Scientific Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: This paper examines the idea of world citizenship and if it is both possible and desirable; if it is to be understood as an abstraction or a framework for action. I consider a number of common notions of world citizenship and then, supported by Nussbaum’s theory of public rationality from the literary imagination, I illuminate how the cosmopolitan vision of Diogenes, kosmopolitês (cosmopolitanism), may present the most promising construct of world citizenship to act as a counter hegemonic citizen-based force to neoliberal globalization. Additionally, a review of the world citizenship teaching model Learning for a Cause elucidates the potential for my vision of kosmopolitês in practice. I find world citizenship to be crucial to contemporary society, but in need of (re)understanding.

Scientific Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, grade: A, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the debate surrounding educational reforms concerned with standardized testing. The theoretical framework I use to analyze this debate is based on theories of democracy and capitalism and unmask the real motives of the various stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of standards reform; that they are not concerned primarily with student learning. Additionally, I demonstrate that the deleterious effects of this shift in the assessment paradigm, and schooling in general are, unfortunately, of dyer consequence to our democratic state. The paper is a concise overview of standardized testing, its history and the dangers in its continued implementation.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: "e;My eyes are cameras. My mind is tuned to more television channels than exist in your world. And it suffers no censorship. Through it, I have a world and the universe as my own. So, save your sympathy and know that only a body is in prison. At my will, I walk your streets and am right out there among you."e; -Charles Manson (Convicted Cult Leader)Maxine Greene and Kieran Egan, two prominent educational philosophers, have championed the importance of the imagination in education for decades. Greene (1995, 1998, 2001, 2003) essentially claims that the imagination allows people to think of things as if they could be otherwise; it is the capacity that allows a looking through the windows of the actual towards alternative realities (2003, p.63). Egan (personal communication, March 11, 2007) believes the imagination to be central to education because imagination involves the capacity to be liberated from the constraints of literal and conventional thinking; it gives us the power to conceive of new possibilities . As we can see, both Greene and Egan share a closely related understanding of why the imagination is important in education; it frees the mind. In recognition of this shared vision I have partnered these two philosophers and will proceed to examine their thought in tandem insofar as they both project a generally similar view of the benefits of imagination. Not wishing to diminish the very real distinctions in their thought, my examination does centre on where these two scholars converge in relation to their philosophy of imagination. I will refer to their conception as the exalted imagination , borrowing the term from Maguire (2006) which denotes a modern, highly positive understanding of the faculty which has also collected various aspects of its ontology from the depths of its annals. That is, the modern exalted imagination is not a notion wholly developed in the modern period, rather a conception assembled mainly in the modern period, drawing from imagination s far-reaching history . This understanding; this exalted imagination, is shared by a number of contemporary scholars (see, for example, Warnock, 1976; White, 1990; Nussbaum, 1995) who have ushered in a modern fascination with the imagination. This, in turn, has lead to a call for more imagination and a claim that imagination is overwhelmingly a good thing. [...]

Literature Review from the year 2006 in the subject Pedagogy - Theory of Science, Anthropology, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: Alan Sears and Emery Hyslop-Margison, in "e;The Cult of Citizenship Education"e;, illuminate the driving discourse behind the seeming explosion in democratic citizenship education reform with particular attention to the last decade. Sears and Hyslop-Margison lay a solid foundation of scholarship to support their claim of a climate of educational reform driven by mere slogans and dogma, rather than any meaningful research or reliable data. Calling on Janice Gross Stein s 2001 Massey Lectures, "e;The Cult of Efficiency"e;, Sears and Hyslop-Margison, in accessible terms, explain that meaningful dialogue around issues of educational reform is precluded by the participants being caught up in a maze of rapid-fire rhetoric. As a result, "e;The Cult of Citizenship Education"e;, is a call for a more careful, thoughtful, and nuanced approach in understanding and promoting democratic citizenship education and its reform.

