This paper conjoins Derrida's analysis of aporia and boderlines with Foucault's genealogical sensibilities to rethink the attribution of recent events in education to globalisation. Three analytical domains are linked to historicise student-teacher interaction: studies of pedagogical techniques, sociological analyses of the state, and philosophical conceptions of Being and desire. This confluence of domains makes apparent multiple efforts to transgress noncrossable borders in educational work, suggesting new conceptualisations of justice and ethical responsibility in the analysis of classroom life. (Contains 20 notes.)