Description
Book SynopsisUncommon Schools explores the emergence of postsecondary institutions for indigenous peoples worldwide over the past fifty years.
Trade Review"Cole has produced a landmark book that is unprecedented in the study of indigenous people. It represents a new benchmark for comparative studies of Native people. Although a few books have attempted to compare government policies for indigenous people across nation-states, Cole's book is the first to compare how Native people have attempted to structure institutions of higher education to serve their communities. This is a one-of-a-kind book that cannot be overlooked by scholars of Native people." -- C. Matthew Snipp * Stanford University *
"Cole's book is important precisely because it is so cognizant of the wider social and political milieu of indigenous claims making vis-à-vis modern nation states. . .A book with a rare combination of elements—it is diachronic, interdisciplinary, theoretically strong, empirically grounded, and (particularly unusual for those books that focus primarily on the U.S. context) also consciously international." -- Stephen May *
American Journal of Sociology *
"Cole has written a masterful and comprehensive analysis of the modern rise of post-secondary schools for indigenous peoples. He analyzes the phenomenon at a global and historical level, but also examines national and organizational variations. The book is unique—a most impressive addition to the field." -- John W. Meyer * Stanford University *
"Wade Cole's innovative, comparative
Uncommon Schools illuminates how destitute and poorly educated groups of indigenous people have come to use quasi-sovereignty and the political authority of higher education to form unique colleges to increase their people's cultural survival. This is a fascinating story of local adaptation of global ideas, subjective self-identification, and the rising power of higher education in increasingly schooled societies worldwide." -- David P. Baker * The Pennsylvania State University *
