Critical Pedagogy and the Trouble with Consciousness Raising
Critical Pedagogy and the Trouble with Consciousness Raising incisively critiques the consciousness-raising project that has been so central to contemporary critical pedagogy.
The book argues that consciousness-raising work in formal educational settings over the past three decades has largely failed to advance social justice. By critiquing consciousness raising as an end in itself, the author employs a Marxist framework to highlight how consciousness raising alone cannot alter material conditions and realities. Consequently, the book illustrates how many pedagogical projects fail to transcend the idealist realm and impact the material world. Advocating for a materialist critical pedagogy that revisits Freirean principles of praxis and dialogue, the author proceeds to outline a politics of redistribution to invigorate future critical educational projects. From examining how discourse functions ideologically to uphold the status quo, to exploring how determinisms limit our life chances and imaginations, the author demonstrates that the challenges in achieving socially just education are largely self-imposed.
The book concludes with a new approach to critical pedagogy that avoids reifying consciousness raising and reasserts the importance of praxis in all critical educational endeavors. It will appeal to scholars and researchers interested in critical pedagogy, the sociology of education, critical theory, and the philosophy of education.
Zachary A. Casey is Associate Professor of Educational Studies, Rhodes College, USA.