ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies issues deemed pertinent to understanding education in post-crisis Southern Europe, namely rhythms of life and congenial educational systems, environmental sustainability and migration. These are contextualized in a critical discussion of the impact of colonialism in Southern Europe that illuminates ambivalences and nuances in colonial educational influences and countering social movements with educational aspirations. Informed by a Gramscian perspective and primarily subaltern Southern European and Mediterranean scholarly contributions the chapter delves into an analysis of broad Southern European regional geopolitical and cultural dynamics that is substantiated by country-specific examples. The analysis is followed by an invitation to consider an agenda for studies on education in Southern Europe (and the Mediterranean region) that critically engages with essentialism, alterity, caricatures, exoticization and (mis)representation.
