Rescuing the Individual from Neoliberalism: Education, Anarchism, and Subjectivity

196 Pages·2017·1.02 MB·English

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Educational Policy Studies Dissertations Department of Educational Policy Studies
Spring 5-11-2018
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Gabriel Keehn
Georgia State University
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/eps_diss
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Keehn, Gabriel, "Rescuing the Individual from Neoliberalism: Education, Anarchism, and Subjectivity."
Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2018.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/12049919
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Educational Policy Studies at
ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Policy Studies
Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information,
please contact [email protected].
ACCEPTANCE

This dissertation, RESCUING THE INDIVIDUAL FROM NEOLIBERALISM: EDUCATION,
ANARCHISM, AND SUBJECTIVITY, by GABRIEL T. KEEHN, was prepared under the
direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee
members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the
College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University.

The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as
representatives of the faculty certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and
scholarship as determined by the faculty.

__________________________
Deron Boyles, Ph.D.
Committee Chair

__________________________ __________________________
Kristen Buras, Ph.D. Chara Bohan, Ph.D.
Committee Member Committee Member

__________________________ __________________________
Judith Suissa, Ph.D. Michael Bruner, Ph.D.
Committee Member Committee Member

__________________________
Date

__________________________
William Curlette, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Educational Policy Studies

__________________________
Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D.
Dean
College of Education and Human Development
AUTHOR’S STATEMENT

By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced
degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall
make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing
materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this
dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College
of Education and Human Development’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting,
copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential
financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which
involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission.

____________________________
Gabriel T. Keehn
NOTICE TO BORROWERS

All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance
with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this
dissertation is:

Gabriel Thomas Keehn
Georgia State University
Department of Educational Policy Studies
30 Pryor Street
Atlanta, GA 30302

The director of this dissertation is:

Deron Boyles, Ph.D.
Department of Educational Policy Studies
College of Education and Human Development
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA 30302
CURRICULUM VITAE
Gabriel Keehn
Education
Fall 2013-Present Doctoral Student
Social Foundations of Education
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Dissertation – “Rescuing the Individual from Neoliberalism:
Anarchism, Education, and Subjectivity”

May 2012 MA Philosophy
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Summa Cum Laude

