Vulnerability

As a social function, vulnerability is an issue that needs to be better understood by those interested in social and cultural issues in education. The main theoretical work addressing this issue is the American anthropologist Iules Henry's 1966 essay “Vulnerability and Education.” According to Henry, one of the primary purposes of schooling is to condition people to feel vulnerable, making it easier for the social system to shape and control them through fear.

According to Henry, if society could not make people fear losing their status, their property, and their safety, it could not exist. He believes that people who do not feel vulnerable, who are not subject to some degree of fear, are not subject to control. How many people would run stoplights with their ...