Public and Counterpublics: Rereading the Case of Riverside through Critical Pragmatism. A Response to "Community Insurgency: Constituency, Choice, and the Common Good"

Authors

Kathleen Knight-Abowitz, Miami UniversityFollow

Abstract

An article of empirically informed philosophical analysis of charter schooling that features local histories, voices of stakeholders, and an optimistic view on the democratic potential of charter school policies, the original piece presents a compelling, if extreme, case of charter school formation. In this response, I offer an alternative theoretical framing to the case. I argue that the scholarship of constitutional scholars is much less relevant as an interpretive lens on the case than more critical, contemporary pragmatist thinkers. I hope to show in this response how Deweyan political philosophy might have been used throughout the argument to produce a more nuanced and less naïve reading of charter schooling as a venue for creating new public spheres in education beyond traditional public schools. The qualitative study featured in this paper produces a detailed reading of a local charter schooling initiative that is worthy of serious analysis. My response suggests new, more plausible ways to theoretically interpret the rich case offered here.

Recommended Citation

Knight-Abowitz, K. (2021). Public and Counterpublics: Rereading the Case of Riverside through Critical Pragmatism. A Response to "Community Insurgency: Constituency, Choice, and the Common Good". Democracy and Education, 29 (2), Article 4.
Available at: https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol29/iss2/4