Critical Theory - Marx etc

Critical Pedagogy and the Constitution of Capitalist Society

Critical Pedagogy: A Brief Introduction

Critical pedagogy began life in the works, thinking and pedagogic practice of Antonio Gramsci, supplemented with the works of key thinkers from the Frankfurt School, but especially those of Jürgen Habermas. It attained wider recognition in the writings and teachings of Brazilian radical educator and activist Paulo Freire. Specifically, Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972) laid the foundations for what became the American Critical Pedagogy School of the 1970s and onwards. The writings of Ivan Illich and the plays and radical drama theory of Augusto Boal were also importance elements for the development of critical pedagogy during the 1970s. Today, Critical Pedagogy in North America, whilst not mainstream, has spawned doctoral and Masters programmes and a plethora of web sites devoted to it [1].

Glenn Rikowski,  University of Northampton

* It is based on the works of Marx and Marxism, first and foremost;

* The starting point is the critique of the basic structuring phenomena and processes of capitalist society – which involves a critique of the constitution of capitalist society;

* The second most significant level of critique is the host of social inequalities thrown up by the normal workings of capitalist society – and issues of social justice can be brought in here;

* The third level of critique brings in the rest of capitalist social life – but relates to the first and second levels as frequently as possible;

* Two keys fields of human activity in contemporary society stand in need of fierce critique: capitalist work and capitalist education and training (including the social production of labour power);

* Labour power – as capital’s ‘weakest link’ – deserves special attention as it has strategic and political significance.

These are the basics of critical pedagogy as anti-capitalism.


http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Critical%20Pedagogy%20and%20Capitalism