Joris Verheijen

Winner Dissertation Prize 2025

Report by the selection committee

‘I had no idea how many things there are that I don’t even think of doing in the hallway anymore.’ This is how teacher Joris quotes his pupil — also named Joris — when the latter, in 2015, reflects on the influence of power and discipline on his daily life at school, as part of a lesson on Foucault.

Things were very different in the 1980s and 1990s. Dubious extracurricular activities in the corridor were commonplace. But back then we didn’t yet have security cameras, no Magister, and much less pressure to perform. There were suspensions and expulsions and such, but rebellious youngsters pushing boundaries accepted those as part of the deal, an occupational hazard. If we had known the word Bildung back then, we probably would have used it to challenge and provoke the teachers even more. 

In his dissertation, teacher Joris criticizes the classical humanist and anti-revolutionary ideal of Bildung, which presents self-realization exclusively as the result of climbing a linear, predetermined ladder upwards, with no alternative side paths, detours or leaps. He shows how more revolutionary thinkers have been forgotten and presents their work in a clear historical account of various philosophical movements, of which only the winner (Humboldtian Bildung thought) remains in public memory. In doing so, Joris brings the more socially critical concept of Bildung, as formulated by figures such as Schlegel, Forster and Böhmer, but also Freire and Benjamin, back into the spotlight as a source of inspiration for contemporary education. 

The jury was very enthusiastic about this. As one of us wrote: ‘freedom instead of limitation; expanding horizons instead of tunnel vision; unexpected unrest instead of predictability; messiness instead of sanitization; contextualization instead of essentialism: YEAH!’ Another paid tribute to the inspiring return to allegorical thinking and the search for the rogue who questions and challenges the system. ‘Erasmian to the max,’ is how that jury member described this perspective in the dissertation. 

Joris’s dissertation also stands out methodologically for its exemplary historical archival and source research (including excursions into architecture and art), the use of various philosophical theories, and its effective links with educational practice. The dissertation is also written in a highly accessible style, even playful and engaging, so that it is never boring or impenetrable. One jury member wrote: it reads like a book! And that turned out to be true, as a public edition of the dissertation has since been published. Especially useful for those who find the many German-language quotations in the dissertation version somewhat challenging. Hopefully, the book for a general audience will be of benefit to educators in the Netherlands. Among the jury members, it has certainly sparked enthusiasm. We have all become eager to apply the presented theories in our own fields. There was also a call within the jury for an English translation, as the value of this debate is relevant to education worldwide. 

At the end of 2024, it was announced that a school in Zeist had, as a trial, stopped using Magister due to the performance pressure pupils experience as a result of the constant surveillance the app makes possible. Children feel as though they are under a magnifying glass, and the app has become a symbol of organized suspicion and meddling, according to the news report. Foucault would have welcomed this experiment. Probably both Jorises too. The trial in Zeist was a success and will be continued there. Unfortunately, a national survey showed that most parents are not enthusiastic about reduced surveillance. But perhaps this outstanding dissertation can at least convince schools that they owe it to the Bildung of their pupils to pursue, in the spirit of Paulo Freire, a pedagogy of freedom and to show Magister the door. That would be a true revolution in the virtual school corridor.