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2008 in the subject Pedagogy - School Pedagogics, Concordia University Montreal (Learning for a Cause), course: Educational Studies, language: English, abstract: It will come as no surprise if I claim Canada, indeed all of North America, to be a democracy. A question that might receive more reservation is whether or not Canada has given birth to the kind of democracy we imagine or desire. Have we brought into being a citizenry that is engaged? At the very least, these questions would seem to be valid for debate. Martin Luther King Jr. (1967) set the tone in the following quote for the argument that I will make in this paper, namely, that we must educate to bring about a democracy that is genuinely concerned with actual people and the flourishing of their lives:We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. ( p.9)Agreeing with King and believing that we must shift our focus as democratic citizens, I suggest that we must, as a society, reorganize our aims toward humanistic ends. The question now becomes how we might go about such a seemingly fundamental shift. How might society cultivate a citizenry concerned with human lives, values, hopes and dreams, and become a society genuinely in touch with what it is to be good and beneficent humans who care deeply and genuinely about others and their plights? In this paper I argue the idea of public education generally, and citizenship education more specifically, as a possible answer to fostering a new generation of engaged citizens genuinely concerned with human lives with a socially just democracy. However, not any public schooling or citizenship education is sufficient. Weisel makes this clear when speaking about the designers and perpetrators of Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald. Although they were heirs of Kant and Goethe, widely thought to be the best educated people on earth, they were also the architects of the Holocaust (as cited in, Orr, 2004).

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Pedagogy - School Pedagogics, , language: English, abstract: The Social Justice Imagination (a term coined by award-winning educator and writer Michael Ernest Sweet) refers to the notion that creative writing can be a significant opening toward strengthening the imaginative process implicit in social justice compassion and understanding. That is, through the literary imagination we come to understand others, unlike us, and develop empathy for their plight. The literary imagination informs our understanding of the human condition and with this we are better enabled to be motivated toward social justice. The book uses specific student-written creative writing samples to elucidate this notion.

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the Ancient World, grade: A+, Johns Hopkins University, course: Western Political Philosophy, language: English, abstract: In this essay, Michael Ernest Sweet examines the concept of Plato's philosopher-king as found in "e;The Republic"e;. Is the concept a paradox and a pragmatic impossibility, or is the concept a rhetorical device and a potent object of hope on the quest to uncover the meaning of justice? Perhaps Plato's aim in constructing such a paradox is to show us the impossibility of the perfect political regime?

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: A+, Johns Hopkins University, course: American Political Theory, language: English, abstract: In this paper, Canadian writer and educator, Michael Ernest Sweet, explores the topic of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States of America. The paper seeks to uncover Wilson's thought, his influences (with a detailed look at Hegel's influence) and his impact on American government then and now. Additionally, his legacy is examined in terms of what he actually inspired in American political science, and what he is often, wrongly, attributed to him and his administration. Both foreign and domestic policy is considered. The paper concludes that Wilson's legacy is, most correctly, that he opened the American mind toward a new political era - an era that is not fixed and static like that of the founding and its confining Constitutionalism, but rather one with an eye toward the inevitability of progress in history and, ultimately, a new freedom.

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject History - America, grade: A+, Johns Hopkins University, course: The Rise and Fall of Empires, language: English, abstract: In this paper, I will examine both the theory of "e;virgin soil"e; epidemics, as well as those that complicate it. In doing so I will look at a broad range of scholarship spanning multiple geographical sites, numerous Amerindian tribes, as well as various colonial powers - England, France, and Spain. Although a concentration of attention will be placed on the Spanish conquests, the aim is to extract a generalized "e;macro view"e; of the germ-centered narrative of European conquest, rather than to examine any one battle, tribe or oppressor. As a result of my investigation, I will dissent from the growing popularity of the theory of "e;germ-dominated colonization"e; and offer a broader, more complex, understanding of how widespread depopulation of America s aboriginals, and the ensuing European hegemony, might have more realistically unfolded. Ultimately, the reason behind the success of European colonialism is likely not to be the neat dramatic stuff of a "e;major PBS television special"e; but rather, in Livi-Bacci s words, "e;The unsettling normality of conquest"e;.

