Esotericism against Capitalism?: Rudolf Steiner's Reform Pedagogy as a Site of Resistance

This article seeks a better understanding of how Rudolf Steiner envisioned his reform pedagogy as a site of spiritual learning (for example through art, seasonal festivals, ritual drama, etc.), but also as a specific site intended to resist the encroaching influence of capitalism, materialism, and c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: French, Aaron (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [publisher not identified] 2024
In: Approaching religion
Year: 2024, Volume: 14, Issue: 2, Pages: 170-189
Further subjects:B workers' schools
B Esotericism
B alternative pedagogy
B global capitalism
B handwork
B Waldorf schools
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Summary:This article seeks a better understanding of how Rudolf Steiner envisioned his reform pedagogy as a site of spiritual learning (for example through art, seasonal festivals, ritual drama, etc.), but also as a specific site intended to resist the encroaching influence of capitalism, materialism, and corporatism spreading in Germany following the First World War. Steiner's ideas about education did not emerge in a vacuum. He was inspired by and connected with other forms of communist, socialist, and Lebensreform movements in his time. Yet Steiner more actively embraced and incorporated esotericism into his pedagogical project. How did his approach differ from the other anti-capitalist and anti-materialist-inspired schools that were spreading, and what role did esotericism play in terms of developing Waldorf students? This article explores these questions and contributes to a recontextualization of both Steiner and esotericism taking place in the academy.
ISSN:1799-3121
Contains:Enthalten in: Approaching religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.30664/ar.137451