I'm deeply grateful to the American Educational Studies Association for recognizing my book with a Critics' Choice Book Award. @princetonupress.bsky.social @aesatalk.bsky.social Check out "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" here: www.amazon.com/Raised-Obey-...

At #APSA2025? Join me Thursday at 10am at the Author Meets Critics theme panel on "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) w/ Beatriz Magaloni, Pablo Beramendi & @owasow.bsky.social We'll discuss state-building, democracy, civil war, academic freedom, and more, and have ample time for Q&A!

At #APSA2025? Join me Thursday at 10am at the Author Meets Critics theme panel on "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) w/ Beatriz Magaloni, Pablo Beramendi & @owasow.bsky.social We'll discuss state-building, democracy, civil war, academic freedom, and more, and have ample time for Q&A!

What academic articles/books on the comparative politics or political economy of education published since the 2000s did you find most compelling, interesting, and/or important for others to read? Asking for a friend ;)

Blast from the past! Do you know where else we've seen politicians talk about "bloodthirsty" criminals? In 19th century arguments for deploying schooling to indoctrinate the "bloodthirsty" masses. I show this in "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) Link: www.amazon.com/Raised-Obey-...

Aaaah!! Just learned that "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) has won the 2025 J. David Greenstone Book Prize for the best book in politics and history published in 2023-24. I'm speechless, grateful, and beyond thrilled by this recognition!

If you're at EPSA 2025, join us for an Author Meets Critics discussion of my book "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" With Elias Dinas, Carl Knutsen and Johannes Lindvall @eliasdinas.bsky.social @chknutsen.bsky.social . 1:10pm at A0.10

I will be at EPSA for the first time ever. Any tips on how to make the most of it?

Tenured! Grateful to the many mentors, colleagues, and friends whose support has enabled me to thrive. It takes a village.

"How Southern Politicians Reformed Textbooks to Resist Civil Rights Demands" -- my new article in the Journal of Historical Political Economy. Ungated version: tinyurl.com/y32wev8y

Excited to read @aspaglayan.bsky.social’s new study which finds ”while non-Southern text-books evolved to better reflect Black activists’ curriculum demands, Alabama textbooks largely retained narratives that minimized or erased history of racial discrimination” www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

Super fun interview with @asteriskmag.bsky.social in which we talk about "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) but also: - is "indoctrination for democracy" desirable? - is low education quality driven by "low state capacity"? and more! asteriskmag.com/issues/10/wh...

The first PhD student whose dissertation I've chaired is graduating a month from today. They just asked me to be their hooding advisor. I have tears in my eyes. May I never take for granted what an honor it is to be someone's trusted advisor.

Huge huge kudos to @anthropic.com for releasing this detailed overview of how students are using AI. Some pretty concerning trends here, such as students completely off-loading higher-level reasoning to LLM and mostly prompting for direct answers. www.anthropic.com/news/anthrop...

University professors in recent weeks have begun reorganizing collectively or, in some universities, doing so for the first time This would be a good time for academics to question the common assumption that K-12 teachers join unions primarily to push for higher salaries

This is today at 11am EST. Join us in person if you're in DC or online if not!

A key legacy of Peron in Argentina was that it led people to define as "Peronist" or "anti-Peronist." Anti-Peronists despise *everything* Peron did, and Peronists defend *everything* he did. Finding common ground is incredibly tough, and the country has suffered a great deal as a result.

Tomorrow (April 1) at 11 am EDT: @cato.org welcomes @aspaglayan.bsky.social for a discussion of her new book, Raised to Obey. She will be in conversation with Neal McCluskey. This event will be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend in person. Learn more:

If you're at Harvard on Wednesday 3/26, come hear me present "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" at HGSE from 3-4pm Some people say it'll dramatically shift your perspective about education ;) Email/DM me for details cc @princetonupress.bsky.social @aganimian.bsky.social

If you're at Harvard on Wednesday 3/26, come hear me present "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" at HGSE from 3-4pm Some people say it'll dramatically shift your perspective about education ;) Email/DM me for details

Beyond grateful for a packed and distinguished audience who showed up with curiosity & open-mindedness to learn more about "Raised to Obey" at #CIES2025 Chiqui Ramirez: "This is the best book on mass education I've read" (I'm still processing it!) Next stop: Harvard Graduate School of Education!

If you want to learn why William Easterly says "Raised to Obey" will "forever change thinking about #education," join Francisco Ramirez, Patricia Bromley and I this Monday at #CIES2025! Palmer House, 3rd Floor, Salon 9 3:30-4:10pm cc @princetonupress.bsky.social

If you want to learn why William Easterly says "Raised to Obey" will "forever change thinking about #education," join Francisco Ramirez, Patricia Bromley and I this Monday at #CIES2025! Palmer House, 3rd Floor, Salon 9 3:30-4:10pm cc @princetonupress.bsky.social

Who do I know who will be at #CIES2025?? I'll be there for the first time since 2018 -- really looking forward to discussing my book with a terrific group of scholars!

