'Humanity seems past', or so writes feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray. Her words strike quickly at the heart of what many of us tend to hold dear: that human life and the conditions under which it is lived matter deeply to the very purpose and idea of education itself. Ought we to read this statement as declaring the death of humanity as such, as a testament to the loss of our capacities to be humane, given, for instance, the state of terror, global violence and environmental disaster? Or, ought we to read Irigaray's words as depicting the passing of humanity as an idea, one that has simply gone out of fashion in the turn to a technocratic way of thinking, where ideas are cogs in the machine of a market-oriented knowledge society instead of being edifying contributions to public life? Or, is it that the declaration 'humanity seems past' simultaneously signals the impossibility of humanity to exist fully in the present and the possibility that the time for humanity is not wholly lost?It is with the latter question that Irigaray's recent work is most in conversation (2000; 2001; 2002). Yet, rather than returning to a familiar humanism, her hopeful resurrection of humanity is evident in the attention she pays to how sexual difference can inform new forms of citizenship and civil identity in Europe, and in her advocacy of the central role education plays in such a project.Given the recent emphasis, especially post 9/11, in Council of Europe and EU educational documents that also focus on the changing nature of European citizenship, Irigaray's work would seem to be a timely intervention - but has been little explored. Her emphasis on educating for civil co-existence between men and women as being first and foremost about a politics of sexuate rights (that is, rights which help to create and sustain new forms of civil identity for both men and women, and thus cannot be universal) appears to speak quite directly to the growing complexity surrounding citizenship issues within the global era. Yet, despite the EU and the Council's of Europe's emphasis on an expanded citizenry, one that appeals to the cosmopolitan ideals of human rights and democratic forms of life, little mention is made about how the citizen is a sexed subject (and this is particularly true even in discussions of Muslim practices of wearing so-called 'headscarves' or 'veils' which culturally mark 'gender' in public life). For Irigaray, such an omission is consonant with a distorted picture of humanity that cannot fail but to produce inhumane relations, based as it is on a view of oneness and sameness. In other words, the idea of respect for humanity which is cultivated through citizenship, democracy and human rights education, means very little if it elides the very recognition that humanity is - at least - two. This paper explores critically Irigaray's contribution to the current educational discussion on citizenship and democracy within the new image of a 'cosmopolitan Europe.' It evaluates Irigaray's arguments in light of her critics, particularly her feminist ones, and offers an account of how sexual difference functions in Irigaray's texts to expose the aporia of civil identity.My reading of Irigaray's texts, along with Council of Europe and EU documentation is informed by feminist philosophical inquiry. The paper concludes with a discussion of how citizenship issues in education, particularly in light of the growing - and heated - discussion of the Muslim 'headscarf' and 'veil' in schools across the EU, can benefit from a renewed ideal of humanity, one that critically engages with sexual difference as a possibility for creating meaningful civil identities. Irigaray, L. (2000) Democracy begins between two. New York: Routledge. ------- (2001) To be two. New York: Routledge. ------- (2002) Between east and west. New York: Columbia University Press.European Journal of Educational Research