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Our new Horizons in the Philosophy of Education series offers scholarly manuscripts that utilize methods, concepts, and key figures in philosophy to expand the known universe of educational thought. New topics, perspectives, and intellectual innovations are especially emphasized, along with older—even ancient—ones that have been overlooked. Just released this month, Deeper Learning with Psychedelics: Philosophical Pathways through Altered States, by David J. Blacker, explores the powerful educational capabilities of classic psychedelics.

"Blacker is known for highly original thinking in the field of philosophy of education. … The book [is] a model of educational thinking, but … the audience for the book is much more expansive, in keeping with the nascent field of psychedelic studies itself. … The book also speaks powerfully to considerations of deeper learning in general." — Natasha Levinson, Kent State University

"A terrific new contribution to our field. The educational potential of psychedelic drugs is a surprisingly interesting topic, but … it has been completely ignored...The topic may seem to some to be fringe and/or taboo, but this conclusion is incorrect (as Blacker demonstrates)." — David Waddington, Concordia University

Crossing Digital Fronteras: Rehumanizing Latinx Education and Digital Humanities, edited by Isabel Martinez, Irma Victoria Montelongo, Nicholas Daniel Natividad, and Ángel David Nieves, demonstrates the liberatory potential of Latinx Digital Humanities at Hispanic-Serving Institutions and in Latinx Studies classrooms.

"Crossing Digital Fronteras speaks directly to how digital tools can be used in the effort to rehumanize education for Latinx students, a community that, as the editors point out, has been the target of racist and xenophobic discourse. Engagingly and accessibly written, the volume makes an important and timely intervention in the field of education, particularly with respect to the growing literature on decolonial education, Latinx students in higher education, and 'servingness' in Hispanic-Serving Institutions." — María Eugenia Cotera, coeditor of Chicana Movidas: New Narratives of Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era

Impact/Impasse: Revaluing University Classroom Life, by Laura E. Smithers, Heidi Fischer, and Faith A. Watrous, makes a case for the value—and ultimately impact—of seemingly mundane moments in college classrooms.

“Impact/Impasse creates a kind of interactive engagement between the reader and the text not often found in higher education. In presenting short essays more akin to 'field notes' than traditional formal analysis, the book offers a mechanism to help students think through how they make sense of different phenomena and events. The text also performs this kind of thinking, especially in relation to the pesky notion of 'normal.' Throughout, we witness students, staff, faculty, and the authors themselves grapple with normal notions even as the written text itself plays with normal prose (academic and otherwise). This innovative approach will contribute to fields that rely on reproductive senses of 'normal practice' for recognition and legibility.” — Aaron M. Kuntz, author of Qualitative Inquiry, Cartography, and the Promise of Material Change

The Critical Race Studies in Education series is committed to publishing scholarly monographs and edited volumes that use a critical race lens to investigate a range of educational settings, systems, and experiences. Now available in paperback, The Chosen We: Black Women's Empowerment in Higher Education, by Rachelle Winkle-Wagner, draws on and centers oral histories with Black women college graduates to demonstrate the role of community in fostering their success in and beyond education.

"The Chosen We takes care to center Black women's voices in telling their stories. Building on her earlier book, The Unchosen Me, Winkle-Wagner highlights the empowering nature of collectivity, nuances our understanding of Black collegiate women's contexts, and shows how these contexts impact Black women's health." — Felecia Commodore, coauthor of Black Women College Students: A Guide to Student Success in Higher Education

Also now available in paperback, Invisible Forces: Motivational Supports and Challenges in High School and College Classes, by Pei Pei Liu, explores the critical role that classroom educators play in supporting student motivation throughout the transition from high school to college.

"This book offers an in-depth look at the complexities of supporting students' motivation in the classroom, dispelling any sense that there is a formula for teachers to follow that will magically change students' learning behaviors. Motivational change will require an iterative process of study, meaningful collaboration with peers, enactment of new instructional strategies, and reflection on the outcomes." — Andrea Christensen, University of Notre Dame

"Liu's focus on the motivational ecosystems swirling around pedagogical identities, classroom authority, and ongoing professional development makes Invisible Forces a must read for any teacher‐researcher interested in pedagogical theory and application in our current moment." — Michael Harker, author of The Lure of Literacy: A Critical Reception of the Compulsory Composition Debate

Happy reading and come back and see what's new next month!