Faculty Advisor: PhD Researcher, Harvard University

Program Start Time: TBD (meetings will take place for around one hour per week)

Research Practicum Introduction

Education is one of the most important topics on which the greatest philosophers have concentrated their thoughts for thousands of years. On the one hand young people are encouraged that nothing is more important than education simply for its own sake. On the other hand they are encouraged that the best education possible will bring success later in life. So which is it? Is education an end in itself? Or is it a means to an end? 

In this program we will explore how education theorists have balanced the obligations which a person has towards themself, their family, their state, and sometimes even their religion. We will begin with the three classical sociologists (Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber) which will show us how modern sociology shaped the way we think about education in terms of social functions. Then we will go back in time and consider the more idealistic theories of education from some of the greatest thinkers in ancient times (Confucius and Plato), medieval times (Aquinas and Averroes), and early modern times (Rousseau and Condorcet).

Students will receive an introduction to a broad range of different methods used in different humanities departments and appreciate examples of how the ideas of an individual thinker can shape societies even across large gaps of space and time.

For the final project, students will have the opportunity to decide if they want to write about one or two of the theorists considered in class.

Possible Choice For Final Project

• Choose one theorist mentioned in class and conduct philosophical or sociological analysis on their idea.

• Choose two theorists mentioned in class to compare the ideas of the two thinkers in terms of the similarities, the differences, or the influences shared between them.

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 3-5 students

• Duration: 12 weeks

• Workload: Around 4-5 hours per week (including class time and homework time)

• Target Students: 9-12th grade students interested in Education, Philosophy, Sociology and Humanities in general.