#read Pedagogy of the Oppressed FOR REAL

[orfeolookback]

genuinely cant believe that "school abolitionist who sees bluey as a substantial way to learn about racism / class oppression" is a type of person on tumblr

[roselightfairy]

8, 10 and 19 for the fic writer asks!

Oh thank you for asking! From this list of questions:

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

Whenever I've "had" to write sequels for fics, it has been entirely because I've felt internally compelled to continue the story! Which is to say that a lot of my fics, even those that were supposed to be one-offs, already have sequels! But I do have a few fics that I've long wanted to write sequels for, but the must just hasn't moved me in that direction.

Love in a Time of Politics: I loved exploring this soft no-war AU so much, and these gentler, peaceful versions of the characters and their families. I've tried a couple of times to start an epistolary sequel to this one that is Legolas and Gimli getting to know each other better, working out a betrothal, etc., but it just hasn't had the real juice to get started (and epistolary is hard for me to write). But I would love to do it someday!

Full Moon (and by extension, Words Unspoken). Words Unspoken was actually supposed to be a one-off, and then Full Moon was already the sequel-prequel that begged to be written - but I left off the ending of the fic with a bit of a tantalizing sequel hook, and one day I'd love to write it!

Muse: Oh, the sequel to Muse is the white whale I'll never really accomplish. The premise of this story is so wild and out-there that I really wanted to try writing about Legolas from LOTR learning how to adjust to a modern life, but it got angsty really fast in my head and it also just didn't quite come together. HOWEVER! Artist @theycallme-ook did make an adorable comic series follow-up that I'm digging back into and kicking my feet wildly about, that you should absolutely check out!

10. what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

This is hard to say! I've had stories I've picked up in stops and starts, and I don't know how complete a draft needs to be to fit this bill, but probably the two most notable stories for this are The Better Part of Valor and Haven. The very first scene of Better Part was actually one of the first pieces of LOTR fanfic I wrote, back before I was publishing - and it sat for four years. I assumed it was unfinished forever, but I kept wishing I'd get the right click to pull it back out and finish it, and finally that came along in the summer of 2021! Haven, similarly, was a story I wrote the first scene of back in the summer of 2022, and then finally got myself together to finish two years later after a lot of fandom journeying.

It's funny, because I'm running @goodintentionswipfest right now and encouraging people to post unfinished drafts, but at the same time . . . sometimes you really do come back to those stories!

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

You know, I'm actually not sure about this one! I don't tend to do as many research deep-dives as I know some people out there do (and definitely feel a little guilty about it). I've researched some strange things from time to time, but I'll just go with a mention that my ongoing splinter sect AU has been so inspired by my graduate work in cultural studies that it now has its own accompanying "inspired by" bibliography. It's not exactly a list of references, more just theorists and work that has inspired me spiritually, but I think it's probably the most research-intensive thing I've done. Also I read Pedagogy of the Oppressed recently for the sake of inspiration for something else I'm trying to work on within that universe (but also I should have read the book long ago), so I guess that does count as research!

Thank you so much for asking these! I had a ton of fun answering them. <3 I am happy to continue answering if others feel inspired to ask from the list!

[takemeinyrarmy]

thank you for the boy boy book list!!! I really appreciate it bc I’ve been trying to find more leftist books, if you have any suggestions yourself I’d love to hear them. the only one I can think of that you missed is the triumph of evil which I’m pretty sure Aleksa mentioned. Thanks again!

yeiii im so happy!!! thank u so much!!! :D My personal recommendation as Aleksa said as well is Open Veins of Latin America - Eduardo Galeano, it is the book that radicalized me lol. It is a quick look at the impact of European settlement and later US exploitation of LATAM, very good if you know nothing about LATAM, it is more of an intro than a very detailed history of the region but still valuable imo to develop real empathy with the global south and realize the ways in which imperialism benefits you even in the "simplest" things like a banana, coffee or chocolate from the supermarket and actually question if those "small privileges" are worth the brutalization of global south ppl.

A couple others I haven't read yet but I'm curious about are: Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Freire, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? - Mark Fisher, The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon.

And thank you so much for letting me know I have added the book to the list now! ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

[dgr-maestro-en-progreso]

Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Reflection - Alcoholism and the Working Class

As I continue to read "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire, I came across a retelling of a problem-posing story and the reaction of the participants. The story was recounted in a discussion group that, simply put, had the aim of finding, discussing, and delving into the topics and themes present in a community in Santiago. The hypothetical presents a drunkard passing by three younger people. When commenting on the hypothetical, the participating residents commented that the only person they respected among the characters in the story was the drunkard, as they could relate to him. They immediately recognized what that character was "coding" for: they saw him as the most productive character in the story, drinking to subdue his pain from the heavy work he endured and the low wage he was given for it. While there are multiple things to take away from this story, the focus here is the recognition and breakdown of reality that the participants engaged and aided each other with, including the investigators as participants themselves. The participants recognized the source of the problem, which is the first step in breaking out of the fatalistic tendencies of seeing the world, people, and humanity in general as incapable of change.

Many would be compelled to say that alcoholism and a man who engages and suffers from it simply has no virtue. This is an incredibly moralistic and, frankly, damaging mindset. However, it is what is most often employed in the world of education and politics.

