Title: Reconstructing Critical Pedagogy: Exploring Alternative Pedagogical Paradigms, IntellectualActivism,
1Reconstructing Critical Pedagogy Exploring
Alternative Pedagogical Paradigms,
Intellectual-Activism, and Critical Educational
Theory
- Reiland Rabaka, Ph.D.
- University of Colorado at Boulder
2Critical Pedagogy
- Emphasizes the ideological dimensions of teacher
work and how education is employed in class
exploitation and class struggle within the
capitalist economy - Challenges capitalists claims that education is
neutral - Reminds radical educators that there is a big
difference between (neo)liberalism or reformism
and anti-capitalism or anti-imperialism
3Critical Pedagogy
- Links education to self and social transformation
- Connects education to critical consciousness
- Intensely explores the political economy of
education in light of global capitalism - Emphasizes that capitalism exacerbates and
perpetuates racism, sexism and heterosexism/homoph
obia - Advocates that both teachers and students become
active agents in their own education and
liberation - Draws heavily from Marxism and puts forward
democratic socialism as an alternative to
contemporary capitalism
4Critical Social Theory
- comprehends the established society
- criticizes its contradictions and conflicts
- creates and accessibly offers ethical and
egalitarian (usually democratic socialist)
alternatives
5Critical Social Theory
- Accents
- what needs to be transformed
- what strategies and tactics might be most useful
in the transformative efforts - and,
- which agents and agencies could potentially carry
out the transformation.
6Critical Social TheoryThe Dialectical Dimension
- Dialectics is the art of demonstrating the
interconnectedness of parts to each other and to
the overarching system or framework as a whole.
Hence, critical theory encourages
interdisciplinarity and the breaking down of
arbitrary artificial academic boundaries and
intellectual barriers. -
7Critical Race Theory
- Emphasizes the centrality and political economy
of race and racism, especially with regard to
European imperial expansion, Enlightenment,
modernity, and postmodernity - Accents the interconnection of racism with
capitalism and sexism - Endorses a race/gender/class approach to
historical and contemporary social and political
phenomena
8Critical Race Theory
- Extremely critical of
- white supremacy
- white privilege
- white normativity, white neutrality, and white
universality - claims of white racelessness
- state-sanctioned (or, legal) racial domination or
discrimination (institutional racism) - racism in education, religion, and the medical
industry
9Feminist Pedagogy
- Explores womens contributions to educational
theory and praxis - Points to patriarchys impact on educational
theory and praxis - Employs gender and the critique of gender
domination and discrimination as a point of
departure - Marxist-feminism and socialist-feminism emphasize
the interconnection of sexism with capitalism - Black feminism and other anti-racist feminisms
engage ways in which racism and sexism intersect
in the lives of women of color
10Feminist Pedagogy
- Some feminists, particularly feminists of color,
have developed theories that speak to the special
needs of women within racist, sexist, and
capitalist societies - Explores the political economy of patriarchal
pedagogy or male-centered teaching - Links womens liberation to critical education
- Often warns against privileging class over gender
(a lá many male Marxist pedagogues)
11Reconstructing Critical Pedagogy
- It seems highly questionable, if not downright
silly at this juncture in the history of theory,
to seek a theoretical Holy Grail that will serve
as a panacea to our search for the secrets to
being, culture, politics or society - Theories are, among many other things, optics,
ways of seeing they are perspectives which
illuminate specific phenomena. However, as with
any perspective, position or standpoint, each
theory has its blind spots and lens limitations,
what contemporary critical theorists call
theoretical myopia - A reconstructed and re-radicalized critical
pedagogy must be grounded in critical conjunctive
analysis that explores the incessantly
intersecting nature of racism and sexism and
capitalism and colonialism, among other forms of
domination and discrimination
12Reconstructing Critical Pedagogy
- New critical pedagogy should be
- more multicultural
- transethnic
- transgender
- sexual orientation-sensitive
- non-Western European/white American/Eurocentric
pedagogy-, theory-, and philosophy- focused - Grounded in pedagogical paradigms produced by
critical educators and intellectual-activists of
color - Interdisciplinary
- Connected to contemporary anti-racist,
anti-sexist, anti-capitalist, and
anti-imperialist movements
13W.E.B. Du Bois
- Born February 23, 1868
- Educated at Fisk, Harvard, and the University of
Berlin - Studied philosophy, history, politics, and
economics - First African American to earn a Ph.D. from
Harvard University
14W.E.B. Du Bois
- Eighty year publishing career from 1883 to 1963
- One of the first scholars to seriously study
African Americans retention of African culture
and contributions to American culture - Died August 27, 1963
15W.E.B. Du Bois
- Philosopher of race
- Critical race theorist
- Male-Feminist
- Marxist/Socialist
- Political Scientist
- Critical Sociologist
- Pan-Africanist
- Anti-Colonialist
- Critical Pedagogue
- Historian
16Du Bois and Africana Studies(Re)Defining an
Interdisciplinary Discipline
- Major architect of Africana Studies
- Interdisciplinarian
- Multi-Methodologist
- Critical Social Theorist
- Academic Outsider
- Political Exile
17Du Bois and Africana Studies
- History
- Religion
- Philosophy
- Sociology
- Politics
- Economics
- Psychology
- Education
- Art (Music, Dance, Theater, Literature, etc.)
