This book - written with theoretical rigor, sociological sensibility and poetic beauty - reveals the intensity of classroom lectures and dialogues. In the age of 'virtual intimacy', the author retains the courage to celebrate the spirit of direct, face-to-face classroom interactions. As he delivers a series of lectures on education, pedagogy and cultural politics, and engages with his students at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the book begins to take its shape. It invites the readers to raise critical questions, sharpen their socio-political vision, and reflect on educational practices and pedagogic possibilities. Please note: This title is co-published with Aakar Books, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Avijit Pathak is Professor at Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

1. Education and Enlightenment 2. Beyond the Parameters of a Schooled Society 3. Seeing Through the Sociological Lens 4. Contextualizing the Educational Debates 5. Science, Secularization and Education 6. Euphoria of Success, Stigma of Failure 7. Ideology, Curriculum and Educational Dilemmas 8. Skill Learning and Liberal Education: Overcoming the False Duality 9. A Society That Has Lost its Teachers is Dead 10. In Search of Feasible Utopias