Derrida, Foucault and critical pedagogies of friendship in conflict-troubled societies

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to place Derrida's and Foucault's ideas on friendship in conversation and then discuss how those ideas provide a pedagogical space in which critical educators in conflict-troubled societies can promote new modes of being and living with others. In particular, the notion of critical pedagogies of friendship is theorized and the pedagogical implications that follow are examined in the light of the emotional complexities of troubled knowledge in conflict-troubled societies. It is argued that critical pedagogies of friendship that take into consideration the emotional complexities of troubled knowledge help us interrupt the enemy–friend binary and revamp our sense of compassion and responsibility to others. Most importantly, critical pedagogies of friendship enable the creation of new spaces of political subjectification that nurture the invention of new relations of emancipation.

Keywords:

• Foucault
• Derrida
• friendship
• critical pedagogy
• conflict-troubled societies
• emotion