Dr Ansgar Allen PhD, MA Ed Res, MChem, PGCE
Lecturer in Education
Tel: (+44) (0)114 222 8085
Fax: (+44) (0)114 222 8105
Email: a.allen@Sheffield.ac.uk
Twitter: AnsgarAllen
Room: 7.13
Teaching
Ansgar teaches in the areas of educational philosophy, history and theory. Students are encouraged to address and debate questions such as: 'What does education do?' and 'What might education become?
Ansgar is the deputy director of the full-time masters courses at the School of Education and also teaches on the BA in Education, Culture and Childhood and EdD programme.
Research interests
Ansgar’s research investigates contemporary issues in education using historical and philosophical perspectives. To date his research has focused on educational practices considered as forms of power. It explores the joint histories of assessment, meritocracy and schooling as they relate to broader social processes, discourses and regimes of power. His research also develops a critique of recent theoretical trends in the analysis of power. It offers a sustained analysis of the work of Michel Foucault and those who have since applied Foucault’s ‘genealogical’ method.
Activities
- Editor of Power and Education.
- Co-convener of 2014 conference: 'Foucault and Education: retrospect and prospect'
- Branch secretary to the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain.
- Convener of the Contesting Education and Research Seminar Series.
- Reviewer for Journal of Education Policy, Studies in Philosophy and Education, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Power and Education, History of Education, Pedagogy, Culture and Society, Sport, Education and Society, Journal of Early Childhood Research, and Politics.
- On-line resource for BERA titled 'Using Foucault in educational research'.
- DPR 2013 Symposium Convener: 'Dilemmas in Exclusion: Critique, Theory and Political Intervention'.
- BERA Dissertation Award Winner 2012
- Contributor to Social Theory blog.
- Co-convener of Philosophy of Education Reading Group.
Books
After Fairness: A History of Meritocracy, Palgrave Macmillan - Forthcoming 2013
Education and Philosophy: An Introduction, SAGE - Forthcoming 2014
Articles
Allen, A. (2013) 'Forget Meritocracy' Research Intelligence. Issue 120, Spring 2013, 27-8.
Allen, A. (2013) 'The solitary academic: a dying breed' openDemocracy - OurKingdom, 14 February 2013.
Allen, A. (2012) 'The heart of British schools and Gove's 'dark place'' openDemocracy - OurKingdom, 3 September 2012.
Allen, A. (2012) 'The British public elects their Jesus' openDemocracy - OurKingdom, 26 July 2012.
Allen, A. (2011) ''You never will be a rock star": Britain, social mobility and the exploitation of hope' openDemocracy - OurKingdom, 11 November 2011.
Papers
Allen, A. (2013) 'The Examined Life: On the Formation of Souls and Schooling' American Educational Research Journal 50 (2), 216-250.
Allen, A. (2012) 'Cultivating the myopic learner: the shared project of high and low-stakes assessment' British Journal of Sociology of Education 33 (5), 641-659. ⇒
Allen, A. (2012) 'Life without the 'x' factor - meritocracy past and present' Power and Education 4 (1), 4-19. ⇒
Allen, A. (2011) 'Michael Young's The Rise of the Meritocracy: a Philosophical Critique' British Journal of Educational Studies 59(4), 367-382. ⇒
Allen, A. (2011) ‘The idea of a world university: can Foucauldian research offer a vision of educational futures?’ Pedagogy, Culture & Society 19 (3) 367-383. ⇒
Allen, A. (2009) ‘The Foucauldian Peacekeeper: on the dispersion of power and the futility of change’ Power and Education 1 (2) 226-237.
Editorials
Allen, A. (forthcoming, 2013) ‘Special Issue: Radicalism, Education and Political Practice’ Power and Education.
Allen, A. (forthcoming, 2014) ‘Special Issue: Foucault and Education’ Pedagogy, Culture & Society.
Chapters
Allen, A. (forthcoming, 2014) 'Michel Foucault'. In D. Phillips (ed) Encyclopedia of Educational Theory and Philosophy. SAGE.
Allen, A. (2013) 'The Idea of a World University'. In M. Murphy (ed) Social Theory and Educational Research, volume 4: Governance and Management: Performativity, audit cultures and accountability. pp. 23-38. London: Sage.
Allen, A., Anderson, K., Bristol, L., Downs, Y., O´Neill, D., Watts, R. & Wu, Q. (2009) ‘Resisting the Unethical in Formalised Ethics: Perspectives and Experiences’. In Satterthwaite, Piper, Sikes (eds) Power in the Academy, 135-152. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books Ltd.
Reviews
Allen, A. (forthcoming) 'Review Essay: A Companion to Foucault' Journal of Philosophy of Education.
Allen, A. (forthcoming) 'Book Review: Ideas of Education: philosophy and politics from Plato to Dewey' British Journal of Educational Studies.
Allen, A. (forthcoming) 'Book Review: Meritocratic education and social worthlessness' British Journal of Educational Studies.
Allen, A. (forthcoming) 'Book Review: Confucius, the Analects and Western Education' British Educational Research Journal.
Allen, A. (2010) ‘Book Review: The Cambridge Introduction to Michel Foucault' Power and Education 1 (3) 358-360.
Allen, A. (2008) ‘Review Essay: Why Foucault? New directions in educational research' Pedagogy, Culture & Society 16 (3) 315 - 320.⇒
Blogs
Allen, A. (2013) 'Foucault, disciplinary power and the dangerous remainder' socialtheoryapplied.com 17 April.
Allen, A. (2013) 'Foucault and the World University: Ansgar Allen Responds' socialtheoryapplied.com 4 February.
Resources
Allen, A. (2012) 'Using Foucault in educational research' British Educational Research Association on-line resource.
Research Students
Beverly Trotman