Questions on the Enlightenment:

1.  Critical theory shares its goal with the Enlightenment, that of "emancipation".  But looking back on what thinkers in the 16th century believed they needed to be freed from, we can see the conditions of society have changed greatly.  Dewey, along with many other thinkers, felt a need to be released from religion, especially the institutions that organized religion. Others, like Marx, wanted to shift power from the ruling aristocracy to the working class. What do you think some of the main issues are today that oppress society?

2.  Bourdieu says the school system contributes to reproducing the structure of the distribution of cultural capital, and through it, the social structure; i.e., society reproduces itself mechanically.  Schools help to make and impose the legitimate exclusions and inclusions that form the basis of the social order.  This automatically prevents individual mobility in society.  Do you think this is true in Canada?