Cabinet 39: Learning

What is learning? An excruciating struggle with techniques and facts? A sensation of joyful encounter with the hitherto unknown? The very notion of the pedagogical conjures a whole range of emotions, and its implications are evident throughout society--for what is culture, after all, but the transmission of knowledge? The thematic section of Cabinet 39 features an interview with John Haynes, pioneer of the modern instruction manual; Jeff Dolven outlining the theater of pedagogy; Elaine Traub tracing the history of distance learning; Sina Najafi tracking the development of the A-F grading system; and an interview with Zoë Readhead, principal of Summerhill, the world's first "free school." Elsewhere in the issue: Michael Shipley on voice experts used by the police and security services; Emily Walters on boots and colonialism; Suzanne Scott on the history of suntanning; Kris Lee on Kierkegaard and the promotional blurb; and Katrin Arnardottir on the sex lives of Icelandic elves.