18Du Boiss Conceptual Contributions
- Double-consciousness
- Cultural education
- The Talented Tenth
- The Guiding Hundredth
- Pan-Africanism
- Black Marxism
- African Socialism (Ujamaa)
- Semi- or Quasi- Colonialism
- Male-feminism
19Major Scholarly Books by W.E.B. Du Bois
- The Philadelphia Negro
- The Souls of Black Folk
- The Negro
- Darkwater
- The Gift of Black Folk
- Black Reconstruction
- Black Folk, Then and Now
- Color and Democracy
- The World and Africa
20Scholarly Volumes and Periodicals edited by
W.E.B. Du Bois
- The Atlanta University Studies
- The Moon
- The Horizon
- The Crisis
- Phylon
21Major Autobiographical Writingsby W.E.B. Du Bois
- The Souls of Black Folk
- Darkwater
- Dusk of Dawn
- In Battle for Peace
- The Autobiography
- of W.E.B. Du Bois
22Du Bois and Critical Educational Theory
- The College-Bred Negro (1900)
- The Negro Common School (1901)
- The College-Bred Negro American (1910)
- Report from the First Conference of Negro
Land-Grant Colleges for Coordinating a Program of
Cooperative Social Studies (1943) - The Education of Black People (1973)
- Du Bois on Education (2002)
- Published over 100 articles on education
23Du Boiss Major Works on Women
- The Work of Negro Women in Society (1902)
- The Black Mother (1912)
- Suffering Suffragettes (1912)
- Votes for Women (1912)
- The Burden of Black Women (1914)
- Woman Suffrage (1915)
- The Damnation of Women (1920)
- The Freedom of Womanhood (1924)
- Sex and Racism (1957)
- Greetings to Women (1959)
- Published over 60 articles on womens rights and
gender justice
24W.E.B. Du Bois creative writings include five
novels, several volumes of poetry, short stories,
and plays
- A Litany of Atlanta
- The Song of Smoke
- The Quest of the Silver Fleece
- Dark Princess
- The Ordeal of Mansart
- Mansart Builds a School
- Worlds of Color
- The Comet
- The Optimist
- Chamounix
25W.E.B. Du Bois participated in several social
movements and political organizations
- Pan-Africanism
- Niagara
- NAACP
- New Negro
- Harlem Renaissance
- Civil Rights
- Womens Liberation
- Anti-War/Peace
26Du Bois discourse simultaneously challenges
- traditional disciplines
- conventional critical theory
- and
- non-traditional (or new) disciplines
27Du Bois and Africana Critical Theory
- Du Bois contraction and creative combination of
Africana and non-Africana critical thought - Africana intellectual history
- The history of Africana ideas
- The history of Africana philosophy
- Africana Studies contributions to critical theory
28Ella Baker, 1903-1986
- BA, valedictorian, Shaw University
- Civil rights (racial justice)
- Womens rights (gender justice)
- Democratic socialism (economic justice)
- Life-long commitment to radical social
transformation - Student-centered social theory (links education
to liberation) - Worker-centered social theory (links labor to
liberation)
29Ella Baker, 1903-1986
- NAACP
- SCLC, worked with MLK Septima Clark
- SNCC
- Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP),
worked with Fannie Lou Hamer - Collective leadership
- Participatory democracy
30Rosa Parks, 1913-2005
- BA, Alabama State College
- Civil rights activist
- NAACP
- Highlander Folk School
- Sparked Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) with MLK
- Anti-Apartheid Activist
- Established the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute
for Self-Development
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33Rosa Parks, 1913-2005
- Claudette Colvin (age 15, arrested March 1955)
- The Womens Political Council (WPC) initiated the
bus boycott - African American ministers followed the lead of
the WPC - African American churches, cab companies and
other black-owned businesses supported the bus
boycott (self-determination) - Clifford and Virginia Durr, some whites supported
34Rosa Parks, 1913-2005
- 50,000 African Americans in participated in the
Bus Boycott - The boycott lasted 381 days
- Fired for her civil rights activism
- Parks deplored the custom of having to enter the
front of the bus to pay the fare and then having
to exit to reenter at the back of the bus.
