“Raised to Obey,” about the politics of mass education, was recognized as the best book on politics and history by the U.S.’s highest political science body
Agustina Paglayan, an associate professor of political science at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) and the Department of Political Science, was awarded the J. David Greenstone Book Prize by the American Political Science Association for her book, “Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education.”
In giving the award, the association recognized Paglayan’s work as the best book on politics and history released in the last two years.
“Raised to Obey,” published last November by Princeton University Press, was the result of years of research in archives around the world. Paglayan discovered evidence suggesting that compulsory education has, in large part, been rooted in a desire to stifle any thinking that could disrupt the political status quo, especially for students in lower socio-economic classes. This process of indoctrination, she contends, seeks to turn students into citizens who are easier for the state to control.
Given the book’s provocative and carefully documented take on the educational systems that billions of people around the world take for granted, Paglayan has received considerable media and scholarly attention for her work, including an appearance on The Atlantic’s “Good on Paper” podcast; a presentation and discussion at the Cato Institute, the Washington-based think tank; and a feature article on UC San Diego Today, the campus-wide news site.
Despite the accolades for her book, Paglayan said it was her deep interest in education systems that led her through the process of researching, writing and editing, which ultimately influenced her own teaching methods in the classroom.
“My goal was to spark deeper reflection and debate about the future of education systems based on a rigorous examination of these systems’ past,” she said. “The book’s reception in that regard has already exceeded my expectations.”