I had a great conversation about "Raised to Obey" and the past, present & future of #education with Will Brehm for the FreshEd Podcast Listen to "Why did mass education rise and spread?": freshedpodcast.com/paglayan/ Book: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... @princetonupress.bsky.social

Pinch me! Today marks 3 months since the release of "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) and today, too, the book hit a new record, ranking #6 on Amazon's bestsellers in economic development, #25 in economic history, and #52 in history & politics 🎉🎉🎉

Great interview with @aspaglayan.bsky.social on her book Raised to Obey www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMqb...

Public education emerged to promote obedience, not critical thinking But privatization isn't necessarily better. Religious actors, not states, pioneered schools for social control The key point: those w/ power (politicians, billionaires) have incentives to use schools to perpetuate their power

Learn the dark history behind public education & why modern reformers are more interested in indoctrination than education in this ep of @theatlantic.com's Good on Paper pod, where @jerusalem.bsky.social talks with Raised to Obey author @aspaglayan.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/arc...

I'm overjoyed to have joined Jerusalem Demsas on "Good on Paper" to chat about "Raised to Obey"! We discussed indoctrination, the real origins of mass education, and how schools weren't meant to set us free @jerusalem.bsky.social @theatlantic.com @princetonupress.bsky.social tinyurl.com/mr2e332b

"'Raised to Obey' is now the new standard in global educational history. . . [It] reaches well-founded conclusions that will likely inspire many readers to question many of their basic assumptions about the origins of public schooling" Thank you, Thomas Fallace! @princetonupress.bsky.social

This got to my office today and I am very excited to dive in soon! @aspaglayan.bsky.social

And here's the thing: institutional neutrality, even in its most robust version (Kalven/ Chicago) specifically calls for universities to speak out vociferously on *matters that directly impact their institutional mission*. If research funding ain't it, then what is??

I'm looking forward to this conversation with #education experts at UCSD @ucsandiego.bsky.social "Raised to Obey: The Rise, Spread, and Future of Mass Education" Friday 1/24 12-1:30pm PEB 721

The LA fires as processed by a friend's child who visited us yesterday. There's a monster setting homes in flames. We'll put him behind bars to end the fires. Children never cease to amaze me. Let's listen to them and do our best to help them process the trauma.

What a chaotic beginning of 2025. My thoughts are with everyone who is enduring fires, war, political persecution, or other catastrophic or chronically stressful life experiences. So much trauma -- and so much healing needed.

Academics from poorer socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to - not publish - have outstanding publication records - introduce more novel scientific concepts - less likely to receive recognition, as measured by citations, Nobel Prize nominations, and awards. www.nber.org/papers/w33289

I'm thrilled that "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) just hit a new record: It's currently ranked #17 on Amazon's list of Development & Growth Economics books 🎉 Thank you for engaging with my work!!!

It feels great to help bring "Raised to Obey" to #Greece via this insightful interview for @news247gr.bsky.social. Thank you for this rare opportunity, @aspaglayan.bsky.social!

Thank you @aspaglayan.bsky.social for the interview about #RaisedToObey and #education. I couldn't think of a better ending to 2024 🙏

"Raised to Obey" has made it all the way to Greece! I had an incredibly interesting conversation about it with Angelos Alexopoulos for News 247, Greece's premier digital news outlet Thank you, @alexopoulos.bsky.social & @news247gr.bsky.social! cc @princetonupress.bsky.social

Μια αποκλειστική συνέντευξη στο @news247gr.bsky.social για ένα σημαντικό βιβλίο #RaisedToObey @aspaglayan.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social

I am a totally fanboy for the brand new "Raised to Obey" by @aspaglayan.bsky.social She goes back to the 1800's and the origin of compulsory education to show how the design has always been social control. Now that it's winter break I hope I can finish it!

Holiday gift from Princeton UP! 🎁 If you buy "Raised to Obey" from them, you get it at $22 with 30% discount code PUP30. BTW, @princetonupress.bsky.social is a nonprofit & priced the book to break even. The goal isn't to make money but to share ideas! press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

Guess who will be speaking with Jerusalem Demsas about her new book? Yes, I'm overjoyed🤗 Can't imagine a better way to celebrate the 1 month anniversary of "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) 🎉 hubs.ly/Q02-P8Nh0

This time of year I always reflect on what I learned in the last year and how I want to lead my life in the new one I learned a ton writing "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) I hope it'll spark new ideas & conversations on how we can improve education & democracy! hubs.ly/Q02-P8Nh0

If you learned from my APSR articles, I think you'll enjoy and learn from "Raised to Obey" even more! Roughly 90% of the material in the book is new, including a broader theory with more testable implications and lots of new cross-national evidence and case studies from Europe and the Americas

I screamed with joy when I read William Easterly's reaction to my new book, "Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) He writes:

Development economics has a new buzz word. We've shifted from "poverty exists bc politicians don't know how to reduce it" to "the problem is "low state capacity* to implement good policies" I have news: state capacity is politically-driven and its weakness usually reflects a lack of political will

And I would add that privatization of education is no antidote. It was a non-state actor (the Church) that pioneered the use of education for indoctrination/socialization into specific moral values. The state repurposed it for its own sake and took it to an unprecedented level/scale