Avi Mintz

Avi Mintz

Assistant Professor of EducationChapman Hall 325
(918) 631-2919
avi-mintz@utulsa.eduPersonal Page

Avi Mintz is interested in the history of educational philosophy, especially in the debates about education in the Socratic dialogues. Thinking about the history of educational philosophy has led him to two projects that reflect on the contemporary state of affairs in education. The first is a book with the working title "The Love and the Labor of Learning: The Positive Side of Negative Experiences in Education," which attempts to revive a tradition in progressive education that considers what kind of educational distress is valuable in learning. Contemporary educational thinking, Mintz argues, tacitly maintains that educational distress is an obstacle to learning, rather than a potential catalyst for it.

The second project revisits the ancient question of the kind of education necessary for citizenship, specifically in relation to the contemporary contribution of faith-based schools to cultivating citizens. Mintz has edited a book on the subject with Graham McDonough (University of Victoria) and Nadeem Memon (Project Director of the Islamic Teacher Education Program at RAZI Education) entitled "Discipline, Devotion and Dissent: Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic education in Canada" (forthcoming, Wilfrid Laurier University Press).

Education and Degrees Earned

  • Ph.D., Philosophy and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2008
  • MA, Philosophy, University of Toronto, 2002
  • BA, University of Toronto, 2001

Professional Affiliations

  • Association for Moral Education
  • Philosophy of Education Society

Courses Taught at TU

  • Foundations of Education (EDUC 2103)
  • Philosophy of Education (EDUC 2223 & 7003)
  • History of Western Educational Philosophy (EDUC 2253)
  • Measurement and Evaluation (EDUC 3733)
  • Theories and Practices of Social Justice Education (EDUC 7973)
  • Socrates and the Sophists (FS 1973)
  • Greek History, Philosophy, and Drama (HON 1003)

Awards & Recognition

  • 2009 American Association for Teaching and Curriculum’s Outstanding Dissertation Award for Curriculum
  • 2007-2008 Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship for Research Related to Education.
  • 2006-2007 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship

Publications

  • Discipline, Devotion and Dissent: Jewish, Catholic and Islamic Schooling in Canada
    co-edited with Nadeem Memon and Graham McDonough (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, forthcoming).
  • The Happy and Suffering Student? Rousseau’s Emile and the path not taken in progressive educational thought
    Educational Theory (forthcoming).
  • Four Educators in Plato’s Theaetetus
    Journal of Philosophy of Education 45(4), November 2011, pp. 657-673.
  • Faith-Based Schools and Common Schools in America: Reflections on the charge that faith-based schools are a threat to social cohesion
    (with Graham McDonough) Journal of Religious Education 59(4)
  • “Chalepa Ta Kala,” “Fine Things are Difficult”: Socrates’ insights into the psychology of teaching and learning.
    Forthcoming in Studies in Philosophy and Education (2010)
  • Has Therapy Intruded into Education?
    A Review Article. Journal of Philosophy of Education 43(4), November 2009, pp. 633-647
  • Understanding Evil and Educating Heroes: A Review Article
    Journal of Philosophy of Education, 42(1), February 2008, pp. 185-196.
  • The Midwife as Matchmaker: Socrates and Relational Pedagogy
    Philosophy of Education 2007, pp. 91-99.
  • From Grade School to Law School: Socrates’ Legacy in Education
    A Companion to Socrates. Eds. Rachana Kamtekar and Sara Rappe, (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2006), pp. 476-492.
  • The Disciplined Schooling of the Free Spirit: Educational Theory in Nietzsche’s Middle Period
    Philosophy of Education 2004, pp. 163-170.