The damage of this mindset comes from its obfuscation to the real problem, one which, while it has many facets, truly comes down to a general theme: the effect the ever-increasing toll of Capitalism has on the human being.

A moralist might take this and state that, while this person might not have the best conditions at work, the alcoholism is what's truly destroying them. The issue with this, however, it that, as "banking" education (education that focuses on an authority depositing irrefutable, never-wrong information on the object) often does, it doesn't focus on the cause of the issue. At its core, the cause brings forward the result, in this case, awful conditions and physical and mental anguish leads to a desire to make the pain go away without many resources, which, in this case, is alcohol.

I go back to the comments from the participants to zoom in on one more thing: the lack of judgment. In these discussion groups and circles, part of the breakdown of topics is trying to stay away from making rigid distinctions on what's right and what's wrong. More importantly, cause, effects, and the humanity granting or destroying results of those effects must take precedent.

As I continue to post these reflections, I am better able to digest what has easily been the most difficult book I've read. Thank you for your patience so far, I hope to have a fully developed paper on the subject of this book soon.

[squaremyles]

What I read in 2024

The Big Sea by Langston Hughes Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford In The Form of a Question by Amy Schneider The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin Color Struck by Zora Neal Hurston Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria by Dr. Beverly Tatum We Real Cool by bell hooks Pedagogy of The Oppressed by Paulo Freire I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Gather Me by Glory Edim Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Between The World And Me by Ta Nihesi Coates This Is My Beloved by Walter Benton

[beatyrosefirefly]

Multimedia Journal: Social Media @nowhitesaviors

The Instagram account @nowhitesaviors is managed by a group aiming to challenge the white savior complex in global aid. They post and share stories about power, privilege, and representation, highlighting voices from the Global South who are directly affected by these issues. Their mission is to shift the narrative from dependency on Western aid to empowering local communities for self-sufficiency.

The @nowhitesaviors account is relevant to our course on multicultural America as it addresses privilege and power dynamics. The white savior complex involves Western individuals acting as rescuers for people in non-Western countries, reflecting deep-seated racial and cultural hierarchies. This critique aligns with our course's exploration of how privilege and power operate in multicultural contexts.

Using our course materials, @nowhitesaviors offers a critical look at race, privilege, and global inequality. They frequently post about the problems with voluntourism, where Westerners go to developing countries to "help" without understanding the local context or long-term effects. This critique reflects bell hooks' discussions about viewing non-Western people as objects of charity rather than equals.

For instance, one post shows Western volunteers posing with African children, explaining how these images reinforce stereotypes and power imbalances. These images often serve more to bolster the volunteer's sense of doing good than to benefit the children involved. The account encourages followers to think about the ethical implications of their actions and support local initiatives instead. This ties into our readings on empowering marginalized communities to lead their own development, as discussed by Amartya Sen and Paulo Freire.

The account also uses the concept of intersectionality to show how the white savior complex intersects with other forms of oppression, such as gender and class. Some posts focus on how female aid workers face different challenges compared to their male counterparts. This approach helps followers understand that issues of privilege and oppression are interconnected, a key theme in our course.

In addition to educational posts, @nowhitesaviors features stories and testimonials from people directly affected by white saviorism. These firsthand accounts provide powerful evidence of the real-world impacts of these practices, grounding theoretical discussions in lived experiences. By amplifying these voices, the account fosters a more inclusive conversation about global aid and development.

By reflecting on the @nowhitesaviors account through our course materials, it becomes clear how social media can challenge harmful narratives and promote equitable approaches to global aid. This account not only educates its followers but also encourages critical thinking and active engagement with issues of privilege, power, and representation.

References:

hooks, b. (1996). Reel to real: Race, sex, and class at the movies. Routledge.

Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury Academic.

@nowhitesaviors. (n.d.). Instagram. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/nowhitesaviors/.

Photo 1: A Savior No One Needs: White Saviorism: Examples, Impact, & Overcoming It (healthline.com)

Photo 2: Volunteer Work: Tanzania Childcare Volunteer Work - Go Volunteer Africa

Photo 3: NO WHITE SAVIORS | Much appreciation to @soyouwanttotalkabout on a great post discussing the White Savior Industrial Complex. "But i disagree with the… | Instagram

[panglossesanddiadorims]

The Apt Pupils

In one story in the comic strip Hagar the Horrible, by Chris Brownie, Hagar's son, Hamlet, asks his mother why the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west.  Helga, overwhelmed with house chores, tells him to stop bothering and go ask his father. When posed the question, Hagar does not falter and explains a long time ago only the gods were entitled to have light in the form a bright shining star while the mortals were compelled- even destined - to live in darkness.

One day a village man decides to steal the star from the gods, but is caught during the attempt. After deliberating, the gods decide to grant him the star but not without inflicting a harsh punishment. From that day on and for all eternity, he was sentenced to carry the star on his shoulder while running from east to west around the globe. Then, said Hagar, that is the reason the sun, the robbed star, always appears first in the east and sets in the west.

When Helga asks Hamlet if his father answered his question, he simply says, " No, he doesn't know either."

