Beyond the Human: Democratic Education Through the Ethics of Care and Carriance. A Response to “Reimagining Democratic Education with Care Ethics—Toward Care-full Democratic Education”

This is a response to Koponen and Kasa’s argument that feminist theorizing and care ethics have been overlooked as theoretical approaches in the current democratic education debate. Their article draws on these insights to theorize democratic education in ways that combine care and democracy. In my response, I aim to offer clarifying comments and questions while suggesting ideas to expand Koponen and Kasa’s analysis. Specifically, I highlight two perspectives that, in my view, warrant further exploration in democratic education: developing theoretical frameworks that move beyond human-centered and anthropocentric accounts and, embracing care and the concept of "care-carrying" or "carriance" (Ettinger, 2015) as practices integral to Koponen and Kasa’s account of care-full democratic education. My response concludes by discussing how these insights illuminate further the current democratic education debate by expanding the horizon of democracy and democratic education.