The intellectual frame of philosophy, literature and education: Defining a practice, mapping a field

The paper is framed in terms of a lead research question: ‘Why should the practice of literature be of significance for philosophy of education?’

The question is reflective of the overarching goal of a systematic programme of funded collaborative research which began in 2014 with a large grant from the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. Incorporating a seminar series hosted at the University of Oxford, the University of Warwick and the British Academy, Liam Gearon and Emma Williams’ work at the interface of philosophy, literature and education has demonstrated how manifold engagements with literature are productive for the philosophy of education.

The seminar marks the publication of a 2018 Special Issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education guest edited by Liam Gearon and Emma Williams on Philosophy, Literature and Education.

In September 2018, Liam Gearon and Emma Williams also convened a Society of Educational Studies funded international Colloquium on Writers and their Education at Oriel College, Oxford, and on this theme are co-editing a Special Issue of the British Journal of Education Studies. The seminar thus also highlights a new trajectory in their research on the intellectual frame of philosophy, literature and education.