Avainsana: antti saari

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Can Wisdom Be Taught? Open Seminar in Jyväskylä

On August 28th , from 9.00 to 12.00, the Wisdom Café seminar at Jyväskylä University will invite scholars and the public to engage in a thought-provoking discussion around the question: Can wisdom be taught? Organized in collaboration with Finnish Institute for Educational Research, JYU.Wisdom and POISED research group from Tampere University, the event will bring together experts from a wide range of disciplines to explore how different fields understand and approach the concept of wisdom.

The seminar aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and public engagement, encouraging participants to reflect on the role of education, ethics, and human development in cultivating wisdom. By bridging academic perspectives and societal concerns, the event exemplifies the kind of collaborative inquiry needed to address complex questions that resonate across both scholarly and everyday contexts.

Click here for free registration and more information (in Finnish):

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The Hidden Histories of the “Attention Crisis” in Education

In an era of digital distractions and AI-driven media, strategies to reclaim focus—like meditation, unplugging, and reconnecting with nature—are widely promoted. But what if our understanding of attention is shaped by deeper historical forces?

A new open-access article in Educational Theory by Antti Saari and Bernadette Baker explores the long-standing connections between attention, spirituality, and education. The authors trace contemporary concerns about the “attention crisis” back to European Christian monastic traditions, where disciplining attention was tied to both personal transformation and practices of Othering.

Their research uncovers how medieval vigilance and soul-governing techniques became embedded in Christian empire-building, influencing modern educational approaches to focus and distraction. By examining these historical trajectories, the authors reveal how today’s discussions on attention remain entangled with spiritual binaries and exclusionary logics.

Read the full article here.

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New Article on the History of Datafication in Education

Datafication is often portrayed as a revolutionary development within and beyond educational governance. It is believed to usher in novel modes of governance, foster new relationships between private and public entities, and introduce innovative data technologies along with new forms of research and scholarship.

Amid the prevailing focus on what’s new , Antti Saari examines the ghosts of data futures past. He delves into the historical continuities of datafication in education, shedding light on the overlooked aspects of past data revolutions and their varying success in driving substantial changes within the field of education.

You can access the article here (open access)

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Examining the psychologization of student subjectivity in Finnish universities

In a recent article in Sociological Research Online Antti Saari, together with Kristiina Brunila and Saara Vainio (University of Helsinki) analyze the assemblages involved in constructing the university student as a mentally vulnerable individual.

Abstract: Public debate and media attention concerning mental health problems, stress, psycho-emotional vulnerabilities, and anxiety among university students has reached record level. Informed by media representations, student mental health guides, and our observations, we focus on the ethos of vulnerability as an articulation of psychologized student subjectivity in Finnish academia. We explore the multiple registers in which the ethos of vulnerability tends to operate as an assemblage to depict and govern student subjects.

You can access the OA article The Psychologization of Student Subjectivity in the Finnish Academia here.