Steven Fesmire, Radford University, Outstanding Lifetime AchievementScott Stroud, The University of Texas, Outstanding AchievementJulian Klar, University of Heidelberg, Graduate Student Outstanding Paper Award 2026 – 2029 Board of DirectorsMatteo Santarelli, […]
Welcome
Since 1936
The grave of John Dewey on the University of Vermont campus. A quiet place to re-dedicate ourselves to the struggle for a just, democratic, and humane society.
The 2026 annual meeting of The John Dewey Society took place in Montéal, Canada. Professor Gregory Pappas gave the keynote address, "Injustices and the Erosion of Democratic Living in the 21st Century."
Hull House
The John Dewey Society’s 2023 Annual Meeting was held in Chicago from March 2 to March 4. Special thank you to Ross Jordan, Curatorial Manager at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Our one-day event at Hull House was inspiring, thanks in no small part to the hospitality and guidance provided by Ross.
The 2022 annual meeting of the John Dewey Society took place at the Centro Cultural de la Raza, in San Diego, California, with a theme of “Border Justice and InterAmerican Cooperation.”
Thank you to our 2022 John Dewey Memorial Symposiasts: K. Wayne Yang, (University of California at San Diego), David Morales (Stanford University), Caroline Collins (University of California at San Diego), Stanley Rodriguez (President of the Board of Kumeyaay Community College)
Thank you to Christopher Tirres, the 2022 John Dewey Memorial Lecture, for this engaging lecture, “Spiritual Healing on the Border: Lessons in Art, Culture, and Education”
The John Dewey Society was happy to partner with Shelburne Farms for their 2021 annual meeting. Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future. Their breath-taking home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm located on the unceded, traditional, and contemporary homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.
Purpose
The purpose of the John Dewey Society is to foster intelligent inquiry into problems pertaining to the place and function of education in social change, and to share, discuss, and disseminate the results of such studies. The Society maintains three active journals and holds an annual meeting that features work in the fields of philosophy and education. JDS provides a space for building and sustaining a network of scholars, teachers, and community activists dedicated to democratic social change.
History
The John Dewey Society grew out of a series of discussions held as early as 1934. Originally called "The Association for the Study of Education in its Social Aspects," the name was changed to the John Dewey Society in early 1936. JDS exists to keep alive John Dewey's commitment to the use of critical and reflective intelligence in the search for solutions to crucial problems in education and culture.
Membership
Join the John Dewey Society by clicking on the "Join“ tab. Special thanks to the Tanner Foundation. New members will receive two classic books: John Dewey’s "The Sources of a Science of Education" and Dan Tanner’s "Crusade for Democracy: Progressive Education at the Crossroads." Tanner’s book provides a detailed history of the John Dewey Society.
2027 JDS Conference
The John Dewey Society 2027 annual meeting will be held at the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, Scotland, from May 19th – 21st . The conference will celebrate the centenary of Dewey’s 1929 Gifford Lectures on "The Quest for Certainty," delivered at the University of Edinburgh.