Education after Freedom

Abstract

A people who have lost their freedom to a foreign oppressor might try to transmit their identity through education. The people could simply substitute tales of national greatness for the greatness that was lost, but in that case, it is collective power and independence that remain the central values. I want to explore the possibility that values might be transformed by the new emphasis on education, and that education could serve as the subject matter of politics instead of conquest and defense. Through an examination of Aristotle and Josephus, I aim simultaneously to interrogate the value of collective freedom, and the value of collective identity after freedom is lost.

Keywords: Aristotle, Josephus, nationalism, freedom, education, Rousseau, Fichte