This volume could not have arrived at a more important time. In a period in which critical scholarship on the state and education has all but atrophied, Michael Apple and his collaborators shed new light and sustained depth of insight on the complexity of state involvement in the organization of knowledge in educational institutions in the new millennium. Throughout, contributors to The Stateand the Politics of Knowledge offer lucidity, reflexivity, and illumination as they integrate theory, empirical details, and policy analysis in these absorbing accounts of state involvement in the educational enterprise. The State and the Politics of Knowledge is a landmark volume in a time when radical scholarship on educational issues is experiencing a recession of intellectual value, relevance, and influence. A volume of this sort is long overdue. -- Cameron McCarthy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Scholars, educators, and activists searching for a serious and insightful book that weaves critical educational theory together with empirical and historical data, policy analysis, and a transnational focus will greatly appreciate what Apple and his co-authors have to say in The State and the Politics of Knowledge. By bringing powerful social theories into conversation with the complex and contradictory educational experiences in very diverse economic, political, and cultural contexts, Apple and his colleagues have begun to build the theoretical explanations needed to challenge and interrupt dominance. -- Amy Stuart Wells, Teachers College-Columbia University
Reading Apple is rather like taking part in an erudite conversation. One is stimulated, challenged, and educated and eager to talk back. This book, written with students and other collaborators, builds upon and extends Apple's formidable analysis of state/education relations and the politics of identity, subjectivity, and knowledge. Here these concerns are set in a global perspective with chapters from locations as diverse as Korea, Scandinavia, the U.S.A., and Polynesia, but without losing coherence or credibility. Wide-ranging, ambitious, and compelling, The State and the Politics of Knowledge is a considerable achievement, and important book. -- Stephen J. Ball, University of London
