The lecture will present a redefinition of the German concept of Bildung focussing experiences of uncertainty as impulses for Bildung. Bildung here is conceptualised as a process in which a subject’s relation to the world, to others and to itself is transformed because the subject is confronted with new experiences that put the established figures of its world- and self-relation into question (cf. Koller 2017). Condensing this concept to a formula, Bildung is (1) a process of transformation that (2) transforms fundamental elements of the way subjects relate to themselves, to others and to the world when (3) grappling with experiences of crises that challenge their present patterns of orientation. Therefore, a theory on Bildung as a transformative process should be able to answer the following crucial questions. First, how can we find out what exactly is being changed during transformation? Which concepts and theories are suitable to capture the way subjects relate to themselves, to others and to the world? Second, how is it possible to define in detail the experiences that trigger processes of transformation? Are there any typical sets of problems that require or at least suggest transformative processes of Bildung? Third, how can those processes that transform the way subjects relate to themselves and the world be determined more precisely? When confronted with new experiences, which conditions ensure that these relations are actually transformed rather than merely re-stabilized? How do new relations to the world and to oneself emerge? The lecture will put up for discussion a possible framework for developing a theory of Bildung as a transformative process which can provide answers to these questions and at the same time serve as framework for the exposure to uncertainty in the context of subject matter education.

Koller, H.-Ch (2017). Bildung as a Transformative Process. In A. Laros, Th. Fuhr & E.W. Taylor (Eds.), Transformative Learning Meets Bildung. An International Exchange (p. 33-42). Rotterdam, Boston, Tapei: Sense.