The Politics of Liberation (PDF)

This book explores various forms of oppression that plague contemporary society. Through the analyses and reflections of theorists and social activists -- including Paulo Freire himself -- Politics of Liberation brings together under a common project of human liberation critical voices from around the globe -- from Mexico, Guatemala, Britain, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The essays argue that Freire's work offers an avenue out of the malaise of contemporary politics and culture. They situate Freire temporally in relation to moments of modernity and postmodernity; culturally and existentially in relation to the First and Third Worlds and the standpoint of indigenous peoples; politically in terms of his attention to the range of sites and dimensions of oppression and their relatedness; and intellectually in relation to the eclectic range of theories on which he draws. The book is a response to the current global crisis of solidarity among progressive and dissident intellectuals, educators and cultural workers. It is a crisis which challenges educators and activists to transcend narrow ethnic, cultural, religious and nationalist particularisms but without recourse to transcendental narratives that make universal claims to truth. Freire's work addresses ways of resisting forms of oppression as they are produced in the context of First World and Third World social and cultural sites through Freirean-based liberational strategies that build upon forms of solidarity without positing universalist claims. The book will be required reading for anyone interested in liberation and especially for scholars and students of sociology, education and politics. Peter L. McLaren is Renowned Scholar-in-Residence and Director of the Center for Education and Cultural Studies, Miami University of Ohio, and Colin Lankshear is Associate Professor in the School of Language and Literacy Education, and Director of Literacy Studies Education, Queensland University of Technology.