Policy Press

Education for Sustainable Development in an Unequal World

Biopolitics, Differentiation and Affirmative Alternatives

By Beniamin Knutsson, Linus Bylund, Sofie Hellberg and Jonas Lindberg

Published

Oct 25, 2024

Page count

272 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in Comparative and International Education

ISBN

978-1529234077

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 25, 2024

Page count

272 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in Comparative and International Education

ISBN

978-1529234091

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 25, 2024

Page count

272 pages

Browse the series

Bristol Studies in Comparative and International Education

ISBN

978-1529234091

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press
Education for Sustainable Development in an Unequal World

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is recurrently depicted as an enterprise that unites humanity in a common pursuit of a more just and sustainable world. But how is this enterprise pursued on a planet that is enormously unequal? Drawing on biopolitical theory and rich empirical data from different contexts around the world, this book explores how ESD is unpacked depending on whether people are rich or poor.

The book demonstrates how ESD is adapted to the lifestyles and living conditions of different populations. The implication of this depoliticized sensitivity to local ‘realities’, the book argues, is that inequality becomes accommodated and that different responsibilities are assigned to rich and poor. Ultimately, the book considers alternatives to this biopolitical divide.

Beniamin Knutsson is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Research Associate of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Linus Bylund is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sofie Hellberg is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Jonas Lindberg is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the Department of Economy and Society, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

1.Education for Sustainable Development: A Global Enterprise in an Unequal World

2.Exploring Education for Sustainable Development Biopolitically

3.Global Policy Initiatives: Historical Trajectories and the Biopolitics of the Present

4.Winning Differently: Awarding Education for Affluent and Subsistence Lifestyles

5.Eco-Schools for Rich and Poor: Global Governmentality

6.Eco-Schools for Rich and Poor: The Biopolitical Divide

7.Biopolitical ‘Effects’ of Education for Sustainable Development

8.Conclusion: Towards Affirmative Alternatives