About Maxine Greene


Through inquiries into sociology, history, and especially philosophy and literature, Maxine Greene explored living in awareness and "wide-awakeness" in order to advance social justice. Her thinking about existence and the power of imagination have been brought to life through her study, academic appointments, essays and books. In her teaching, she desired to educate those who speak, write, and resist in their own voices, rather than mimic her ideas and language.The full range of human experience is not available to most individuals, but it can be explored, according to Maxine, through literature and the arts.

Maxine received her doctorate in education from New York University in 1955 and went on to teach at New York University, Montclair State College and Brooklyn College. In 1965, she joined the faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University, establishing herself as a lone female voice among her male philosophy of education colleagues who found her "too literary." She was the William F. Russell Professor in the Foundations of Education (emerita) at Teachers College. In 2004, the Teachers College Trustees created the Maxine Greene Chair for Distinguished Contributions to Education.

As Philosopher-in-Residence of the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education (LCI) since 1976, Maxine conducted workshops, especially in Literature as Art, lectures at LCI's Summer Sessions, and inspired the creation of a small high school, the High School of Arts, Imagination and Inquiry in association with LCI and New Visions for Public Schools. She was the Philosopher Emeritus for what is now called Lincoln Center Education (LCE).

She founded the Maxine Greene Foundation for Social Imagination, the Arts, and Education in 2003 at Teachers College, Columbia University.She is past President of the American Educational Research Association (AREA), Philosophy of Education Society, American Educational Studies Association (AESA), and the Middle Atlantic States Philosophy of Education Society.

She was the recipient of Honorary Degrees in the Humanities from Lehigh University, Hofstra University, the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Indiana, Goddard College, Bank Street College, Nazareth College, McGill University, College Misericordia and Binghamton University.

She was awarded the Medal of Honor from Teachers College and Barnard College; Educator of the Year Award from Phi Delta Kappa; the Scholarly Achievement Award from Barnard College; AERA's Lifetime Achievement Award; and received a Fulbright fellowship, which took her to New Zealand.

Resume 

1938 - Graduates from Barnard College
1949 - Receives a Masters degree, New York University
1955 - Receives Ph.D., Philosophy of Education, New York University
1950 - 1955 - Instructor, New York University in Philosophy and Literature in the English Department
1956 - Associate Professor, Montclair College in Literature in the English Department
1962 - Associate Professor, Brooklyn College (CUNY) in Foundations of Education and Philosophy
1965 - Editor, Teachers College Record; and Associate Professor English, then Professor of Philosophy of Education, Teachers     College, Columbia University
1976 - Philosopher-in-Residence at the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education
1984 - First female President of the American Educational Research Association in 31 years
1987 - President of the Philosophy of Education Society
2003 - Founded the Maxine Greene Foundation for Social Imagination, the Arts & Education
2012 - Founded the Maxine Greene Center for Aesthetic Education and Social Imagination
2013 - Publically launched the Maxine Greene Center for Aesthetic Education and Social Imagination


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Statement in Response

Statement in Response
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Encounters with works of art

Encounters with works of art
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Remembering Maxine

Remembering Maxine
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