Veranstaltung

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24.11.2014 - 25.11.2014 | Berlin

Inequality, Education and Social Power: Transregional Perspectives

International confernce organized by the Forum Transregionale Studien in cooperation with the Max Weber Stiftung Transnational Research Group “Poverty and education in modern India”.

The annual conference of the Forum Transregionale Studien and the Max Weber Stiftung brings together scholars from various countries to discuss key political, cultural, economic and social themes in transregional perspective.

The conveners aim to provide a platform for the exchange of experiences and ideas with respect to processes of internationalization in the humanities and social sciences. This year’s conference will address questions of inequality, education and social power from various disciplinary perspectives as well as in a wide range of geographical settings. Special emphasis will be placed on the topics such as “global knowledge asymmetries and education”, “social diversity and education”, “private actors in the educational system” and “inequality, education and the labor market”.

Program

24 November 2014

Welcoming Addresses
Andreas Eckert, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin/Forum Transregionale Studien
Heinz Duchhardt, Max Weber Stiftung – Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland

Panel 1: Education, Inequality and Social Power: General Discussion
Chair: Andreas Eckert, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin/Forum Transregionale Studien

Education is sometimes thought of as the means of reducing structural inequalities within and across societies. Nevertheless, access to education itself can be distributed in unequal ways, contingent on the very structures it is supposed to even out. A historical perspective reveals that educational opportunities were often tailored to the social background or gender of the students. Sometimes, such differentiations have been institutionalized as parallel strands within education systems, which can result in the exclusion of certain groups from mainstream education and subsequent career opportunities. This opening panel seeks to address general questions and concepts with a view to the relationship among inequality, education and social power, such as: When and how do structures of education work in favor, and when do they work against social mobility? How are issues of inequality and education dealt with in different countries and regions, which topics are considered crucial and which actors are involved in the debate?

Sarada Balagopalan, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Dehli
Klaus Hurrelmann, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin
Carlos Costa Ribeiro, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Panel 2: Global Knowledge Asymmetries and Education
Chair: Barbara Göbel, Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Berlin

The question of which forms of knowledge are recognized as education – or in German “Bildung” – can be fundamentally contested. Therefore, the process that renders certain forms of knowledge education while excluding others needs to be problematized as an arena of (implicit) political struggle and as a way of wielding social power. Moreover, many regions outside Europe have been affected by colonial pasts. This panel seeks to address the complex topic of global knowledge asymmetries, by asking questions such as: What is the relationship between indigenous knowledge/education and external influences? To what extent have colonial legislation, the associated institutional structures and ideas of education, elite, etc. been impacting on (post-) colonial systems of education? What influence does the formation of the (nation-) state and subsequent politico-economic developments have on ideas and practices of inequality and education?

Neeladri Bhattacharya, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Peter Kallaway, University of Cape Town
David MacDonald, University of Guelph
Hebe Vessuri, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City

Panel 3: Social Diversity and Education
Chair: Jana Tschurenev, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Regions outside Europe are often attested a higher level of social heterogeneity and inequality on various axes. But even in Western Europe, social change and processes of migration have generated a greater degree of social diversity during the last decades. Which interdependencies, if any, can be traced between social heterogeneity and ideas/systems of education? In which contexts has education facilitated the empowerment of marginalized subjects and groups? How do students from different social backgrounds make use of educational opportunities? What role do habitus and practices of assessment within the educational institutions play? What influence do gender and class inequalities or other factors of social discrimination have on the accessibility of (higher) education? What experience do we have with affirmative action and quotas? When does education become a cause of social mobilization? Do the poor receive a different form of education?

Yusuf Sayed, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town
Céline Teney, Universität Bremen
Martha Zapata Galindo, Freie Universität Berlin

Keynote Address
Jutta Allmendinger, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung
Introduction: Marianne Braig, Freie Universität Berlin/Forum Transregionale Studien



25 November 2014

Panel 4: Private Actors in the Education System
Chair: Andreas Gestrich, German Historical Institute London

In some regions, non-state actors have had a long (colonial) tradition in the education system. Currently, probably due to failures of government-run infrastructures, a variety of new actors (business-oriented and non-profit, national and international) are coming into play. In some countries, the balance of public and private investment in the educational sector is tilted to an extent that is criticized as risking a devaluation of the national educational system. Can we observe (regional or even global) trends toward a hierarchization, privatization and commercialization of education for both the elites and the masses? How do liberalization discourses in other fields of society impact upon these developments and the corresponding norms and values? What is the role of religious entities in the educational sector?

Geetha Nambissan, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Hania Sobhy, Orient-Institut Beirut
Silke Strickrodt, German Historical Institute London

Panel 5: Inequality, Education and the Labor Market
Chair: Ravi Ahuja, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

In many societies, (higher) education has been equated with a form of professional formation whose focus lies on the requirements of enterprises. At the same time, a reduced individual dividend for education (that is, a decreasing value of titles and degrees because of an increasing level of education throughout the whole society) has become observable. To what extent are opportunities in the labor market dependent on education and (to what extent) has this connection loosened during the last decades? Besides university studies, which alternative routes are likely to lead to a successful career? How are the factors of inter-generational inequality, on the one hand, and education and the labor market, on the other, intertwined?

Augustin Emane, Institut d’Etudes Avancées de Nantes
Patricio Solís, El Colegio de México, Mexico City
Anja Weiß, Universität Duisburg-Essen

The conference is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Hinweise zur Teilnahme:
If you would like to attend, please register at initiatives@trafo-berlin.de.

Anhang

Flyer Inequality and Education

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