Announcing Utopia and Generating Hope in Difficult Times

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Paulo Freire, Critical Pedagogy, and Emancipation Roundtable

Abstract

While hope is an ontological need (Freire, 1992/2004), it is often a neglected concept in the study of education. Contemporary youth around the world experience the adversity of high costs of living, massive unemployment, oppressive regimes, restrictions of freedom of expression, sexism and racism, which might have led to hopelessness. In spite of the constant “war on youth,” (Giroux, 2012) recent political protests around the world show that young people involve in activism. This phenomenon of youth participation in activism in relation to their hope has been overlooked. This arts-based narrative inquiry examines the narratives of participants who involved in activism in Turkey to better understand their purposes, dreams, hope, and educational needs.

Author

• Dilber Celebi, Texas Tech University