Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory, 2018
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young p... more In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young people. I base my study on my earlier research on meritocracy and written data collected online from current and former music school students in the autumn and winter of 2015–2016. I am able to show there are implicit and explicit merit-based hierarchies in the music school. Hierarchies and exclusion are shown to be connected to the institution’s meritocratic features. As the hierarchies are merit-based, it is hard to question them. The hierarchies justify excluding students from certain practices such as performances. These practices are in fact learning opportunities, as has been established by earlier research. In addition to this, the hierarchies also influence students’ views of their potential and this, combined with limited learning opportunities, hinders their development. The hierarchies thus produce self-fulfilling prophecies of the students’ advancement. This is how the meritoc...
Näkymätön puoli ryhmien elämässä jää usein vähemmälle huomiolle kuin näkyvä ja ulkoisesti mitatta... more Näkymätön puoli ryhmien elämässä jää usein vähemmälle huomiolle kuin näkyvä ja ulkoisesti mitattavissa oleva todellisuus. On kuitenkin mahdollista tarkastella myös ihmisten yhdessäolon "pimeää" puolta, maailmaa jota emme useinkaan osaa sanoittaa, mutta jonka saatamme siitä huolimatta tuntea nahoissamme. Yritys ymmärtää heikosti tiedostettua toimintaa on sukellus maailmaan, jonka olemassaolon voi tuntea, mutta joka on siitä huolimatta vieras. Se vaatii ymmärryksen herkistymistä asioille, jotka tapahtuvat ilman että niitä tietoisesti suunnitellaan.
In this paper I will examine French philosopher Dominique Girardot’s2 theory of the ideology of m... more In this paper I will examine French philosopher Dominique Girardot’s2 theory of the ideology of merit and its effect on recognition. Girardot takes the well-known Honnethian conceptualization of recognition as her starting point but her work opens a path toward other directions: understanding the reasons for lack of recognition in society, and how the nature of recognition as a freely issued gift is at stake. Girardot’s theory of recognition also enables the possibility of recognizing something completely new that transforms norms rather than simply conforming to pre-existing standards. This is made possible by the influence of Hannah Arendt’s theoretical framework of human activity on Girardot’s conception of recognition. I will first take a look at Girardot’s theory of the ideology of merit and then go on to examine briefly how Girardot’s conception of recognition differs from that of Axel Honneth. After this I will give an account of the relation between the ideology of merit and...
This article examines recognition relations between students and teachers in Finnish music school... more This article examines recognition relations between students and teachers in Finnish music schools. The research is based on written texts by music school students. The texts are analysed for difficulties in recognition relations, namely, hindrances to recognition in music schools. In the texts, some of the respondents describe situations that can be analysed as hindrances to recognition. The author analyses four different types of recognition-related problems in the data, the main issue being a tension between caring for people (respecting them) and promoting musical values (emphasising esteem). In addition to discerning problems, the article attempts to alleviate this tension. This might be achieved if different kinds of excellence, rather than just one, were to be developed in music schools. Students’ different abilities and motivations might then have a chance to emerge. Caring for people in the context of studying music would mean helping them to find the musical values they ca...
This ArtsEqual policy brief offers government bodies and local institutions responsible for the i... more This ArtsEqual policy brief offers government bodies and local institutions responsible for the implementation of Basic Education in the Arts insights from recent research to inform discussions on accessibility, as well as offer concrete suggestions on how accessibility can be realized in all fields of arts education.
In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young p... more In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young people. I base my study on my earlier research on meritocracy and written data collected online from current and former music school students in the autumn and winter of 2015–2016. I am able to show there are implicit and explicit merit-based hierarchies in the music school. Hierarchies and exclusion are shown to be connected to the institution’s meritocratic features. As the hierarchies are merit-based, it is hard to question them. The hierarchies justify excluding students from certain practices such as performances. These practices are in fact learning opportunities, as has been established by earlier research. In addition to this, the hierarchies also influence students’ views of their potential and this, combined with limited learning opportunities, hinders their development. The hierarchies thus produce self-fulfilling prophecies of the students’ advancement. This is how the meritocratic system can in fact produce the failure it pretends only to reflect.
Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory, 2018
The article presents a critique of competition by introducing a concept called distinction. Compe... more The article presents a critique of competition by introducing a concept called distinction. Competition is thought to work as a guarantee of the fairness of meritocratic procedures (merit-based recruiting in the job market or e.g.en- trance examinations). However, fairness created by competition is, even at its best, only relative. This critique is then used a part of a larger critique of the role of merit in society.
SoPhi on julkaissut akateemisesti korkeatasoista fi losofi sta ja yhteiskuntatieteellistä kirjall... more SoPhi on julkaissut akateemisesti korkeatasoista fi losofi sta ja yhteiskuntatieteellistä kirjallisuutta vuodesta 1995. Kirjoittajamme ovat kansainvälisesti ansioituneita tutkijoita. Julkaisemme sekä suomenettä englanninkielistä kirjallisuutta. Julkaistavat kirjat valitaan tieteellisin kriteerein asiantuntijalausuntojen pohjalta. SoPhin toimintaperiaatteina ovat nopeus, riippumattomuus ja ajankohtaisuus. Kirjat ovat helposti saatavilla maksutta internetistä. SoPhikirjat ovat mukana julkaisufoorumin luokituksessa.
Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory, 2018
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young p... more In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young people. I base my study on my earlier research on meritocracy and written data collected online from current and former music school students in the autumn and winter of 2015–2016. I am able to show there are implicit and explicit merit-based hierarchies in the music school. Hierarchies and exclusion are shown to be connected to the institution’s meritocratic features. As the hierarchies are merit-based, it is hard to question them. The hierarchies justify excluding students from certain practices such as performances. These practices are in fact learning opportunities, as has been established by earlier research. In addition to this, the hierarchies also influence students’ views of their potential and this, combined with limited learning opportunities, hinders their development. The hierarchies thus produce self-fulfilling prophecies of the students’ advancement. This is how the meritoc...
Näkymätön puoli ryhmien elämässä jää usein vähemmälle huomiolle kuin näkyvä ja ulkoisesti mitatta... more Näkymätön puoli ryhmien elämässä jää usein vähemmälle huomiolle kuin näkyvä ja ulkoisesti mitattavissa oleva todellisuus. On kuitenkin mahdollista tarkastella myös ihmisten yhdessäolon "pimeää" puolta, maailmaa jota emme useinkaan osaa sanoittaa, mutta jonka saatamme siitä huolimatta tuntea nahoissamme. Yritys ymmärtää heikosti tiedostettua toimintaa on sukellus maailmaan, jonka olemassaolon voi tuntea, mutta joka on siitä huolimatta vieras. Se vaatii ymmärryksen herkistymistä asioille, jotka tapahtuvat ilman että niitä tietoisesti suunnitellaan.
In this paper I will examine French philosopher Dominique Girardot’s2 theory of the ideology of m... more In this paper I will examine French philosopher Dominique Girardot’s2 theory of the ideology of merit and its effect on recognition. Girardot takes the well-known Honnethian conceptualization of recognition as her starting point but her work opens a path toward other directions: understanding the reasons for lack of recognition in society, and how the nature of recognition as a freely issued gift is at stake. Girardot’s theory of recognition also enables the possibility of recognizing something completely new that transforms norms rather than simply conforming to pre-existing standards. This is made possible by the influence of Hannah Arendt’s theoretical framework of human activity on Girardot’s conception of recognition. I will first take a look at Girardot’s theory of the ideology of merit and then go on to examine briefly how Girardot’s conception of recognition differs from that of Axel Honneth. After this I will give an account of the relation between the ideology of merit and...
This article examines recognition relations between students and teachers in Finnish music school... more This article examines recognition relations between students and teachers in Finnish music schools. The research is based on written texts by music school students. The texts are analysed for difficulties in recognition relations, namely, hindrances to recognition in music schools. In the texts, some of the respondents describe situations that can be analysed as hindrances to recognition. The author analyses four different types of recognition-related problems in the data, the main issue being a tension between caring for people (respecting them) and promoting musical values (emphasising esteem). In addition to discerning problems, the article attempts to alleviate this tension. This might be achieved if different kinds of excellence, rather than just one, were to be developed in music schools. Students’ different abilities and motivations might then have a chance to emerge. Caring for people in the context of studying music would mean helping them to find the musical values they ca...
This ArtsEqual policy brief offers government bodies and local institutions responsible for the i... more This ArtsEqual policy brief offers government bodies and local institutions responsible for the implementation of Basic Education in the Arts insights from recent research to inform discussions on accessibility, as well as offer concrete suggestions on how accessibility can be realized in all fields of arts education.
In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young p... more In this article I analyse merit-based exclusion in Finnish music schools for children and young people. I base my study on my earlier research on meritocracy and written data collected online from current and former music school students in the autumn and winter of 2015–2016. I am able to show there are implicit and explicit merit-based hierarchies in the music school. Hierarchies and exclusion are shown to be connected to the institution’s meritocratic features. As the hierarchies are merit-based, it is hard to question them. The hierarchies justify excluding students from certain practices such as performances. These practices are in fact learning opportunities, as has been established by earlier research. In addition to this, the hierarchies also influence students’ views of their potential and this, combined with limited learning opportunities, hinders their development. The hierarchies thus produce self-fulfilling prophecies of the students’ advancement. This is how the meritocratic system can in fact produce the failure it pretends only to reflect.
Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory, 2018
The article presents a critique of competition by introducing a concept called distinction. Compe... more The article presents a critique of competition by introducing a concept called distinction. Competition is thought to work as a guarantee of the fairness of meritocratic procedures (merit-based recruiting in the job market or e.g.en- trance examinations). However, fairness created by competition is, even at its best, only relative. This critique is then used a part of a larger critique of the role of merit in society.
SoPhi on julkaissut akateemisesti korkeatasoista fi losofi sta ja yhteiskuntatieteellistä kirjall... more SoPhi on julkaissut akateemisesti korkeatasoista fi losofi sta ja yhteiskuntatieteellistä kirjallisuutta vuodesta 1995. Kirjoittajamme ovat kansainvälisesti ansioituneita tutkijoita. Julkaisemme sekä suomenettä englanninkielistä kirjallisuutta. Julkaistavat kirjat valitaan tieteellisin kriteerein asiantuntijalausuntojen pohjalta. SoPhin toimintaperiaatteina ovat nopeus, riippumattomuus ja ajankohtaisuus. Kirjat ovat helposti saatavilla maksutta internetistä. SoPhikirjat ovat mukana julkaisufoorumin luokituksessa.
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