J. Lawrence Bencze’s research while affiliated with University of Toronto and other places

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Publications (3)


Science education for growing networks of critique and altruism: striving for increased social justice and environmental vitality
  • Article

February 2025

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2 Reads

J. Lawrence Bencze

Post-pandemic Science & Technology Education: Ongoing Challenges to Societies

January 2025

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8 Reads

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was highly devastating, particularly for disadvantaged segments of societies, it helped unmask the apparent ongoing ‘pandemic’ of ‘externalities’ wrought by elite few—mostly wealthy—individuals (e.g., financiers) and groups (e.g., corporations, governments & transnational organizations) who have routinely orchestrated most people, other living and non-living things and symbolic capital towards serving their interests over most others and environments. Key instruments of such wealth and wellbeing concentration often are fields of science and technology/engineering and their educational counterparts. Transforming them in ways prioritizing social justice and environmental vitality is essential, therefore, in thwarting the ‘elitism pandemic.’ In this chapter, after Lyn Carter provides a forthright review of disorienting ‘polycrises’ associated with global geopolitical struggles, Isabel Martins describes how deeply ingrained social injustice mechanisms, paired with disinformation, were instrumental in pandemic mismanagement during Brazil’s former right-wing populist government and then Larry Bencze reports on ongoing work to prepare secondary school students for critical and activist civic engagements in contexts of ‘progressive’ neoliberalism. These diverse accounts may contribute to political turns that appear needed in school science, with supportive acts by people in government, diverse private sector and labour contexts and many more.


Re-visioning Ideological Assemblages Through De-punctualizing and Activist Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

January 2021

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40 Reads

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8 Citations

Canadian Journal of Science Mathematics and Technology Education

It seems clear to many analysts that there are several existential and many ‘normalized’ threats to wellbeing of individuals, societies and environments—such as disruption from climate change, diseases from manufactured foods and species losses linked to habitat destruction—that have been associated with fields of science, mathematics and technology (and, likely, engineering). Culpability for such threats, while perhaps engaging much of humanity, seems most likely attributable to pro-capitalist individuals (e.g., financiers) and groups (e.g., corporations and transnational trade organizations)—which appear to have relatively successfully influenced most living and nonliving entities to form assemblages (dispositifs) that serve their self-interested ideologies. Given harms associated with such assemblages, it seems clear to many analysts that they need to be severely disrupted or, perhaps, replaced with alliances of entities that are based on ideological perspectives that may contribute to comprehensive wellbeing. Although pro-capitalist assemblages have been extremely resilient, it seems that current sociopolitical instability and, moreover, considerable disruption from the CoViD-19 pandemic may provide unprecedented opportunities for dramatic changes. In this article, after consideration of characteristics and extents of harms linked to fields of science, mathematics and technology/engineering, possibilities are described and critically defended for uses of a particular curriculum and pedagogical framework for helping students to imagine and, perhaps, realize new assemblages of entities that are held together by ideologies that they consider appropriate.

Citations (1)


... Critical cartography in the 21st century has developed far from its initial deconstructionist roots. Today, discussions build on a paradigm challenging positivist cartographic assumptions and status quosocio-political structures, ideologies, and practices in a landscape contextualized by political and social instability, inequality, and ecological crisis (Harley, 1989;1991;Crampton & Krygier, 2015;Rose-Redwood, 2015;Bencze, 2020). It is worth mentioning that contemporary critique increasingly incorporates feminist, indigenous, and otherwise marginalized perspectives in seeking broader socio-cultural transformation via mapping theory and practice. ...

Reference:

Critical 21 st century cartography education: identifying course content and instruction methods for the curriculum
Re-visioning Ideological Assemblages Through De-punctualizing and Activist Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
  • Citing Article
  • January 2021

Canadian Journal of Science Mathematics and Technology Education