Farida Makar

Research Topic

Progressive Education, Modern Schools and Egyptian Society, 1900-1952

My DPhil project explores manifestations of progressive pre-university education in Egypt between 1900 and 1952. It occupies a hybrid position between intellectual and social history as it locates the ideational and practical contributions of progressive actors most notably teachers, artists, and political activists. The project re-examines the historiography on education in the Middle East by proposing to look at education as a set of ideas and practices that can be advanced by multiple actors--rather  than merely a byproduct of a nation-building project. It locates Egyptian experimentations with progressive education within a larger transnational network of progressive pedagogy most notably in countries such as India, Japan, Turkey, Argentina and Mexico in the early 20th century.

Supervisor: Professor James McDougall