Michael S. Merry is professor of philosophy in the department of Child Development and Education. Before entering the strange world of academia, he spent years as a laborer in a warehouse, a brickyard, a concrete plant, a waste management company, and also worked as a landscaper, a dishwasher, a roofer, a truck driver and a nighttime security officer. Well into his twenties, he then received a broad education in the humanities in Atlanta, Chicago, Leuven and New York. Later still, after some years of teaching, he earned his doctorate by combining philosophy and educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over the years he has been visiting fellow at several universities, including Bristol University, New York University and Brown University.
Though he writes on a wide variety of issues, and often through a comparative-international frame, he specializes in any of the following:
Beyond his academic research, he also is a frequent contributor to societal debates in Dutch, Belgian and other international media. He has been interviewed, int. al., by De Groene Amsterdammer, Folia, Phronesis, De Morgen, Didactief, Knack, Verus, DRS-Magazine, Algemeen Dagblad and AT5. Recent essays include:
Zijn structurele investeringen in het onderwijs de oplossing voor ongelijkheid? De Volkskrant https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/opinie-nee-20-miljard-euro-heeft-ongelijkheid-in-onderwijs-niet-opgelost-en-meer-geld-zal-dat-ook-niet-doen~b75842a49/
Internationale vergelijkingen kunnen op verschillende manieren ook problematisch zijn. Knack https://www.knack.be/opinie/internationale-vergelijkingen-kunnen-op-verschillende-manieren-ook-problematisch-zijn/
Onrecht, whataboutism en het belang van morele consistentie. Joop https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/onrecht-whataboutism-en-het-belang-van-morele-consistentie
Obsessie met de VS leidt af van onze eigen problemen. Sociale Vraagstukken https://www.socialevraagstukken.nl/obsessie-met-de-vs-leidt-af-van-onze-eigen-problemen/
Zijn meer leraren wel de oplossing voor de onderwijscrisis? Het Parool https://www.parool.nl/columns-opinie/zijn-meer-leraren-wel-de-oplossing-voor-de-onderwijscrisis~b42a89ae/
Jongeren kunnen nog niet stemmen, maar volwassenen ook niet. Bij Nader Inzien https://bijnaderinzien.com/2024/06/24/jongeren-kunnen-nog-niet-stemmen-maar-volwassenen-ook-niet/
Zelfbeschikking bij raamprostitutie? Sociale Vraagstukken https://www.socialevraagstukken.nl/zelfbeschikking-bij-raamprostitutie/
Discussie in de klas? Als alle standpunten gelijk zijn, leert niemand kritisch denken. Knack https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/onderwijs/discussie-in-de-klas-als-alle-standpunten-gelijk-zijn-leert-niemand-kritisch-denken/
Indoctrinatie of stigmatisering? Didactief https://didactiefonline.nl/blog/blonz/indoctrinatie-of-stigmatisering
Is burgerschapsvorming een legitieme taak van de school? Knack https://www.knack.be/nieuws/is-burgerschapsvorming-een-legitieme-taak-van-de-school/
Het onderwijs maakt lang niet van elk dubbejtje een kwartje. Het Parool https://www.parool.nl/columns-opinie/het-onderwijs-maakt-lang-niet-van-elk-dubbeltje-een-kwartje~b04f1d25/
Waarom doen we zo weinig tegen discriminatie aan de universiteit? NRC Handelsblad https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/08/04/waarom-doen-we-zo-weinig-tegen-discriminatie-aan-de-universiteit-a4861710
(2020) Educational Justice: Liberal ideals, persistent inequality and the constructive uses of critique. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
(2013) Equality, Citizenship and Segregation: A defense of separation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
(2007) Culture, Identity and Islamic Schooling: A philosophical approach. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
(2016) Maussen, M., Vermeulen, F., Bader, V., & Merry, M. Religious Schools in Europe: institutional opportunitities and contemporary challenges (London: Routledge)
(2012) Merry, M, Oulali, I, Steutel, J. & Levering, B. Segregatie in onderwijs en samenleving (Amsterdam: SWP).
(2010) Merry, M. & Milligan, J. Citizenship, Identity and Education in Muslim Communities: essays on attachment and obligation (New York: Palgrave Macmillan)
Self-determination on indigenous terms: Tribal colleges as institutional site of healing and resilience. Tribal College and University Research Journal 8: 41-63 (with Cynthia Lindquist). https://collegefund.org/research/tcurj/
Can schools and libraries curb the functional illiteracy crisis? Insights from the Netherlands. Critical Studies in Education. Online Early (with Rianne van Melik). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17508487.2024.2418105?src=exp-la
Should the homeless be forcibly helped? Public Health Ethics 12 (1): 30-43 (with Bart van Leeuwen). https://academic.oup.com/phe/article/12/1/30/4944889
Majority-minority educational success sans integration: A comparative-international view. The Review of Black Political Economy 50 (2): 194-221 (with Orhan Agirdag). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00346446221120825
Should the state fund religious schools? Journal of Applied Philosophy (24) 3: 255-270. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-5930.2007.00380.x
Do inclusion policies deliver educational justice for children with autism? An ethical analysis. Journal of School Choice 14 (1): 9-25. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15582159.2019.1644126?src=most-read-all-time
Educational inequality and state-sponsored elite schools: The case of the Dutch gymnasium. Comparative Education 56 (4): 522-546 (with Willem Boterman). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050068.2020.1771872
Caught in a school choice quandary: What should an equity-minded parent do? Theory and Research in Education 21 (2) 155-175. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14778785231180469
The public library as social Infrastructure: A Dutch illustration. Social and Cultural Geography 24 (5): 758-777 (with Rianne van Melik). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14649365.2021.1965195
Community, virtue and the white British poor. Dialogues in Human Geography 6 (1): 50-68 (with David Manley & Richard Harris). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2043820615624603
Voting rights for older children and civic education. Public Affairs Quarterly 30 (3): 197-213 (with Anders Schinkel). https://www.jstor.org/stable/44732769?seq=1
Access to all of my publications can be found here: