The Effects of One-Dimensional Reasoning on Vocational Education: What if Marcuse went to NSCC?
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Date
2017-06
Authors
Wells-Hopey, Debra G.
Journal Title
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Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
This thesis will argue that NSCC is an ideological construct that is part of a larger apparatus of administered domination. Such a claim is highly contentious, yet I will seek to show that any critique of the college is, a-priori, designed to be unacceptable by the same administrative environment in which the college exists. This paper shall draw upon Herbert Marcuse’s theory of One-dimensional reasoning to illustrate why NSCC is a manifestation of oppression, and how this is a result of a technologically administered society that represses the act of critical thinking. I assert that when reason is no longer critical, it inhibits the ability to think in terms of abstracts or universals (justice, freedom, equality, etc.) and becomes only a tool for attainment of ends and, therefore, is a threat to learner’s agency. If there is no room, a priori, for critical thought at NSCC, what are they in truth doing there? And what does this mean for those who “choose” to attend? In short, I will initially critique the college in light of its adherence to one-dimensional reasoning, show why this is threat to agency, examine critiques that challenge this theory and, finally, attempt to reconcile these tensions.
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Keywords
One-dimensional reasoning, vocational education,