Consuming Schools: Commercialism and the End of Politics

'School profiteers beware! Consuming Schools is that rare book that manages to shift the discussion of two topics at once—that of consumerism and that of school commercialism. Intervening in the critical literature on both subjects, Trevor Norris's book could not be more important for a deeper understanding of the social implications of the myriad private forces infiltrating the public sphere and, specifically, public schools. He draws from post-structuralism and critical theory to offer a powerful and thoughtful defence of public schools as sites for the making of an engaged critical citizenry. As Norris makes clear, in the commercial struggle over students and schools, the stakes are not only the possibility of a more genuine democracy but our very understandings of each other and ourselves.' Kenneth Saltman, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Research, DePaul University

'No other volume deals with the issue of consumerism in a manner as wide-ranging or as comprehensive as Consuming Schools. By addressing how education has been transformed at all levels into another form of consumer activity, Trevor Norris speaks to a topic of great interest among critically minded readers. Thanks to his careful research and diligent preparation, Consuming Schools is also a serious advance in state-of-the-art research.' Emery J. Hyslop-Margison, Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick