Theme: Foucault’s Analytic of Problematization
Co-editors: Dr. Alecia Jackson and Dr. Star Brown, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA
Description
The co-editors invite submissions for a Special Issue focused on enactments of Foucault’s analytic of problematization in and across the field of education. This issue seeks to trace how “problems” are not neutral, but are historically and socially constructed through discourse, power/knowledge, and practice. Foucault conceptualizes problematization as the “work of thought.” This framing prompts scholars to critically examine the conditions under which issues in education come to be defi ned and governable as “problems,” whose interests are served, and what alternative possibilities might emerge when these constructions are contested.
Proposals that experiment with problematization in relation (but not limited) to the following topics are welcomed:
● Educational policy
● Curriculum design, instructional practices, and assessment strategies
● The shaping of student, teacher, leader, and stakeholder subjectivities
● Equity, access, and inclusion in educational settings
● Leadership and organizational structures in school and colleges/universities
Co-editors also welcome interdisciplinary papers from areas such as media studies, science and technology studies, social work, political science, environmental humanities, and others, in the context of educational practice and policy.
Co-editors are especially interested in papers that stretch Foucault’s analytic of problematization by putting it in productive tension with other theories such as posthumanism, new material feminisms, and affect theory — to name a few.
Additional priority will be given to inventive work from scholars in a variety of career stages and geographic locales. Submissions from scholars living and researching in locales outside of the Global North are especially encouraged.
Submission Guidelines
Authors should submit an abstract of up to 300 words that describes how their chapter takes up problematization as related to the Special Issue as presented above. Please also include key words that indicate how your proposed chapter aligns with the call.
Proposal abstracts are due May 15 and can be submitted using the following Google form: https://forms.gle/kUMFN83zdrWLjRSR8
Timeline
2026
April 6 Distribute call
May 15 Abstracts of 300 words due
July 1 Notification of acceptance
2027
February 1 First drafts due to the ScholarOne system
Paper length is 5,000-6,000 words (exclusive of references)
Feb-May Review and revision process
All contributing authors will serve as peer reviewers for 2 papers submitted
to the special issue.
June 1 Final versions due
July 1 Submission of full issue to QSE
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