Reading group Radical engaged pedagogy

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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