The 2023 AERA conference sit to be held in Chicago, IL, April 13-17. The conference theme is “Interrogating Consequential Education Research in Pursuit of Truth.” 

The Foucault and Contemporary Theory SIG is uniquely positioned to address this theme and call (AERA 2023 Call for Submissions) From Foucault and Deleuze’s work with theory and practice to Foucault’s work with truth, Foucault and the many philosophers who have taken inspiration from him offer innovative ways to think with this call. In particular, Foucault and other contemporary theorists, help us to consider the following from the AERA call. 

Education research should be positioned as a necessary site in deliberations and practices. Instead of being reactive to educational problems or to social movements designed to maintain an inequitable status quo, education research can (and should) be at the center of co-constructing with communities agendas of consequence that have a real bearing on disrupting ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. 

How do Foucault and contemporary theorists help us to position education as a complex site consisting of intricate relays between theory and practice? How can Foucault and contemporary theorists help create agendas of consequence that disrupt ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination? The Foucault and Contemporary Theory in Education SIG of AERA wants to specifically draw attention to contributions that can support educational thought and action in relation to the challenges and opportunities presented in the AERA general Call for Papers. 

This invitation includes a call for submissions that highlight Foucault and contemporary theorists (feminists, theorists of color, posthumanists, and new materialists) to disrupt social inequities and co-create agendas of consequence. We invite responses to the challenges and opportunities of cultivating equity, with particular attention to contemporary theorists who disrupt White Western epistemologies and ontologies. How might contemporary theorists matter in public policy and practice? How do contemporary theorists work toward creating more equitable processes and results? 

The Foucault and Contemporary Theory SIG welcomes innovative and novel approaches toward answering this call and other related questions. Please follow the AERA 2023 Call for Submissions. Submissions are due online 11:59 PST on July 27, 2022.