Fresh Angles Series: Eric Anthamatten and the Birds on Prison Walls

By JK Fowler

Eric Anthamatten is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the New School forSocial Research in New York City. His work focuses on philosophy, education, and social justice, more specifically on issues surrounding education in marginal, non-traditional, and non-academic settings: the prison, adult education, the homeless. He is writing a dissertation entitled Pedagogy of the Condemned that explores the intersections of education, criminality, punishment and the "therapeutic" possibilities of philosophy. Using a deep reading of Aristotle's notion of habit and virtue education, as well as the theories in various critical philosophies of education (Dewey, Buber, Freire, Ranciere), he seeks to develop the concept of "habilitation" (as opposed to re-habilitation) as a way of approaching pedagogy, most especially pedagogy in the context of marginalized or condemned communities.

Currently, Anthamatten primarily works with Richard J. Bernstein, J.M. Bernstein, and Simon Critchley. He has also had the wonderful opportunity to study with Claudia Baracchi and Dmitri Nikulin, as well as an extremely talented peer group.

Anthamatten received an MA in Philosophy from Texas A&M University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a minor in electronic music. During this time he studied primarily with Scott Austin, Steve Daniels, Theodore George, and, most especially, the great John J. Mcdermott, his mentor, his inspiration, his friend.

He has taught philosophy since 2001 at various institutions in Texas and New York, ranging from community colleges to small privates schools, from major public universities to maximum security prisons in rural Texas. He is also an instructor of martial arts in Manhattan, where he teaches students ranging from age three to sixty-three, a pedagogical scene that he sees as continuous with his philosophical work.

Anthamatten hopes to continue to study and teach philosophy around the world. His dissertation should be completed by 2012.

Further Resources

Eric Anthamatten's Website

Interview Date: April 7, 2011

Written and Produced by: JK Fowler (www.roaminghills.com)

Music by: Swod (Songs: "Intro" and "Fugitif 2"; Album: Gehen)

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