Maxine Greene's concept of the social imagination
pp. 187-197
in: Paul Smeyers (ed), International handbook of philosophy of education, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
Maxine Greene (1917–2014) was a philosopher of education who grounded her work in existentialism, pragmatism, critical theory, and aesthetic education. A prolific writer, public intellectual, and teacher, Greene offered (and continues to offer) contemporary educators and policy makers a valuable critique of education and schooling in the USA. In particular, her concept of the social imagination is a potent antidote to the negative forces of scientism, technicism, and instrumental rationality that have dominated educational thought and practice for several decades, especially through the over-reliance on authoritarian accountability systems. This chapter locates the social imagination in Greene's existential commitment to provide openings, to create more possibilities, to move us to a more empowered stance in the world. For Greene, it is through encounters with a range of art forms that we are provoked to "think of things as if they could be otherwise.'
