Deleuze's philosophy of learning

In my dissertation I argue that, in Deleuze's corpus, a philosophy of learning and pedagogy is a fundamental field of inquiry. I propose that this field can be understood as Deleuze's means of investigating the conditions of thought and our capacities for creativity that relate to, but are independent of, knowledge formations. I accomplish this task by synthesizing together the many ways that Deleuze describes learning into an over-arching process of an apprenticeship in signs that leads to an encounter with problems, which involves a virtual and material mapping of critical aspects through various tests, selections, and experimentations with solutions. I further plot out what a pedagogy would look like which supports this learning process, which is a pedagogy of "doing with" that develops the conditions of problems, that uses concepts as tools for classroom experimentation, and highlights the many ways in which teachers can become open to collaboration with students in order to create learning encounters. This initiates a shift in emphasis from Deleuze and Guattari's description of philosophy as the creation of concepts to philosophy as an inquiry into the conditions for concepts. The purpose of this project is to affirm learning as an affective force that drives our investment in various kinds of encounters. The overall result of my project is a notion of learning that is critical, creative, and disruptive, and it is the drive behind Deleuze's imperative for teachers to interrogate their pedagogies, challenging them to cultivate encounters with their students, and reevaluate the uses and purposes of philosophy. This project is a contribution to those within education studies, philosophies of education, and to teachers and educators who are looking for critical resources in Deleuze and Guattari's thought to better reflect upon their pedagogy and discover what can be done in the learning environments in which they find themselves.