Reading group Radical engaged pedagogy
Thu, 13 Feb
|Zoomlink will be send after registration.
In our reading group and think tank, we will cultivate ideas for a new school built on values such as inclusion, freedom, expression, equality, care and creativity instead of dominance, coercion, fear and inequality. All this so that all children can choose and express their own way of being human.
Time & Location
13 Feb 2025, 20:00 – 21:30
Zoomlink will be send after registration.
About the event
A call to all visionaries! Let’s collectively dive into a radical, engaged pedagogy: a fusion of critical, feminist, and anti-colonial educational approaches, with a strong emphasis on well-being. This means that teachers also commit to a process of self-development and self-recognition, promoting their own well-being and enabling them to teach in a way that makes students free and autonomous, inspired by Bell Hooks, Paulo Freire, Riane Eisler, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jacques Rancière, among others. In our reading group and think tank, we will cultivate ideas for a new school built on values such as inclusion, freedom, expression, equality, care, and creativity instead of dominance, coercion, fear, and inequality. All this with the aim that all children have the opportunity to choose and express their own way of being human. Are you interested in thinking and organizing with us? Click here to join our think tank.
Our reading list may include but will not be limited to:
1. Foundational Theories
These works lay the foundation for critical and radical pedagogy, focusing on key concepts such as dialogical education, empowerment, liberation, and critical consciousness. Starting with these texts helps readers understand the intellectual roots of radical engaged pedagogy.
- Paulo Freire – Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) Freire's work is the cornerstone of critical pedagogy, providing a theoretical framework for education as a tool for liberation.
- bell hooks – Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (1994) Hooks expands Freire’s ideas by focusing on the intersections of race, gender, and class, emphasizing education as a site of resistance and healing.
- Jacques Rancière – The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation (1991) Rancière challenges traditional teacher-student hierarchies and introduces a radical egalitarian approach to education.
- Augusto Boal – Theatre of the Oppressed (1974) Though not strictly educational, Boal's work offers tools for radical pedagogy through participatory theater that empowers individuals to enact social change.
2. Critical Pedagogy and Social Justice
These texts focus on expanding and deepening the discussion around critical pedagogy, emphasizing the role of education in social justice movements and exploring practical applications.
- Henry A. Giroux – Pedagogy and the Politics of Hope: Theory, Culture, and Schooling (1997) Giroux builds on critical pedagogy to discuss the role of education in resisting authoritarianism and fostering democratic engagement.
- Antonia Darder – Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love (2002) Darder emphasizes the importance of love, cultural identity, and relationships in the pedagogical process, particularly for marginalized communities.
- Ira Shor – Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change (1992) Shor offers practical strategies for implementing critical pedagogy, making it accessible and actionable for educators seeking to empower their students.
- Michelle Fine – Revolutionizing Education: Youth Participatory Action Research in Motion (2008) Fine introduces participatory action research, empowering students to take active roles in their own education and use research as a tool for social change.
3. Decolonization and Indigenous Pedagogies
These texts introduce decolonial and Indigenous perspectives, challenging Eurocentric educational models and advocating for the recognition and integration of Indigenous knowledge systems and experiences.
- Eve Tuck – Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities (2009) Tuck critiques "damage-centered" research and calls for an educational approach that focuses on resilience, sovereignty, and healing in Indigenous communities.
- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance(2017) Simpson offers a powerful perspective on decolonization, blending storytelling with theoretical insights to reimagine education through Indigenous practices.
4. Abolitionist and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
These contemporary authors focus on culturally relevant pedagogy, abolitionist teaching, and how education can disrupt systems of oppression while centering the identities and experiences of marginalized students.
- Bettina L. Love – We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom (2019) Love introduces abolitionist teaching, urging educators to work toward dismantling oppressive systems and building schools rooted in equity and justice.
- Gholdy Muhammad – Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy (2020) Muhammad’s framework focuses on creating literacy practices that are responsive to students' histories and identities, promoting academic success and critical consciousness.
- Gloria Ladson-Billings – The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children (1994) Ladson-Billings offers examples of culturally relevant pedagogy, showing how teachers can support the academic and cultural identities of African American students.
5. Intersectionality, Queer, and Trans Pedagogy
These authors bring a focus on intersectionality, queer theory, and transgender studies into radical engaged pedagogy, expanding discussions around identity, embodiment, and resistance.
- Kevin Kumashiro – Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice (2015) Kumashiro critiques traditional “common sense” practices in education, advocating for anti-oppressive teaching that centers marginalized voices and disrupts inequities.
- Talia Bettcher – (Various articles on Transgender Pedagogy and Philosophy) Bettcher’s work integrates transgender theory into education, challenging normative structures and encouraging pedagogical approaches that honor trans identities and experiences.
- Sarah Ahmed – On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (2012) Ahmed’s critique of institutional diversity practices offers insights into how educational institutions can move beyond performative inclusion toward real change.
6. Technology, Disability, and Contemporary Issues
Finally, explore how radical pedagogy interacts with contemporary social issues such as technology, disability, and the ongoing struggles for racial and social justice.
- Ruha Benjamin – Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (2019) Benjamin’s work explores the intersections of race and technology, urging educators to critically engage with how technology perpetuates inequalities and offering abolitionist strategies for resistance.
- Angela Y. Davis – Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement(2016) Davis connects education to broader liberation movements, emphasizing the role of radical pedagogy in resisting carceral systems and global oppression.
- adrienne maree brown – Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (2017) Though not strictly about education, brown’s work on emergent strategy emphasizes adaptability, collective care, and transformative justice, which can be applied to pedagogical practices.
Contribution: Contribute to your abilities to make this initiative possible.