If only we could behave more like Hamlet, who craves knowledge and new discoveries but never relinquishes his ability to question an information and confirm its verisimilitude. See the brave new world through the lenses of the glasses given to Miguilim, rather than through a myopic blurred one provided by an ignoramus captain.

No doubt it is easier to be in a reality that fits one's ambitions, expectations, fears, mindsets, dogmas and idiosyncrasies; to anathemize the messenger than debate his ideas; to assassinate characters by spreading fallacies, and as fanatical simpletons to wave banners with messages (photos taken in 1959, but it could be today) conceived by sectarian catatonic minds, than flying over the cuckoo's nest and away from the grip of Nurse Ratchet.  

But, for a moment, let's allow her – in fact all she symbolizes - to be our tutor and we, her apt pupils. It will be an opportunity for me to, as Hamlet, learn something…or not.

#1:” Paulo Freire, an educator and philosopher, fought to eradicate illiteracy among adults and formulated the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, based on people’s social conditions and history to contextualize the language to teach them to read and write while developing critical thinking, something good in real democracies. Since his methodology used people’s lifetime experiences, it could not teach - or as some patriots claim, indoctrinate - children.

Indoctrination should be associated with far-right and far-left dictatorships, influencers, French movie lovers, football fan’s organized groups, religious leaders, and social media.  A child’s life experience is still little, even if many have worked as adults, sought food in landfills and migrated in huddled boats and deadly caravans.  

Answer: You are wrong. He was a Communist, period. Every student in every school should, after prayers, videotape teachers to inform on them and prevent the spread of subversive, atheist ideas.

#2: But isn’t informing on teachers a tactic used by the Gestapo, Stasi, NKDV, Securitate, KGB, Hitler’s Youth and Mao’s Red Guards? Besides, why is it ok to videotape teachers in classrooms but not ok to install cameras on police uniforms?  What about filming priests when left alone with children, for evidences have shown they can harm kids in far worse ways than a school syllabus.  

Answer: Next Communist question, please.

#3: The 1964 Coup d’état succeeded because of several factors. First, the Cold War atmosphere prevailed; second, president Joao Goulart (the 1946 Constitution set voting for both president and vice-president separately; Milton Campos, the contender, was Janio Quadro's’ official running mate. Had he won, hardly ever would Janio tried a coup by resigning in 1961) was never a Communist, but a left-wing populist, a " getulista", whose erratic behavior, sectarian attitudes and irresponsible actions convinced even legalists, both military and civilians, to adhere to the coup to curb the political upheaval, never to implement a fascist regime; third, the conservative (nowadays reactionary) middle class, the Church and industrialists opposed Jango’s social reforms and really believed the country was heading towards communism (radical left-wing groups, people like Brizola and infiltrated right-wing agitators, trained by CIA, helped to contribute to this mindset). Finally, the military, who instituted the Republic through a coup, had tried to seize power in 1922, 1945, 1954, 1955, 1958 and 1961; 1964 was just the perfect storm.   

After the coup, the military promised constitutional disrupt was temporary and kept the 1965 presidential elections. Then, it all went wrong. But not to the far-right wing branch of the military and their civilian lackeys. They overpowered Castello Branco, abolished popular elections for president, governors and mayors of capitals, exiled critics and opposers and first-time coup defenders like JK and Lacerda. When in 1968 even the Church, middle class and industrialists joined intellectuals, students and unions in huge demonstrations against the regime, they used the lame excuse of Congress not allowing the prosecution of a House representative to enact AI-5 that legitimized a Police State, one that also exists in Communist countries. Later they disregarded their own 1967 Constitution when the three military commanders, nicknamed the Three Stooges, arrested vice-president Pedro Aleixo, preventing him from being sworn in as president after Costa e Silva suffered a stroke, making him more mentally incapacitated than he already was. Then, the three gathered in an apartment in Copacabana and decided to use their intellectual abilities, despite military intelligence being an oxymoron, to write another Constitution, for, after all, they knew better how to keep power privileges.

Eventually, the FEBEAPA ( Stanislaw Ponte Preta) disrupt spawned for another 17 years, during which radical left-wing guerrillas fought not to reinstate democracy and Jango, but to implement a Communist dictatorship (read Combate nas Trevas, by Jacob Gorender), and also military and right-wing paramilitary groups fought to maintain the status-quo by acting as terrorists by plotting to explode the Gasometro and the Rio Centro Convention center, estimated to have resulted in tens of thousands of victims.  

Is there a contradiction in defending the 1964 coup, the AI-5, and the military dictatorship and all the damage it entailed, socially, economically and politically, and at the same time preaching for freedom and democracy?

Answer: I don’t know what the word contradiction means.

#4: Why didn't the same indignant and revolted people in the demonstrations in the past gather again to protest and make choreographies and shout around a duck like mobs during public executions when the government was accused of COVID vaccine overprice, rachadinhas, the rigging of public offices and agencies, the use of Federal agencies for family and personal interests, fake news spread and attack on opponents, State property smuggling, collusion with militias, State ministers' association with Pentecostal pastors, illegal miners and timber loggers, money laundering, the Secret Budget, the purchase of properties (but not the Triplex) by the family in cash?

