The Educational Theory Institute 2018
The Hazards and Potential of Open-Mindedness in Post-Truth Conditions

The Ninth Educational Theory Institute (ETI) was held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from October 20-22, 2017. The journal Educational Theory and the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership co-sponsored this event.

This 2018 theme wasThe Hazards and Potential of Open-Mindedness in Post-Truth Conditions. Educational Theory commissioned a team of leading international scholars to produce fresh and substantive contributions for a special issue on this theme, which will be published in volume 69 of Educational Theory. The 2018 participants were:

• Lauren Bialystok, OISE, University of Toronto (co-director)
• Matt Ferkany, Michigan State University (co-director)
• Howard J. Curzer, Texas Tech University
• Tadashi Dozono, Lyons Community School
• Susan Verducci Sandford, San José State University
• Troy A Richardson, Cornell University
• Rebecca M. Taylor, Emory University of Colorado Boulder
• Rachel Wahl, University of Virginia
• Douglas Yacek, Leibniz Universität Hannover

During the first two days of the institute, participants workshopped each other's papers in internal sessions with Educational Theory staff. The Institute culminated on Monday, October 22, with a half-day open conference, that featured the scholars above and the following scholars: Jack Kwong and Benjamin Mille. The conference included three panels:

1. Hazards of Open-Mindedness (Gottlieb & Curzer and Ferkany)
2. The Importance of Open-Mindedness for Learners (Dozono & Taylor and Yacek)
3. Methods of Teaching Open-Mindedness (Verducci Sandford and Wahl)

Open-mindedness is ordinarily considered an educational good and an epistemic virtue, whereas closed-mindedness is a serious defect, one that opens us to harsh censure in the classroom. However, in today’s world open-mindedness is itself not without moral hazard. When badly false beliefs are in wide circulation, and the rhetorical opposition cares more to win the day than to uncover shared truth, open-minded persons risk being manipulated  epistemically,  even  losing  their grip on truth. Is more open-mindedness the answer? The hazards of open-mindedness in epistemically corrupting conditions present several puzzles for advocates of open-mindedness as an educational good, including How open should an open mind be? Is open-mindedness virtuous or strategic in the face of injustice and polarization partly characterized by extreme closed-mindedness? What are the challenges of adhering to a pedagogy of open-mindedness in the classroom, particularly when engaging students in conversations about obvious injustice, and how can teachers meet them?