When learning becomes a fetish: the pledge, turn and prestige of magic tricks

Journal article

Bainbridge, A., Gaitanidid, A. and Hoult, E. 2017. When learning becomes a fetish: the pledge, turn and prestige of magic tricks. Pedagogy, Culture and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2017.1403950
AuthorsBainbridge, A., Gaitanidid, A. and Hoult, E.
Abstract

It is our contention that the process of higher education could be read as a commodity and in both Marxian and Freudian assumptions, a fetish. Instrumental in this discussion are; Marx’s theorising of the commodity fetish (1867) that deceives by conflating the distinction between use and exchange value, and Freud’s (1927) re-visiting of his theory of fetishism, where he considers the fetish in the context of dealing with separation and loss in everyday life.

This paper highlights how the consequence of fetishised behaviour has led to violent outcomes, such as the policy decision to introduce a ‘Teaching Excellence Framework’ (TEF). We argue that the TEF may bring about the death of learning in HE and diminish the role of academic staff. Nevertheless, influenced by Winnicott, Cixous and Biesta, we offer a more hopeful ‘Teaching that is Good Enough Framework’.

KeywordsFetish; commodity fetish; higher education; teaching; learning; TEF
Year2017
JournalPedagogy, Culture and Society
PublisherTaylor & Francis
ISSN1468-1366
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2017.1403950
Publication dates
Online16 Nov 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited06 Dec 2017
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
Additional information

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License

Page range1-7
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https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/886wx/when-learning-becomes-a-fetish-the-pledge-turn-and-prestige-of-magic-tricks

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