Deschooling Society - Ivan Illich | Full Reading & Discussion

Hi all,

As a kind-of-but-not-really detour from our path with this series, we will focus this week on the Roman Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher, and troublemaker Ivan Illich and his 1970 critique of institutionalized education, Deschooling Society.

Subtly grounded in his spiritual vocation, Illich uses this critique of modern systems of education (or, "schooling") as a launchpad to lambast the present "reign of quantity," in Guénon's terms, as well as consumerism, bureaucracy, and the illusion of progress - much of which we've touched on via our Crisis of the Modern World readings and will continue to discuss with Steiner.

I also found this work particularly salient due to the ongoing threat to the Department of Education - I figured this will be an interesting way to briefly tie this series to current events + hopefully trigger some great conversation before we venture back down the mysticism rabbit hole.

I will be reading this edition of the text available here, just in time for Economic Blackout day.
Here is a digital link to the text via Monoskop.
As always, if you'd like a physical book but are unable to procure one currently, I'm happy to provide one - just reach out and I'll have it shipped to you.

Copies of this text generally range from 80-100ish pages so we're just going to knock the whole damn thing out. As always, if you're unable to complete the book prior to our meeting, no worries - we're just happy to have you and welcome whatever insights, critiques, questions, etc. you may have.

We will be meeting in the Ace Hotel lobby on W 29th. It's cozy, there are couches, there is lunch, there is wine (thank god) and there is a Stumptown Coffee in the front. It's great. Message me the day of if you can't find us. I usually sit toward the back next to the bar.

Lastly, if you haven't attended readings in this series prior to this meeting, don't sweat it. The throughline here is largely imaginary so you won't be excluded or feel out-of-the-loop if you weren't previously present or aren't familiar with Guénon or Steiner. Come anyways!

So looking forward to it! I've really loved the discussions we've had thus far and can't wait to continue down this wackadoo path with you all.

Best,
Hamp