For the Love of Knowledge

Abstract

This article discusses William W. Brickman's contributions to the field of comparative and international education. Through archival research of Brickman's collection at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, interviews with his former colleagues, students, and family members, and a content analysis of his publications and the two journals he edited, the authors examine Brickman's role in founding the Comparative Education Society, his notion of comparative education scholarship, and his service to the larger academic community through a lifelong career as journal editor. In addition to his contributions to advancing historical research and qualitative methodologies in comparative education, Brickman should also be remembered for his relentless efforts to protect academic freedom by encouraging epistemological and methodological diversity of the field. Brickman's role as a scholar, educator, and editor can therefore be best understood through his unyielding love of knowledge—like the philosophers of the past.