Michael S. Merry is professor of philosophy in the department of Child Development and Education. He received a broad education in the humanities in Chicago, Leuven and New York before earning his doctorate by combining philosophy and educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 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 topics, and often through a comparative-international frame, he specializes in any of the following: the various features of educational injustice, both institutional and non-institutional; state paternalism and the ethics of intervention; the politics and epistemology of academic research; the ethics of school choice and school segregation, citizenship and civic education, religion and religious schools, and alternative education in its manifold forms.
He is a frequent contributor to societal debates in Dutch, Belgian and other international media. Recent examples include:
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
Het onderwijs maakt lang niet van elk dubbeltje een kwartje. Het Parool https://www.parool.nl/columns-opinie/het-onderwijs-maakt-lang-niet-van-elk-dubbeltje-een-kwartje~b04f1d25/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
Onrecht, whataboutism en het belang van morele consistentie. Joop https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/onrecht-whataboutism-en-het-belang-van-morele-consistentie
Internationale vergelijkingen kunnen op verschillende manieren ook problematisch zijn. Knack 'Internationale vergelijkingen kunnen op verschillende manieren ook problematisch zijn'
Volharden dat onderwijs gelijke kansen biedt, is moreel dubieus. De Volkskrant https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/volharden-dat-onderwijs-gelijke-kansen-biedt-is-moreel-dubieus~ba3abdb3/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
Wat is de waarde van een doctoraat in Nederland? Joop https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/wat-is-de-waarde-van-een-doctoraat-in-nederland
Is burgerschapsvorming een legitieme taak van de school? Knack https://www.knack.be/nieuws/is-burgerschapsvorming-een-legitieme-taak-van-de-school/
Nee, 20 miljard euro heeft ongelijkheid in onderwijs niet opgelost – en meer geld zal dat ook niet doen. 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/
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/
Mocht Plato zien wat er van de universiteit geworden is, dan zou hij stomverbaasd en bezorgd zijn. Knack https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/onderwijs/mocht-plato-zien-wat-er-van-de-universiteit-geworden-is-dan-zou-hij-stomverbaasd-en-bezorgd-zijn/
Beeldenstormers hebben gelijk: beeld Jan Pieterzoon Coen moet weg. Sociale Vraagstukken https://www.socialevraagstukken.nl/waarom-de-beeldenstormers-gewoon-gelijk-hebben/
(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 resilience. Tribal College and University Research Journal (with Cynthia Lindquist) Tribal College and University Research Journal | American Indian College Fund
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
Caught in a school choice quandary: What should en equity-minded parent do? Theory and Research in Education https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14778785231180469
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
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
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
Democratic deliberation in the absence of integration. In The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education (pp. 230-249), J.Culp, D. Yacek & J. Drerup, eds. Cambridge University Press. https://philarchive.org/rec/MERDDI
What is an appropriate educational response to controversial historical monuments? Journal of Philosophy of Education 55 (3): 484-497 (with Anders Schinkel) https://academic.oup.com/jope/article/55/3/484/6821509
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
Community, virtue and the white British poor. Dialogues in Human Geography (with David Manley & Richard Harris) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2043820615624603
Access to all of my publications can be found here: