David Mathew

Dr David Mathew (PhD) is the co-editor (with Mike Sauve) of a brand new volume of fiction and philosophy, TIME AND PROPINQUITY. He is also the author of eight novels, three volumes of shorter fiction, and four books of academic writing -- FRAGILE LEARNING, PSYCHIC RIVER, THE CARE FACTORY, and (most recently), co-authored with Susan Sapsed, LEARNING AND LONG-TERM ILLNESS: SATURATED SPACES.

David's writing (fiction and academic) has attracted widespread acclaim.

Praise for NOSTALGIA'S BOAT:

"Stunning—an intricate and intriguing web of relationships! An ever-morphing story, tightening its grip as it expands, this novel melds the psychological and philosophical. Nostalgia’s Boat is a potent reminder of Randi Reissenweber’s perspective that 'When you read fiction, you are, first and foremost, meeting people.'”

--Soramimi Hanarejima, author of Visits to the Confabulatorium

Praise for THE CARE FACTORY:

"This original and important study encourages us to question a concept that is all too often taken for granted. The interviews and discussions in The Care Factory show us how the word "care" is the bearer of so many assumptions, prejudices and beliefs that it would be irresponsible not to reflect on it."

--Darian Leader, author of What is Madness?

"The Care Factory is a timely, honest and, at times, deeply moving book about "care"-what it is and what it is not. It draws on a range of eclectic sources to explore the multi-layered and contentious meanings of care, reflecting upon the implications of caring for others as paid work. The perspectives, experiences and insights of different professionals who provide care in its various forms are explored. Highly recommended."

--Gail Kinman, co-author of Developing Resilience for Social Work Practice

"The Care Factory is a tour de force-readable, post-modern and knowing. The occasional inclusion of self-disclosure material is moving and emotionally robust; and the references to Mathew's fiction give the book a rounded meta-feel. It is terrific."

--Paul Meloy, author of The Night Clock and psychiatric nurse

Praise for FRAGILE LEARNING:

"Mathew's writing style fosters an approach where the reader accompanies the narrative, and where he or she is subtly encouraged to work these issues out for themselves. Mathew is not telling you he knows the answers. Instead, emphasis is placed on the dynamism of theory and application. Reflection takes the place of polemics."

Mike Dines, British Journal of Educational Studies (review of Fragile Learning)

"This fascinating collection of essays makes important links between the fields of higher education studies and psychoanalysis. Drawing on the key idea of anxiety, David Mathew deepens our taken-for-granted assumptions about teaching and learning with adults. At the heart of the book is a compassionate engagement with the fragile learner - that learner who is "close to giving up at any point - close to breaking". This book makes a very helpful contribution to the way we understand such learners and indeed our own fragility in the face of a fast and fragmented digital learning environment.'

Elizabeth Chapman Hoult, Birkbeck, University of London, author of Adult Learning and La Recherche Féminine

"Fragile Learning is a fascinating series of explorations from a psychoanalytic viewpoint into the nature of both learner and educator anxiety, in the context of a variety of higher education, education management, and community workplaces. The "ghosts" of a crucial learning experience as education co-ordinator in a young offenders' institution reverberate throughout these essays. David Mathew, sometimes with co-researcher Susan Sapsed, considers problems of projective identification, retreat or claustrum situations, basic assumption and work groups, the impact of physical illness, and how to engage in productive conflict whilst acknowledging the anxieties of all parties. The book gains insights from original research into these matters, not only as applied to traditional educational environments, but also in relation to the particular forms they may take in distance and e-learning; for in the increasingly user-generated dynamic worldwide web, both students and teachers are often equally fragile learners, seeking to adapt humanistically to the new technological tools they are acquiring."

Meg Harris Williams, writer and artist