If Haddad had been elected and accused of not only of all of that, but a video showed his governments intents to disrupt the election and foster a revolution if he lost the election, how would the 'patriots" behave?

Had the other candidate been re-elected, would he, his military henchmen and supporters still doubt the electoral process even after its inner circle itself admitted to spreading fake news and not finding a single evidence the system was rigged?

If after the election results, instead of truck drivers blocking highways and bridges, terrorists planting bombs near airports, mobs making riots by burning vehicles and confronting police officers, people camping for weeks (don't they work, that used to be the motto) while blocking streets, marching like idiots and begging the military to intervene (its like fetish for people in uniforms), instead of pathetic infantile sectarian imbeciles wearing yellow shirts wrapped around flags, if, instead, there had been pathetic infantile sectarian people wearing red shirts and caps wreaking havoc and mayhem, what would their opinion be?

After storming into to official buildings, vandalizing the properties, including destruction of objects and defecation on furniture, participating in an attempt to overthrow a constitutionally elected government and mocking the institutions like criminal delinquents, they were appalled for being arrested for breaking the law (do you who you are talking to or why aren't you arresting street criminals?), horrified at the precarious sub-human conditions of our jails (seriously?), vehement to associate their arrest with draconian dictatorial measures (I thought they liked it) and not feeling any remorse or guilt, would they also condone the attitudes as legitimate if the other side had acted the same way?

No need to answer. It was never about ending corruption or fighting for democracy.

Just like Hamlet, one must learn to reason and not open the door to evil and expect to not to end up devoured by the ogres as happened with the American psychiatrist Douglas M. Kelley and Hermann Goring and the character in the movie The Apt Pupil and a former SS officer; both obsessed to understand how and why the most educated, law-abiding, and civilized people in Europe could have worshipped a deranged sociopath and enabled him and his inner circle of criminal delinquents, homicidal thugs and sycophants to transform them in a nation of murderers.

It is simple. All it takes is to start thinking collectively and accepting any explanation, even if it means believing in Hagar’s story.

[hyenadon]

I've seen so many trans men just adore the barbie movie and i'm on that team too. And ive seen and heard them talk about how masculinity and patriarchy is this...it's a prison. It's a beautiful golden perfect prison. If you are seen as a cis man, particulalrly a white cis man who has no disability and no neurodivergence, you get everything. Everything. It's just fucking handed to you. You never worry about the pepper spray clipped to your keys. You've never even bought pepper spray. You don't even think about it, you don't have to think about it. And idk something about this movie maybe made me realize that I will never feel like a cis man. I will never feel like a man and maybe that's okay. Maybe I prefer that. But my connection to masculinity will always be through the lense of being trans and gay and having grown up as a little girl. I like my identity. I like who I am. But my identity will always and inextricably be tied to being a little gay and a little fruity. And I shouldn't have to just like. Abandon my history as a woman to call myself by he/him pronouns. I think my history of living life as a girl is important to me. also just tagging this back to barbie - the first experience barbie has in the real world is some hardcore sexual harassment. And I just wanna ask anyone who has ever been perceived as a woman - do you remember the first time you were ever threatened like that?

I do. I was twelve. I was twelve years old and a teenage boy screamed "i'll rape you in your dreams" to me when I was walking home from school. I was TWELVE YEARS OLD. That's wrong. that's just WRONG. jesus christ. can you just imagine offering that violence to a child? and like. I actually can't even imagine being a teenage boy offering that violence to someone. I don't want to be that. I don't like that. I feel deeply viscerally uncomfortable with the fact - the *fact* that men and masculinity are tied along with violence. And so this whole thing is making me think. This stupid little movie about dolls, this stupid, derivative, easy movie, about a fucking doll, it's making me think harder than I have in- god, i swear, years.

The brain is a muscle (it's not, it's an organ, but stay with me for the metaphor) and I am working it out so hard that my brain is so sore. I'm thinking about so much. I'm thinking about my own gender and how gender is inextricably linked to power dynamics. I'm also thinking about men and masculinity. I'm also thinking about how I need to read some more bell hooks. I'm also thinking about feminist pedagogy. i'm also thinking about how like. well. the movie did indeed feature many characters of color, the movie was still incredibly white, and therefore the movie is and will always be about white feminism. I'm thinking about how there is nothing I can do to fix it. The world. I can't fix it. It's wrong and awful and I can't fix it. I can't be a woman enough to fix it and I can't be a good enough man to fix it. There is something so wrong and broken about the world. I want to make it better. I can't.

I don't even know what to do or what to say. This movie gave me a boost in self confidence - that's great - but as I said to my bestie - I don't want that. I don't wanna feel smart. I don't enjoy this. Feeling smart means I am aware of how awful the world is. How incredibly prevalent misogyny is. Every second of every day is misogynist. Every movie. Every tv show. Every book. It's hatred. I mean. I like that I know i'm smart now, my Media Analysis Powers are turned the fuck ON (ive always known that my superpowers are just in analyzing media and writing. even when I am at my worst self hatey self, I know that I can think about fiction, and write)

but I want my media analysis powers turned back off. because it's *painful* to think about this. It hurts too much. Its only been a couple days and I am so, so tired.

being aware of the world and myself and my friends and the systems that oppress us. It sucks. i feel stabbed.

