“Dehistoricization is a tool used by those who would undermine, exploit, or attack the field of education. A Troubling Inheritance situates our current moment by placing it in relationship with what McCall describes as a troubling inheritance. This book matters because it historicizes the current work of teaching and learning, which helps educators resist neoliberal trends that undermine democracy in schools and society.”

Samuel Jaye Tanner, The University of Iowa

“In this beautifully written, brilliantly argued book, Seth McCall challenges us to find more playful ways to deal with our (curricular) troubling inheritance. Framed by a sophisticated and nuanced use of affect theory, McCall wonders what curricula can do, and then experiments with the many ways in which problematic pedagogical objects can move us to imagine education otherwise.”

Dani Friedrich, Columbia University

“This book tells multiple stories about another book, received as a gift from the author’s aunt, who was also a teacher. Seth McCall interrogates this text within multiple contexts—personal, historical, racial, philosophical, and curricular—for what it does and what it tries to do. The troubling of accepted knowledge across the chapters brilliantly illustrates our entanglements with books and curricula that both fetter and free, exploit and enlighten. McCall moves in close on our curricular attachments and offers inventive approaches for reworking those inheritances.”

Nancy Lesko, Columbia University