This new addition to Springer's series on Key Thinkers in World Education tracks the
intellectual and philosophical journey of a trail-blazing innovator whose ideas have fired the
imaginations of progressive educationalists for almost a century. The volume's in-depth
analysis of the educational philosophy of Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore offers an
unrivalled focus on his highly influential views. Tagore-poet internationalist humanist and
the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for literature-lived on the cusp of change
between two momentous centuries in world civilization and foresaw the dissolution of
colonialism and the globalization of culture. His ideas on education placed the creative
individual at the centre of the quest for knowledge. Eschewing the artificial distinctions
between elementary and higher learning he advocated the importance of sowing the seed of
humanism as early as possible and fostering the individual's enjoyment of education as well as
their courage to challenge conventions. In doing so he anticipated the modern concern with
critical thinking at the same time as he was encouraging independence of thought and action as
a counter to colonial oppression and condescension. Concise yet thorough this volume on one of
the most original thinkers of the last century covers every aspect of Tagore's highly original
educational philosophy.