[zenruption]

Pedagogy Of The Oppressed

When I was a senior in college, I was introduced to a theory on education that I had never heard of prior. This theory grabbed me and has grown roots in my mind and shaped many aspects of the way I see the world. The ideas were termed liberatory pedagogy at the time and came from writings from Paulo Freire and his disciples. I almost attended graduate school at Columbia University due to Dr. Mann’s close affiliation with Freire’s teachings. Here is a brief review of Freire’s book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed:

"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" is a seminal work by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, first published in 1968. The book is a critical analysis of the traditional banking model of education, which Freire argues reinforces the oppressive structures of society, and proposes an alternative liberatory pedagogy that involves dialogue and critical reflection.

In the banking model of education, teachers are seen as the depositors of knowledge, and students are the passive recipients who are expected to memorize and regurgitate information. This approach, according to Freire, maintains the status quo of oppression, as it fails to challenge the dominant narratives and structures of power in society.

In contrast, Freire proposes a liberatory pedagogy that involves dialogue between teachers and students, and encourages critical reflection and action. This approach emphasizes the importance of students' experiences and perspectives, and encourages them to question the oppressive structures of society and work towards social transformation.

"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" has had a profound impact on educational theory and practice, and has been widely influential in fields such as critical pedagogy, adult education, and community development. The book has been translated into many languages and has been read by educators and activists around the world.

One of the strengths of the book is Freire's clear and passionate writing style, which makes complex ideas accessible and engaging. The book is also notable for its emphasis on the role of education in social transformation, and its call for educators to be agents of change in their communities.

However, some readers may find the book to be overly theoretical or abstract, and may struggle to apply its ideas to their own educational contexts. Additionally, some critics have argued that Freire's approach is too idealistic and ignores the practical challenges of implementing a liberatory pedagogy in real-world educational settings.

Overall, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" is a seminal work that has had a profound impact on educational theory and practice. While it may not provide all the answers to the complex challenges facing educators and communities today, it offers a powerful critique of the traditional banking model of education and a compelling vision for a more liberatory and transformative approach.

[educationalphilosophy]

Educational Philosophy

My approach to education is mainly influenced by bell hooks. Her books Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (1994), All About Love (1999), Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope (2003), and Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom (2009) have shaped the way I think about teaching. I read All About Love during my first job working with middle school students after my supervisor, who I looked up to, mentioned what an impact it had on him. I admire the way bell hooks put her whole heart and soul into teaching; you can really tell from her writing that she had a passion and a great love for what she did, and that had a direct impact on her students and their ability to grow and learn. 

When I think of my own educational philosophy these are some of the terms that feel most important to me: Love, vulnerability, freedom, growth, reciprocity, community, and autonomy; all of which are components that can be found in hooks teaching philosophy. Hooks believes in both students and teachers being learners, and learning from one another. In order to do this, she says that teachers have to be willing to be vulnerable alongside their students. She believes that love does have a place in the classroom, unlike many others who do not think that emotions play a role in education. However, I would argue, humans are complex, emotional beings, our emotions make us who we are, and to not hold space for them in the classroom does a huge disservice to both students and teachers. Feelings are bound to arise in a classroom that prioritizes dismantling domination. I believe that the classroom is a place for people to learn about systems of oppression and how our life experiences and identities impact the way we are able to live our lives, and so emotions and conflict are almost guaranteed to arise. That is why I believe every teacher should be equipped with the skills, knowledge, and self-awareness to navigate having challenging conversations alongside their students. 

I believe that each of the educational philosophies have aspects that I incorporate into my own facilitation. Social reconstructivism is the one philosophy that resonated the most with my own personal morals and values in relation to education, and one that I felt bell hooks references the most in her work. Hooks often cites the Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire whose work is referred to as the foundation for what is now known as critical pedagogy, similar to social reconstructivism. Freire’s philosophy has influence from existentialism as well, in that he believed in the importance of each individual student being their own autonomous being with their own way of thinking. Freire also believed in an education practice that functions as a tool for thinking critically about the world in order to bring about change, and utilizing lessons that diminish domination and oppression in the classroom. I believe students would be more engaged in lessons if they understood the real life application of what they were learning. The common practice of teaching students information for the sole purpose of seeing how well they can regurgitate it on a test, without providing any context, gives students no reason to want to care about learning. If you explain to a student why what they are learning is important, and how they could use it in the future to help themselves, their community, or the world, it would give them more incentive to be engaged in the topic and has the potential to create a more just world. 

Education as the practice of freedom, as hooks and Freier would say, allows for emotional, spiritual, and intellectual growth amongst all of its participants. School should be the place where transformation happens. Where ideas can blossom and flourish. Where systems of oppression can be dismantled. School should be a place where people are taught to think critically. School needs to be a place of safety for children (see ending gun violence) where they feel the freedom to explore their minds.

