I do like the idea that concepts emerge in the encounter and that in particular what might count as ‘theory’ (and associated intellectual practices) is put at risk in and to situations that arise. I am also very interested in the work by Bonnie Honig on the ‘politics of public things’ that takes up Winnicott’s ideas about ‘holding environment’.

Thanks Stephen I have just listened to this podcast, very interesting

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/the-politics-of-public-things/4630284

Hi Parlo and Stephen, I've just been reading your discussions and I really like the rich conceptual approach you adopt in this project. I am fascinated by the parallels between your 'concept' oriented work with teachers and a project Sam Sellar, Linda Hammersley-Flectcher, Emile Bojesen and I are developing, in which we are trying to develop ways of working with teachers to enhance their intellectual autonomy in the face of the prescriptive and fearful policy environment in schools here. We've been exploring a range of ideas including agonistic democracy (involving a plurality of voices, contestation and tragedy), Callon et al's hybrid forums, Blanchot's endless conversation and Wittgensteinian forms of life.

Re the methodology question Parlo raises above, I'm currently completing work using Lacan's four discourses to think about various modalities of policy in education and it seems to me that Lacan's discourse of the analyst, in which desire occupies the space of agency and produces new master signifiers (concepts), offers one way of thinking about the interface of psychoanalytic theory and politico-philosophical work..not sure how this tallies with Bion's thinking though.

Hope you don't mind me chipping in to this discussion!

Hi Matthew, Also love the complexity and richness of what you are doing. Seems like we are working toward similar goals with some connected ideas. I am currently rereading Bonnie Honig on public things. She also uses Winnicott's work on transitional objects and holding environments, but with lovely Arendtian overlaps. I am fascinated with how to carry out research/ scholarly activity with schools and with people connected to them, and working toward enhancing intellectual autonomy is certainly an underlying aim. I wonder if we can make connections between teachers where you are working and ours? I have a DECRA in, that, in part tries to do this- based on the BRISK project. Thank you for chipping in!

Hi Stephen, Great idea re connecting up teachers. I'm pretty sure the ones from the schools in Manchester that Linda, Sam and I have been working with, but also some schools in Middlesbrough that one of my colleagues, Tony Leach, works with, would be up for this.

Thanks Matthew. The proposal in the DECRA is to build on the joint reading we have done (Biesta) and to try to make connects to teachers in the UK and USA who work in 'like' schools- sort of subverting the MySchool idea. Connected to this also, is the denuding of the preservice teacher ed curriculum of any substantive sociological, philosophical, political inputs and how many teachers and school leaders are crying out for this to be made available to them when they are working in schools and trying to make a difference- but find that they do not have any conceptual- practical tools that can be of use. Another colleague (Andrew Hickey) and I have begun talking about work he has done with teachers on reading Dewey, Friere, Ranciere etc who love it as it is NEW (OMG- as my daughter says) and how we can also connect up. I reckon it would be brilliant if we could make some connections in multiple sites.

Just about to go and teach a class and mulling the idea of doing "conceptual speed-dating" which I got from Manning and Massumi, Thought in the Act (but which Andrew Murphie came up with). We have smuggled a fair bit of philosophy and sociology into an undergrad teacher ed course so many of the concepts and new and 'big'- so I am looking to work with them a bit and see where we end up.