Esprit2012-12-17Abstracts for Esprit 12/2012Philippe Cibois
The future of the humanities
Classical culture nowadays can no longer be viewed as some "heritage" in need of reactivating. It must be learned all over again, not as a legacy but rather as a way of comprehending the world in its entirety, while eschewing the trappings of hegemony-bent technical knowledge. This calls for an overhaul of the way French and Latin are taught if these two subject matters are to help inculcate democracy.Carole Desbarats
Art classes and democratic emotions
Enhancing the arts in the school curriculum is a recurrent issue in French education reform plans. But then art classes should not be confined to a "learning process". Instead, the idea should be to elicit encounters as pupils work on individual projects or are exposed to works of art, in a bid to generate what Martha Nussbaum refers to as "democratic emotions" and which also speak to the mind. An interview with Andrew Feenberg
Reflecting on technique: the need for a humanist approach
Critiques of technique often basically overlook the social conditions in which it is produced in the first place. Technique can, quite evidently, be instrumentalised, but instead of condemning it per se, but it would do better to mainstream it into society at large, which can be achieved, for instance, through building more general knowledge -- including the humanities -- into engineering courses, or, conversely, through encouragements for users to have their word over the way communication media keep changing.Denis Meuret
A more equitable school would veer back towards the road of success
Successive PISA surveys have kept highlighting an ongoing erosion of equity in French schools throughout the noughties. Reversing the trend will take not just a social and political commitment, as efficiency must be another concern. If this is to be achieved, one must not shy away from some result-oriented valuation methods: demonised as these may often be, they would make it easier to apprehend the specific needs and requirements of the worst-achieving pupils.A panel discussion with Cyrille Duvert, Xavier Lacroix, Jean-Louis Schlegel and Bernard Sichère
France's ongoing controversies over "marriage for all"
Allowing marriage for same-sex couples is an opportunity to reflect on marriage per se: a celebration of love, or the foundation of a family? Obviously this is the drift of the ongoing conversation, with procreation and filiations coming to the fore, along with perceptions of the physical body and children's rights. But then, must the law be the sole solution to these issues?François Meunier
The many facets of France's "competitiveness pact"
The decisions made by the French government based on Louis Gallois' recent recommendations for improvements to the country's economic competitiveness largely rely on shifts in employer welfare contributions, which together amount to some sort of "internal devaluation". But the gains thus derived will still fall short of what is required to match the performance of Germany which, whether we like or not, today stands out as the dominant economic power and, therefore, the one to be measured up againstPierre-Yves Pétillon
Emerson and the stronghold of legacy
How is a land to proclaim independence? Whereas the United States won political independence in 1776, the cultural dependence vis-à-vis Europe persisted into the 19th century. R W Emerson, the philosopher, voiced a call to undo such cumbersome links and to go one step further in a bid to develop a fresh way of thinking and talking. But then, can one genuinely think "outside", free from the stronghold of legacy?