[evellys--blog]

Okay so I just got done reading/listening to Mark Fisher/Mart Colquhoun’s book Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures, along with having pretty good familiarity with Fisher and Colquhoun’s other works, and I’ve been increasingly interested in reading Lyotard’s Libidinal Economy, and have read reviews and summaries of it online etc. As someone from the US who’s been philosophically “raised” on YouTube philosophy, the (French) postmodern philosophers and such are the most prominent and impactful to what I have consumed in terms of theory, but another writer I was introduced to which has been very impactful to my own thought is Paulo Freire —who also declares himself as a radical postmodernist in his Pedagogy of Hope. 

In reading Postcapitalist Desire, I found great similarities between Fisher’s analysis and Freire’s ideas of the oppressor’s parasitism, to put it one way, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire’s idea is similar to, and could help connect, three of Fisher’s ideas here, the parasitism of capital in the bourgeois, Lyotard’s idea of the proletariat desiring suffering in his Libidinal Economy, which I am the most interested in this comparison, and, in a way, Fisher’s Capitalist Realism itself. It’s obvious to see the connection to the first idea, however I do think it’s an interesting exploration, because if you apply Freire’s own formulation of the oppressor’s parasitism, in which the oppressed get trapped the oppressor’s mindset of “to be a man, to be alive, is to be an oppressor”, to capital, it gains an interesting idea of the oppressor looking up to capital as necessary to be alive and to exist, effectively coming back to the idea posited in Postcapitalist Desire of “economics is theology! economics is the science of reification”. This could also echo another level down into the oppressed through neoliberalism to create what Fisher described as Capitalist Realism. Most interestingly, however, is Freire’s similarity to Lyotard’s idea that the proletariat, the oppressed, desire suffering under capitalism. The thing I find interesting is both how opposed Freire and Lyotard seem in their writing style and such, and that Lyotard got such, almost reflexive, criticism for his idea, though when Freire posited almost the exact same thing, it was praised. There are some differences, I will note, between Freire’s “fear of freedom” and Lyotard’s “desire for suffering” but ultimately they end up in the same place, and, if we use Fisher’s analysis of Libidinal Economy, both call for the listening to the desires and real situations of the oppressed for a better future.

I may be just spewing nonsense, and/or just saying something already well-known, but I haven’t heard anyone talk about it. I find it very interesting how both “routes” of thought, both with foundations of Marx and inspired by Marcuse etc, sort of end up converging again, or they could. What I bring here is that I feel like, in reading the Freudo-Marxist->postmodernist->accelerationist works and problematics they pose, in which Fisher and Helen Hester allude to a conclusion of a sort of Promethean invention of the future in response to the lack of an access to the Outside of capital, Freire, and his emphasis on hope as an ontological need, could be very important if not necessary to the formulation of that future and raising consciousness.

Freire, Libidinal Economy, Marxism and accelerationism?

[seaoflove]

I LOVE how you explained windows and mirrors! The quote you’re talking about is a derivative of Radine Sims Bishop’s quote! It’s used a lot in discussions of American English/Literacy teaching pedagogy because of the prevalence of white male authors/protagonists. We talk about how mirrors can be used, as you said, to heal and validate and know you aren’t alone; windows allow you to see others’ perspectives and experiences and help foster empathy for others; and the rest of the quote, sliding doors, which is your fantasy, imagination, etc! It’s a quote used a lot when arguing for a variety of texts within the classroom. There are people out there who just want us to teach the same old white dudes and you end up with many many people growing up without seeing themselves in a book. I think that’s also where #ownvoices comes into play- allowing for more mirrors for marginalized/oppressed people, and windows for those who fall under the category of the privileged/oppressor group.

this is so interesting! you worded this so elegantly & yes i can’t help but agree. the literary canon is sadly very narrow in this aspect (read: old white dudes), and im so grateful of the wider view modernity have unearthed from silenced underrepresented/oppressed voices... when thinking about a book as a door i believe it’s equally as important to ask: a door to where? from whose perspective are we witnessing this new world?

(& i had to look up the quote u mentioned)

Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.

[teacup-tai]

Hello my darling! I’m here to ask you things ☺️ I wondered what your three most important books are, and why!

Hello my lovely Bella! 💖 Oh that's not an easy question. I will choose the most important books that informed my writing and my own story of wanting to be a writer.

1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

I got the first book of the saga as an Easter gift in 1999, when I was 9, just after my parents divorced. This book is important to me because the characters made me company in one of the hardest moments of my childhood, and they kept keeping me company throughout so much hardship. But I'm choosing the first one, bc it felt like an open door to imagination and creativity like never before. I rapidly became obsessed about it 😅 and after the second book I started thinking I could give back to the world the marcel of stories, and I decided I wanted to write. And that's how I started writing.

2) The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

Clarice is my favourite writer in the whole world. She's Brazilian, and one of the biggest authors of our literature. I read this book for the first time when I was 15, and I've been in love with her writing since then. It's visceral, raw, real, she uses often times stream of consciousness in her books, though not in this one. This one, written in first person, is narrated by a writer about the struggles of writing a novel, at the same time we get to read the novel. It's amazing, it's one of the best things I've ever read. Everyone who enjoys writing should read it, it's short and gorgeous. I totally rec!

3) What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Well, Haruki Murakami is my favourite contemporary writer since 2008 when I first read Norwegian Wood. I believe that this book is very nice and informs a lot about how his creativity works, how his routine is perfectly tailored to his writing. How he balances things. And this gave me so much inspiration and ideas on how to invest on my own writing and all. I love how he writes, and also he tells his own story as a writer. Also another great rec!