Scientific Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: This paper examines the idea of world citizenship and if it is both possible and desirable; if it is to be understood as an abstraction or a framework for action. I consider a number of common notions of world citizenship and then, supported by Nussbaum’s theory of public rationality from the literary imagination, I illuminate how the cosmopolitan vision of Diogenes, kosmopolitês (cosmopolitanism), may present the most promising construct of world citizenship to act as a counter hegemonic citizen-based force to neoliberal globalization. Additionally, a review of the world citizenship teaching model Learning for a Cause elucidates the potential for my vision of kosmopolitês in practice. I find world citizenship to be crucial to contemporary society, but in need of (re)understanding.

Scientific Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, grade: A, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the debate surrounding educational reforms concerned with standardized testing. The theoretical framework I use to analyze this debate is based on theories of democracy and capitalism and unmask the real motives of the various stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of standards reform; that they are not concerned primarily with student learning. Additionally, I demonstrate that the deleterious effects of this shift in the assessment paradigm, and schooling in general are, unfortunately, of dyer consequence to our democratic state. The paper is a concise overview of standardized testing, its history and the dangers in its continued implementation.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: "e;My eyes are cameras. My mind is tuned to more television channels than exist in your world. And it suffers no censorship. Through it, I have a world and the universe as my own. So, save your sympathy and know that only a body is in prison. At my will, I walk your streets and am right out there among you."e; -Charles Manson (Convicted Cult Leader)Maxine Greene and Kieran Egan, two prominent educational philosophers, have championed the importance of the imagination in education for decades. Greene (1995, 1998, 2001, 2003) essentially claims that the imagination allows people to think of things as if they could be otherwise; it is the capacity that allows a looking through the windows of the actual towards alternative realities (2003, p.63). Egan (personal communication, March 11, 2007) believes the imagination to be central to education because imagination involves the capacity to be liberated from the constraints of literal and conventional thinking; it gives us the power to conceive of new possibilities . As we can see, both Greene and Egan share a closely related understanding of why the imagination is important in education; it frees the mind. In recognition of this shared vision I have partnered these two philosophers and will proceed to examine their thought in tandem insofar as they both project a generally similar view of the benefits of imagination. Not wishing to diminish the very real distinctions in their thought, my examination does centre on where these two scholars converge in relation to their philosophy of imagination. I will refer to their conception as the exalted imagination , borrowing the term from Maguire (2006) which denotes a modern, highly positive understanding of the faculty which has also collected various aspects of its ontology from the depths of its annals. That is, the modern exalted imagination is not a notion wholly developed in the modern period, rather a conception assembled mainly in the modern period, drawing from imagination s far-reaching history . This understanding; this exalted imagination, is shared by a number of contemporary scholars (see, for example, Warnock, 1976; White, 1990; Nussbaum, 1995) who have ushered in a modern fascination with the imagination. This, in turn, has lead to a call for more imagination and a claim that imagination is overwhelmingly a good thing. [...]

Literature Review from the year 2006 in the subject Pedagogy - Theory of Science, Anthropology, grade: none, Concordia University Montreal, language: English, abstract: Alan Sears and Emery Hyslop-Margison, in "e;The Cult of Citizenship Education"e;, illuminate the driving discourse behind the seeming explosion in democratic citizenship education reform with particular attention to the last decade. Sears and Hyslop-Margison lay a solid foundation of scholarship to support their claim of a climate of educational reform driven by mere slogans and dogma, rather than any meaningful research or reliable data. Calling on Janice Gross Stein s 2001 Massey Lectures, "e;The Cult of Efficiency"e;, Sears and Hyslop-Margison, in accessible terms, explain that meaningful dialogue around issues of educational reform is precluded by the participants being caught up in a maze of rapid-fire rhetoric. As a result, "e;The Cult of Citizenship Education"e;, is a call for a more careful, thoughtful, and nuanced approach in understanding and promoting democratic citizenship education and its reform.

