Theories of Affect and Concepts in Generic Skills Education: Adventurous Encounters

Wera Grahn · Edyta Just

kol 2017. · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

O ovoj e-knjizi

During the last few years, the concept of generic skills and competences has become widespread across universities. An introduction to generic competences is, as such, important because it enables redefinition of educational goals and may positively rearrange forms of interaction in classes. It also indicates that education should inspire students to develop and use critical and creative forms of thinking, feeling and doing. On the one hand, the need to promote generic skills can be seen as driven by neoliberal desire. On the other, however, generic competences can enable students to think, feel and act differently, but also respect and welcome various forms of life and ways of living. Responding to the growing need to reflect upon generic competences, this book contributes to the various ways of conceptualising generic skills and the methods in which they might be acquired. The volume engenders adventurous encounters between different theories, which predominantly come from the feminist conceptual framework, that result in appealing meanings of affect and concepts. It also experimentally explores and discusses ways in which theories of affect and concepts may complicate understanding of generic competences and inspire generic skills-oriented education. Consequently, this collection revitalizes the concept of generic skills, but also advocates daring pedagogical practices that invigorate the meaning of and approach to teaching and learning in present landscapes of higher education.

O autoru

Edyta Just is Associate Professor (Docent) and Coordinator of the InterGender Consortium and Research School in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies at the Unit of Gender Studies at the Department of Thematic Studies of Linköping University, Sweden. She is also a co-chair of Atgender, The European Association for Gender Research, Education and Documentation, and a co-chair of the strand Feminist Pedagogies, Didactics and Education in the research field of Feminist Studies and Education of the GEXcel International Collegium for Advanced Transdisciplinary Gender Studies. She holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Lodz, Poland, and a PhD in Gender Studies from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Her field of expertise includes gender studies, pedagogy, philosophy, and cultural studies of science and technology, particularly neuroscience.

Wera Grahn is Associate Professor (Docent) and Senior Lecturer at the Unit of Gender Studies at the Department of Thematic Studies of Linköping University, Sweden. Her academic background is based in gender studies, ethnology, and theory and history of science, and she has a BA in Journalism. She has a broad empirical interest in the field of cultural heritage, ranging from museums to monuments, historical sites, places and landscapes. In her research, particular focus is given to gender perspectives, especially intersectionality.