly, I propose that curriculum scholars should rethink their own subjectivity in relation to that of others and the ethical conditions that structure the reality of the field in the wake of the post-human era. Thirdly, I propose that curriculum scholars should engage in collective scholarship to advance the field. This requires a profound understanding of engagement in meaningful dialogues and of how silences are performed during such dialogues. The question to guide my exploration of these proposals: How could nostalgia, dialogue and silence enable curriculum scholars to arrive at a new language to inform the ethics of Curriculum Studies as a way to advance the field? My wish is that each curriculum scholar participate in meaningful dialogues, that we embrace critical silences that we experience or are confronted with and that we reflect on our nostalgias as a means of arriving at a new language that can be used to bring about social transformation and do justice to the rapidly changing times we live in.