Abstract

While there are studies of Grant's political philosophy and theology, there is no sustained study of his teaching, and specifically its inextricable relation to his political philosophy and theology. No study to date has drawn extensively on the collected works--including his talks to teachers and his D.Phil. thesis--or upon his biography, letters, and the considerable secondary literature, all of which are referenced here extensively.This is a synoptic text for prospective and practising teachers that shows the significance of the scholarship of George Grant for teaching today. While there are studies of Grant's political philosophy and theology, there is no sustained study of his teaching, and specifically its relation to his political philosophy and theology. No study to date has drawn extensively on the collected works--including talks to teachers and his D.Phil. thesis at Oxford--or upon his biography, the collected letters, and the vast secondary literature, all of which I cite extensively in this comprehensive and original study of the teachings of George Grant. Aside from its synoptic status--it can serve a reference book for students of Grant as well as textbook for students of education--original features include 1) the characterization of Grant as Progressive Christian Platonist, the first term an acknowledgement of his imprinting as a child and of his (inadvertent) affinities with John Dewey, 2) the linking of his critiques of time, teaching, and technology into one critique: idolatry, 3) an extension of his preference for Eastern Christianity and its emphasis upon icons, associated also with his study of Simone Weil, from whose work I quote, 4) the extension of Grant's critique through the elaboration of a concept of attunement, and 5) the explication of one of Grant's keywords: eternity, juxtaposed with time (the subject of Chapter 3). My teaching of Grant emphasizes its timeliness, accenting his prescience, identifying several educational issues today--academic vocationalism, educational technology, privatization of schooling, the ascendency of research over teaching--that Grant identified and critiqued fifty years ago. Grant's prescience is also demonstrated by his concerns over the fate of what he termed particularity within Canada and globally, worried that economic globalization will erase distinctive national histories and cultures. Replacing these would be a world state, universal and homogeneous, representing the worst tyranny humanity has known. Current issues of right-wing populism--notably in the U.K. and the U.S.--Grant foresaw as reactions against these historical tendencies. I conclude with a long epilogue wherein I review the main points and show Grant's profound pertinence for students today.