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2008 in the subject Pedagogy - School Pedagogics, Concordia University Montreal (Learning for a Cause), course: Educational Studies, language: English, abstract: It will come as no surprise if I claim Canada, indeed all of North America, to be a democracy. A question that might receive more reservation is whether or not Canada has given birth to the kind of democracy we imagine or desire. Have we brought into being a citizenry that is engaged? At the very least, these questions would seem to be valid for debate. Martin Luther King Jr. (1967) set the tone in the following quote for the argument that I will make in this paper, namely, that we must educate to bring about a democracy that is genuinely concerned with actual people and the flourishing of their lives:We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. ( p.9)Agreeing with King and believing that we must shift our focus as democratic citizens, I suggest that we must, as a society, reorganize our aims toward humanistic ends. The question now becomes how we might go about such a seemingly fundamental shift. How might society cultivate a citizenry concerned with human lives, values, hopes and dreams, and become a society genuinely in touch with what it is to be good and beneficent humans who care deeply and genuinely about others and their plights? In this paper I argue the idea of public education generally, and citizenship education more specifically, as a possible answer to fostering a new generation of engaged citizens genuinely concerned with human lives with a socially just democracy. However, not any public schooling or citizenship education is sufficient. Weisel makes this clear when speaking about the designers and perpetrators of Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald. Although they were heirs of Kant and Goethe, widely thought to be the best educated people on earth, they were also the architects of the Holocaust (as cited in, Orr, 2004).

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Pedagogy - School Pedagogics, , language: English, abstract: The Social Justice Imagination (a term coined by award-winning educator and writer Michael Ernest Sweet) refers to the notion that creative writing can be a significant opening toward strengthening the imaginative process implicit in social justice compassion and understanding. That is, through the literary imagination we come to understand others, unlike us, and develop empathy for their plight. The literary imagination informs our understanding of the human condition and with this we are better enabled to be motivated toward social justice. The book uses specific student-written creative writing samples to elucidate this notion.

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the Ancient World, grade: A+, Johns Hopkins University, course: Western Political Philosophy, language: English, abstract: In this essay, Michael Ernest Sweet examines the concept of Plato's philosopher-king as found in "e;The Republic"e;. Is the concept a paradox and a pragmatic impossibility, or is the concept a rhetorical device and a potent object of hope on the quest to uncover the meaning of justice? Perhaps Plato's aim in constructing such a paradox is to show us the impossibility of the perfect political regime?

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: A+, Johns Hopkins University, course: American Political Theory, language: English, abstract: In this paper, Canadian writer and educator, Michael Ernest Sweet, explores the topic of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States of America. The paper seeks to uncover Wilson's thought, his influences (with a detailed look at Hegel's influence) and his impact on American government then and now. Additionally, his legacy is examined in terms of what he actually inspired in American political science, and what he is often, wrongly, attributed to him and his administration. Both foreign and domestic policy is considered. The paper concludes that Wilson's legacy is, most correctly, that he opened the American mind toward a new political era - an era that is not fixed and static like that of the founding and its confining Constitutionalism, but rather one with an eye toward the inevitability of progress in history and, ultimately, a new freedom.

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject History - America, grade: A+, Johns Hopkins University, course: The Rise and Fall of Empires, language: English, abstract: In this paper, I will examine both the theory of "e;virgin soil"e; epidemics, as well as those that complicate it. In doing so I will look at a broad range of scholarship spanning multiple geographical sites, numerous Amerindian tribes, as well as various colonial powers - England, France, and Spain. Although a concentration of attention will be placed on the Spanish conquests, the aim is to extract a generalized "e;macro view"e; of the germ-centered narrative of European conquest, rather than to examine any one battle, tribe or oppressor. As a result of my investigation, I will dissent from the growing popularity of the theory of "e;germ-dominated colonization"e; and offer a broader, more complex, understanding of how widespread depopulation of America s aboriginals, and the ensuing European hegemony, might have more realistically unfolded. Ultimately, the reason behind the success of European colonialism is likely not to be the neat dramatic stuff of a "e;major PBS television special"e; but rather, in Livi-Bacci s words, "e;The unsettling normality of conquest"e;.