Seeing Education on Film

Book excerpt: This book argues that certain films have more to offer by way of conceptualising education than textual scholarship. Drawing on the work of the later Wittgenstein, it suggests that a shift in our philosophical focus from knowing to seeing can allow for ordinary educational phenomena (teachers, schools, children) to be appreciated anew. The book argues that cinema is the medium best placed to draw attention to this revaluation of the everyday, and particular films are presented as offering unique insights into the aesthetic nature of education as a concept. The book will be of primary interest to educators and educationalists alike, but its interdisciplinary nature should also appeal to those in the fields of film study, philosophy, and aesthetics.