Frequently, white bus drivers pulled away before
black riders could reboard at the back of the bus.
35Septima Clark, 1898-1987
- BA, Benedict College MA, Hampton University
also studied at Columbia University - Studied at Atlanta University with W.E.B. Du Bois
- NAACP
- Civil rights activist
- Radical Educator, emphasis on adult literacy and
democratic empowerment - Faculty, Highlander Folk School (1957-1960)
36Septima Clark, 1898-1987
- Citizenship Schools
- Ella Baker encouraged MLK SCLC to hire Clark
and tap the Citizenship Schools - Literacy Liberation
- Echo In My Soul (1962)
- Ready From Within Septima Clark and the Civil
Rights Movement (1986)
37Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
- Sharecropper
- Radical voter registrant
- SNCC field worker
- Co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party (MFDP) - Powerful orator
- Political Activist
38Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
- Linked literacy with political economy
- Life-long commitment to radical social
transformation - Ran for Congress in 1964
- Fought for workers rights, especially farmers
rights - Founded the Freedom Farms Corporation in 1969
- Member, Executive Committee of the United
Democratic Party of MS
39Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
- Radicalism grounded in her religious beliefs
- Opened all of her speeches with a spiritual,
usually This Little Light of Mine - Challenged racism within the Democratic Party
- Widely credited for the part she played in the
political transformation of the Democratic Party - Continued to her civil rights activism even as
she was dying of cancer
40Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
- Hamer was defiant and seemed to develop a deeper
conviction to her cause with each new attack or
set of attacks - Hamer appeared to resist with a renewed sense of
courage and commitment to human, civil, and
womens rights - Similar to Victoria Gray, Hamer drew from her
religious beliefs and African American folk wisdom
41Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
- Hamer was fired and evicted for registering to
vote - Hamer was shot at and had to go into exile
because of her civil rights activism - While in exile Hamer decided that racism must be
met with radical anti-racism, political activism,
and social organization
42Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977
- Winona, MS, 1963 Hamer brutally beaten racial
and sexual violence/violation - Some of Hamers injuries were permanent she lost
sight in her left eye and suffered irreparable
damage to her kidneys - Lawrence Guyot was also severely beaten attempts
were made to burn his genitals
43Malcolm X
44Malcolm X, 1925-1965
- Emphasis on education for both self and social
transformation - Emphasis on political education
- Nation of Islam (NOI)
- Organization of African American Unity (OAAU)
- Anti-racism (emphasized the political economy of
race and racism) - Pan-Africanism
- Democratic socialism
45Malcolm X, 1925-1965
- Helped to radicalize the Civil Rights Movement
- Offered frustrated African American youth an
alternative to non-violent protest, civil
disobedience, and passive resistance - Radical, risk-taking leadership style
- Consistently encouraged his audiences to be
active agents in their own education and
liberation - Father of the Black Power Movement
46Reconstructing Critical Pedagogy Exploring
Alternative Pedagogical Paradigms,
Intellectual-Activism, and Critical Educational
Theory
- Reiland Rabaka, Ph.D.
- Center for Studies of Ethnicity and Race in
America - University of Colorado at Boulder