May 2010 BA Philosophy
SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY
Religious Studies Minor
Magna Cum Laude
Publications (Sole Author Unless Noted)
Refereed
- Gabriel Keehn and Deron Boyles, “Emmanuel Levinas: Philosophical Exposures, and
Responses to Systemic and Symbolic Violence in Education,” in The Wiley Handbook
of Violence in Education, ed. Harvey Shapiro (Wiley, forthcoming).
- “Review of Baudrillard, Youth, and American Film: Fatal Theory and Education, by
Kip Kline”, Critical Questions in Education, in press.
- Gabriel Keehn, Morgan Anderson, and Deron Boyles, “Neoliberalism, Technology,
and the University: Max Weber’s Concept of Rationalization as a Critique of Online
Classes in Higher Education,” in Philosophical Proposals for the University: Toward
a Philosophy of Higher Education, eds. Aaron Stoller and Eli Kramer (Palgrave,
forthcoming).
- “Monstrous Discourse: A Lacanian Reading of Monsters University as Neoliberal
Dystopia,” in Hollywood Goes to College, eds. Kip Kline and Randy Laist (Fourth
Horseman Press, forthcoming).
- “The Need for Roots Redux: On the Supposed Disciplinary Right to a Nonideal
Theory,” Philosophical Studies in Education 47 (2016): 98-107.
- Gabriel Keehn and Deron Boyles, “Sense, Nonsense, and Violence: Levinas and the
Internal Logic of School Shootings.” Educational Theory 65, no. 4 (2015): 441-458.
- “Does the Theory of Recollection Preclude Learning?: A New Dimension to Platonic
Nativism” Philosophy of Education 2014, ed. Michelle Moses (158-165).
Presentations
Refereed
 “Sabotage, Withdrawal, Insubordination: On Some Possibilities for Quotidian
Teacher Resistance,” Southeast Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting,
Chattanooga, TN, 2018.
 “A Phenomenological Case for Individualist Education or, Not-So-Rugged
Individualism,” American Educational Studies Association Annual Meeting,
Pittsburgh, PA, 2017.
 “Rescuing Individualism from Capitalism: Anarchism, Education, and Not-So-
Rugged Individualism,” Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society Annual
Meeting, Mundelein, IL, 2017.
 “A Phenomenological Case for Individualist Education or, Not-So-Rugged
Individualism,” Southeastern Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting,
Knoxville, TN, 2017
 Kip Kline, Trevor Norris, Kristopher Holland, and Gabriel Keehn, “Author Meets
Critics: Baudrillard, Youth, and American Film: Fatal Theory and Education,”
Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, 2017.
 “Who’s Afraid of a Science of Education: A Note on Universalism and Hope,”
Southeast Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting, Asheville, NC, 2016.
 Kip Kline, Gabriel Keehn, Jesica A. Heybach, and Richard Quantz, “Author Meets
Critics: Baudrillard, Youth, and American Film: Fatal Theory and Education,” Ohio
Valley Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting, Dayton, OH, 2016.
 “Anarchism versus Rejectionism: An Anarchist Case for Principled Disengagement,”
Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting, Dayton, OH, 2016.
 Gabriel Keehn, Nicholas Eastman, and Morgan Anderson, “The Revolution Might
Not be Taught: Reflections on the Limitations and Possibilities of Teacher Education
Programs as Sites of Educational Activism,” Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education
Society Annual Meeting, Dayton, OH, 2016.
 “The Need for Roots Redux: On the Supposed Disciplinary Right to A Nonideal
Theory,” Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society Annual Meeting, Dayton,
OH, 2015.
 “Platonic Moral Psychology and Soft Moral Paternalism,” Mid-Term Meeting of the
International Plato Society, Atlanta, GA, 2015.
 “The Blair Witch Project and the New Going Native: A Case Study in
Transpositional Nativeness,” Texas Tech Annual Comparative Literature Conference,
Lubbock, TX, April 2011
 “The Infinite Climb: Augustine’s Proof of God and Questions of Hierarchy,”
Moravian College Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies,
Bethlehem, PA, 2009
Awards and Distinctions
 SUNY New Paltz Distinguished Graduate in Philosophy-May 2010
 Texas Tech University Provost’s Masters Degree Fellowship-September 2010
 Social Foundations Outstanding Teaching Assistant – 2016.
 Social Foundations Award for Scholarly Achievement – 2017
Membership
Philosophy of Education Society 2014-Present
Southeast Philosophy of Education Society 2014 - Present
Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society 2015 - Present
American Educational Studies Association 2014 – Present
American Educational Research Association 2015 – Present
RESCUING THE INDIVIDUAL FROM NEOLIBERALISM: EDUCATION,
ANARCHISM, AND SUBJECTIVITY

By

GABRIEL T. KEEHN

Under the direction of Deron Boyles, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT
"Individualism" is a term that evokes a wide range of responses, particularly when deployed in
the context of American history and society, with its supposed (and purportedly objectionable)
tradition of so-called "rugged individualism." The images of the cowboy, frontiersman, and lone
entrepreneur spring readily to mind, along with a long list of virtues embodied in these figures:
self-sufficiency, drive, courage, gumption, and the like. It is the project of this dissertation to
rehabilitate the concept of individualism as tool of the Left for resisting the ongoing assault of
neoliberalism, particularly with respect to our educational institutions. I argue that the various
problematic associations commonly made between individualism and various forms of right-
wing political and moral commitments, such as free-market capitalism, materialism, self-interest,
and the like are historical mutations of an individualist tradition that is both fundamentally
incompatible with those ideals, but which can also serve as a powerful tool for critiquing them.
More specifically, I argue for an individualism that fuses the ontological commitments of the
historical individualists with the left-individualist tradition in anarchist political theory.
Individualism along the lines argued here is neither an enemy of democracy, communal identity,
or group resistance, but serves as a complement to and ally of those forms of leftist commitment.
Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly given the urgency of our current moment,
individualism provides a powerful basis for critiquing the forces that genuinely oppose left
movements. Ultimately I will argue not only that individualism is a much richer, more varied,
and more philosophically tenable position than has been commonly assumed, but also that some
form of individualist commitment is, rather than being incompatible with truly democratic
commitment, actually a fundamental prerequisite thereof. In this, I hope to lend some support to
Emerson's famous and cryptic contention that "individualism has never been tried."
RESCUING THE INDIVIDUAL FROM NEOLIBERALISM: EDUCATION,
ANARCHISM, AND SUBJECTIVITY

by

GABRIEL T. KEEHN

A Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the
Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Social Foundations
in
Educational Policy Studies
in
the College of Education and Human Development
Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA
2018
Copyright by
Gabriel T. Keehn
2017