Rethinking the Representation Problem in Curriculum Inquiry

The consolidation of reconceptualism as a distinctive tradition in curriculum inquiry is commonly understood to go hand-in-hand with the decline and even eclipse of an explicit political orientation in such work. This paper offers an alternative argument, focusing on a re-assessment of what has been called the representation problem, and exploring this assessment with reference to the "modernism-postmodernism" debate. Knowledge, representation, and praxis are discussed. A case is made for understanding representation in terms of "both" semiotics and politics, drawing on postmodern political theory and philosophy. This case requires revisiting of the so-called reproduction thesis, as in effect 'unfinished business', and seeking to rethink the relationship between reproduction and representation as organizing categories in and for curriculum and social analysis. The paper thus brings together curriculum history and curriculum theory, as well as an Australian perspective to an important and enduring focus for discussion and debate in the contemporary curriculum field. (Contains 18 notes.)