Bonus: the books that are most important to my professional life are: Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire; The Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano; Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks; and a bunch of essays by Audre Lorde. And I rec them all 💖

[rayomoonshine]

Impostor syndrome is different for scholars of color

Many graduate programs include information about impostor syndrome as part of orientation. While I wholeheartedly support this and agree that awareness of the phenomenon at the program-wide level is great, I wish there was more prevalent discussion of how impostor syndrome presents differently for scholars of color, women, and doubly so for women of color. It is undeniably worse.

While "cishet white dudes" do still grapple with impostor syndrome, there is a very real difference when people are actively telling you you don't belong. Grad school is intimidating for everyone, but when you've had professors challenge your ability to read and understand English? When you've had people tell you to your face that graduate admissions are rubber stamped for racial minorities and therefore they are taking the spots of deserving white students? When professors retaliate against you by giving you poor grades after you push back against their racist pedagogy?

Meditation, positive thinking, and commiseration with peers doesn't help when there are real forces trying to push you out of academic spaces and you are one of the only scholars of color in your program. And dismantling the oppressive structures in the system while battling impostor syndrome is nearly impossible.

Every student of color in a graduate program needs to find a circle of other scholars of color and (if possible), mentors in your actual program and field of study. These white profs will gaslight you left and right with their weird neoliberal and crytpo-terf rhetoric. Get an ally in your corner so when your professor uses the n-word in class and tells you it's "pedagogy," you know you aren't completely overreacting.

[northernstories]

African American Literature Suggestions from NMU English Department

The English Department at Northern Michigan University has prepared this list of several dozen suggested readings in African American literature, with some materials also addressing Native American history and culture. The first section contains books that will help provide a context for the Black Lives Matter movement. It includes books that will help readers examine their own privilege and act more effectively for the greater good. Following that list is another featuring many African American authors and books. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it does provide readers a place to start. Almost all of these books are readily available in bookstores and public and university libraries.

Northern Michigan University’s English Department offers at least one course on African American literature every semester, at least one course on Native American literature every semester, and at least one additional course on non-western world literatures every semester. Department faculty also incorporate diverse material in many other courses. For more information, contact the department at english@nmu.edu. Nonfiction, primarily addressing current events, along with some classic texts: Joni Adamson, Mei Mei Evans, and Rachel Stein, editors. The Environmental Justice Reader: Politics, Poetics, and Pedagogy. This classic collection of scholarly articles, essays, and interviews explores the links between social inequalities and unequal distribution of environmental risk. Attention is focused on the US context, but authors also consider global impacts. Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. A clear-eyed explication of how mass incarceration has created a new racial caste system obscured by the ideology of color-blindness. Essential reading for understanding our criminal justice system in relation to the histories of slavery and segregation. Carol Anderson, White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. A very well-written but disturbing and direct analysis of the history of structural and institutionalized racism in the United States. Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Anzaldua writes about the complexity of life on multiple borders, both literal (the border between the US/Mexico) and conceptual (the borders among languages, sexual identity, and gender). Anzaldua also crosses generic borders, moving among essay, story, history, and poetry. James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time. A classic indictment of white supremacy expressed in a searing, prophetic voice that is, simply, unmatched. Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me. A combination of personal narrative in the form of the author’s letter to his son, historical analysis, and contemporary reportage. Angela Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? In this succinct and carefully researched book, Davis exposes the racist and sexist underpinnings of the American prison system. This is a must-read for folks new to conversations about prison (and police) abolition. Robin DiAngelo, What Does It Mean To Be White? The author facilitates white people unpacking their biases around race, privilege, and oppression through a variety of methods and extensive research. Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarshnha, editors. Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories From the Transformative Justice Movement. The book attempts to solve problems of violence at a grassroots level in minority communities, without relying on punishment, incarceration, or policing. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The most well-known narrative written by one of the most well-known and accomplished enslaved persons in the United States. First published in 1845 when Douglass was approximately 28 years old. W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk. Collection of essays in which Dubois famously prophesied that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” Henry Louis Gates, Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow. Must reading, a beautifully written, scholarly, and accessible discussion of American history from Reconstruction to the beginnings of the Jim Crow era. Saidiya Hartman, Lose your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route. In an attempt to locate relatives in Ghana, the author journeyed along the route her ancestors would have taken as they became enslaved in the United States. bell hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation. A collection of essays that analyze how white supremacy is systemically maintained through, among other activities, popular culture. Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Narrative of a woman who escaped slavery by hiding in an attic for seven years. This book offers unique insights into the sexually predatory behavior of slave masters. Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. A detailed history not only of racist events in American history, but of the racist thinking that permitted and continues to permit these events. This excellent and readable book traces this thinking from the colonial period through the presidency of Barack Obama. Winona LaDuke, All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life Any of LaDuke's works belong on this list. This particular text explores the stories of several Indigenous communities as they struggle with environmental and cultural degradation. An incredible resource. Kiese Laymon, Heavy: An American Memoir. An intense book that questions American myths of individual success written by a man who is able to situate his own life within a much larger whole. Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color This foundational text brings together work by writers, scholars, and activists such as Audre Lorde, Chrystos, Barbara Smith, Norma Alarcon, Nellie Wong, and many others. The book has been called a manifesto and a call to action and remains just as important and relevant as when it was published nearly 40 years ago. Toni Morrison, The Source of Self-Regard. An invaluable collection of essays and speeches from the only black woman to win a Nobel Prize in literature. Throughout her oeuvre, Morrison calls us to take "personal responsibility for alleviating social harm," an ethic she identified with Martin Luther King. Ersula J. Ore, Lynching: Violence, Rhetoric, and American Identity. Ore scrutinizes the history of lynching in America and contemporary manifestations of lynching, drawing upon the murder of Trayvon Martin and other contemporary manifestations of police brutality. Drawing upon newspapers, official records, and memoirs, as well as critical race theory, Ore outlines the connections between what was said and written, the material practices of lynching in the past, and the forms these rhetorics and practices assume now. Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric. A description and discussion of racial aggression and micro-aggression in contemporary America. The book was selected for NMU’s Diversity Common Reader Program in 2016. Layla F. Saad, Me and White Supremacy. The author facilitates white people in unpacking their biases around race, privilege, and oppression, while also helping them understand key critical social justice terminology. Maya Schenwar, Joe Macaré, Alana Yu-lan Price, editors. Who do you Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States. The essays examine "police violence against black, brown, indigenous and other marginalized communities, miscarriages of justice, and failures of token accountability and reform measures." What are alternative measures to keep marginalized communities safe? Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo, Is Everyone Really Equal? The authors, in very easy to read and engaging language, facilitate readers in understanding the ---isms (racism, sexism, ableism etc.) and how they intersect, helping readers see their positionality and how privilege and oppression work to perpetuate the status quo. Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. An analysis of America’s criminal justice system by the lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative. While upsetting, the book is also hopeful. Wendy S. Walters, Multiply / Divide: On the American Real and Surreal. In this collection of essays, Walters analyzes the racial psyche of several major American cities, emphasizing the ways bias can endanger entire communities. Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery. Autobiography of the founder of Tuskegee Institute. Harriet Washington, Medical Apartheid. From the surgical experiments performed on enslaved black women to the contemporary recruitment of prison populations for medical research, Washington illuminates how American medicine has been--and continues to be shaped--by anti-black racism. Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Autobiography of civil rights leader that traces his evolution as a thinker, speaker, and writer.

