Abstract
In this essay I propose that education be conceived as séance: a place where ghosts are summoned in order that we may come to (speaking) terms with them. Against the backdrop of my own summoning of the ghosts haunting my childhood visits to a nearby castle, I draw on the work of Jacques Derrida to provide a theoretical rationale for the importance of spirits and ghosts. The concepts of inheritance and hospitality place a central role in understanding how to come to terms with ghosts. I conclude with a reflection on the summoning of ghosts in education, and the role of the curriculum as medium in this séance.
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Ruitenberg, C. Education as Séance: Specters, Spirits, and the Expansion of Memory. Interchange 40, 295–308 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-009-9097-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-009-9097-0