Irving Epstein

Irving Epstein is the Ben and Susan Rhodes Professor of Peace and Social Justice at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he chairs the Department of Educational Studies and directs the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice. His academic work bridges comparative education, globalization studies, and youth rights advocacy, with extensive international teaching experience in Australia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Epstein's research explores:

• Affect theory's role in educational policy analysis
• Globalization's impact on youth identity and citizenship
• Children's rights in institutional contexts
• Critical examinations of educational modernism

His publications emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to social justice in education.

Recent scholarly output includes his 2019 monograph applying affect theory to global education policy, which critiques conventional institutional responses to globalization anxieties through cross-cultural case studies.

Notable recognition includes his endowed professorship. Epstein also holds leadership roles in:

• Scholars at Risk Network (Advisory Board)
• Comparative and International Education Society (Former Board Parliamentarian)
• Bloomsbury's 'New Directions in Comparative Education' series (Co-Editor)