Reviews

"A probing exploration of the temporal dimensions of education. This book is an intellectual masterpiece that will set the standard for a long time to come." 

- Gert Biesta, Brunel University London, UK

"Questioning common assumptions regarding temporal rhythms is inherently transgressive. In this fascinating and groundbreaking theoretical analysis, Michel Alhadeff-Jones explores the intersection of temporal rhythms, learning processes and the dynamics of emancipatory education." 

- Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas, USA

"Unlike the scientist who quests for the instant of understanding, the educator has to make an ally of the full stretch of time. He or she needs to develop an appreciation of time’s heterogeneous and contradictory nature rather than seeing it simply as the foe of speed and efficiency. Michel Alhadeff-Jones’s study constitutes the richest examination of educational temporality I have ever encountered. It is immensely learned, assembling and responding to a body of literature that crosses multiple scholarly fields; it is penetratingly insightful, particularly in the way it explains how emancipation is, literally, a matter of rhythm; and it is utterly original. Educational theorists will find ample food for thought and debate in this book and educators, a groundbreaking way of reconceiving of their practice."

- Rene V. Arcilla, New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, USA

"This deeply thoughtful book merits our attention so as to appreciate time’s complexity, the subtlety of the analysis and its emancipatory intent. We often experience time as tyranny, at work, in classrooms, in families or as a general aspect of ‘hyper-modernity’. Time may never seem our own. But there are routes to emancipation by taking time out to recognize tyrannies and how to transgress them. This compelling book combines interdisciplinary understanding with biographical sensibility to consider temporal constraints and resistance to them. So take time to read it and consider time’s biological, psychological, cultural and emancipatory rhythms. Giving time to the book will in fact be a good, transgressive act in its own right!"

- Linden West, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

"A very rich narrative on how diverse experiences of time structure our educational and learning experiences and vice-versa. Drawing on both continental and Anglo-American multidisciplinary sources, Michel Alhadeff-Jones constructs a framework that enables researchers and practitioners to explore new ways of considering how ‘life rhythms’ and institutional practices of work and learning often contradict each other, yet, how these conflicts can also be the source of emancipatory trajectories of both individuals and collectivities. A groundbreaking work that takes the reader step by step on an inspiring journey, from reductionist approaches to complexity-inspired views on human learning and education, whilst transgressing the boundaries between diverse practices such as formal and non-formal education, social work, vocational education and training and human resource development. The work opens new perspectives on how to conceive of emancipation in connection with the rhythms of life of individuals, institutions and societies."

- Danny Wildemeersch, University of Leuven, Belgium

"[This] book represents a compelling, valuable, and inspiring resource for scholars in education who wish to explore the novel ways of conceiving time and rhythm while also learning to resist the multiple temporal constraints."

- Inna Semetsky, Institute of Edusemiotics, Melbourne, Australia

"In comparison with other recent books as conceptual and critical toward temporal complexity ... this one proposes a precise path toward temporal autonomy [and] the conquest of one's time... This is why it is of key interest for [academics, researchers and postgraduate students]. It fulfills its ambition."

- Gaston Pineau, University of Tours, France

"This is an important book, dense with insights, the fruit of careful and critical scholarship. It engages a very broad range of sources and Alhadeff-Jones’s elegant scrupulousness with ideas makes the text a rich resource ... The result is an elaborate theoretical framework, capable of moving between, and thinking across, social, institutional, and biographical levels of analysis, offering a rich, relational conceptualization of temporal dimensions of education and learning ... this book is a major contribution to educational scholarship, which I found immensely rewarding to read and I think deserves to be discussed and debated very widely within adult education."

- Fergal Finnegan, Maynooth University, Ireland

"This book captures our attention from start to finish by shifting our viewpoint from traditional conceptions of time to new perspectives on the appreciation of time in all its complexity. It builds awareness and makes you realize that time can be appreciated in terms of its rhythms and experiential moments … Through his insightful presentation and the way he confronts the existing conceptual and theoretical literature on the notion of time, Michel Alhadeff-Jones gradually builds, page by page, a solid framework to better understand the rhythms of emancipation. This book will definitely be a reference for future research and practice in education at large. In particular, with regard to working life in business schools, it offers a penetrating perspective for exploring the changes and impacts of the rhythms of emancipation within the jobs and careers of management educators. I am more than convinced that Time and the Rhythms of Emancipatory Education will prod us to be better in our teaching, research, and work in academia. It is profound, deeply thoughtful, well-documented and innovative."

- Emmanuel Poirel, University of Montreal, Canada

"Michel Alhadeff-Jones has made a unique and thought-provoking contribution to Routledge’s Theorizing Education Series with his new book exploring transdisciplinary readings of time and rhythms in emancipatory education."

- Catherine Manathunga, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia