Join us for a discussion with Cathie Jo Martin on her book Education for All? Literature, Culture and Education System Development in Britain and Denmark (Cambridge University Press, 2023), which compares and contrasts the Danish and British approaches to mass education in the 19th century.
Martin uses computational linguistics analyses, a close reading of texts, and historical case reconstruction to examine the literary narratives that inspired education campaigns over the century. Danish writers imagined mass schools as the foundation for a great society and economic growth. Their depictions fortified the mandate to educate all the people in order to take advantage of societal resources and strengthen the social fabric. Conversely, British authors pictured mass education as harming social stability, lower-class work, and national culture.
This event will explore the importance of educating children of all abilities, the current culture wars over public policy, and the future of collective action in a dystopian world.
