Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries: the potential of Sen's capability approach for sociologists of education |
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| Authors: | ELAINE UNTERHALTER |
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| Institution: | Institute of Education, University of London, UK |
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| Abstract: | Rationality and Freedom AMARTYA SEN, 2002 London, Harvard University Press 736 pp., £25.04 ISBN 0 674 00947 9 Valuing Freedoms. Sen's Capability Approach and Poverty Reduction SABINA ALKIRE, 2002 Oxford, Oxford University Press 340 pp., £45.00 ISBN 0 19 924579 This important selection of essays by the in.uential Nobel Prize winning economist, Amartya Sen, deals with economic theory and social philosophy. Sabina Alkire's book combines a lucid exposition of the significance of Sen's work with an analysis of how it might be operationalised in development practice. Together with Sen's popular and now very widely read exposition of his key ideas in Development as Freedom (Sen, 1999) the works provide a new language to understand important social and economic processes. These recently published works also indicate some new directions debates concerning Sen's innovative ideas are taking. On the one hand, the connections across disciplines that Sen's work represents are being explored, partly by Sen himself and partly by those who have interpreted his ideas. On the other hand, the implications of Sen's work for examining practical approaches to social justice are emerging. While Sen's ideas have posed some central questions for debates in philosophy concerning equality, for discussions on social choice in economics, and for the reframing of the de.nition of ‘development’ in development studies, his work has had surprisingly little impact on discussions in sociology of education. Before considering what some of the potential of his thinking is for sociologists of education, some elements of his thinking need explanation. |
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