If you would like to enhance your knowledge of the rich tradition of African American literature, here are several of the most popular books and authors within that tradition, focused especially on the 20thand 21st centuries. Novels and Short Stories James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Langston Hughes, The Ways of White Folks Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God James Weldon Johnson, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man Nella Larsen, Passing Nella Larsen, Quicksand Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison, Beloved Richard Wright, Native Son Drama Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun Ntozake Shange, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf August Wilson, Fences August Wilson, The Piano Lesson Poetry A good place to begin is an anthology, The Vintage Book of African American Poetry, edited by Michael S. Harper and Anthony Walton. It includes work by poets from the 18th century to the present, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, Countee Cullen, Rita Dove, Robert Hayden, Langston Hughes, Yusef Komunyakaa, Claude McKay, Phillis Wheatley, and many others. Here are some more recent collections: Reginald Dwayne Betts, Felon Wanda Coleman, Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, The Age of Phillis Tyehimba Jess, Olio Jamaal May, The Big Book of Exit Strategies Danez Smith, Don’t Call Us Dead

[luckycloud808]

Noname’s Book Club

Hoping to read some books from nbc by the time 2021 rolls around. 12 books in I’ll treat myself to something from the nbc shop.

Class Struggle In Africa Kwame Nkrumah

Our History Is The Future Nick Estes

Prison By Any Other Name Maya Schenwar & Victoria Law

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century Alice Wong

Capitalism & Disability Marta Russell

The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett

Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination Toni Morrison

Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and The Prison Industrial Complex Eric Stanley & Nat Smith

Are Prisons Obsolete? Angela Y. Davis 

Race Music: Black a cultures From Bebop to Hip-Hop Dr. Guthrie Ramsey

Blood In My Eye George Jackson 

Assata: An Autobiography Assata Shakur

War Against All Puerto Ricans Nelson Antonio Denis

Mean Myriam Gurba

Love With Accountability: Digging up the a roots of Child Sexual Abuse Aishah Shahidah Simmons

As Black As Resistance William Anderson

Sister Outsider Audre Lorde

Magical Negro Morgan Parker

Die Nigger Die! Jamil Al-Amin

Sabrina & Corina Kali Fajardo-Anstine

The Wretched of the Earth Frantz Fanon *READING*

Persepolis Marjane Satrapi 

Parable of the Sower Octavia E. Butler

How to Cure a Ghost Fariha Róisín 

Faces & Masks (Memory of Fire, Vol. 2) Eduardo Galeano

Faces in the Crowd Valeria Luiselli

Don’t Call Us Dead Danez Smith

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South Michael W. Twitty

Pedagogy of the Oppressed Paulo Freire

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life Samanthat Irby

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” Zora Neale Hurston