A Modern Famous Home Scholar
Astra Taylor
In 2006 Filmmaker Magazine called Astra Taylor one of the “25 new faces to watch” in filmmaking. Taylor is a Canadian-American documentary filmmaker best known for her philosophically oriented films Zizek!, about the philosopher Slavov Zizek, and Examined Life, a series of on-the-move interviews with contemporary philosophers that attempts to make philosophy relevant to the man and woman on the street. Taylor grew up in Athens, Georgia and was unschooled (a child-guided variation of homeschooling) along with her three siblings. You can watch Taylor talk about her experience being unschooled at a recent lecture for The Walker Art Center. Taylor is married to Jeff Mangum of the popular indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel.