Staging Paulo Freire

• In Event: Applying Freirean Praxis to Academic Responsibility

Abstract

As the third-most cited education scholar worldwide (Green, 2016), Freire’s theories have sparked scholars’ interest leading to a wealth of interpretations and reinventions (Darder, 2002; McLaren, 2000). At times, however, these reinventions may leave readers with the distinct impression that more Freires are flowing through educational discourses than meets the eye: the Gramscian-Marxist, the humanist, the developmentalist, the critical pedagogue, etc. (Mayo, 1994; McLaren & Kincheloe, 2007; Paiva, 1979). In light of the “many Freires” phenomenon (Torres, 2014), this essay examines the metanarratives that have constituted Freire’s scholarship in English. Specifically, I am interested in the following questions: What kinds of hermeneutic cultures have enveloped Freire’s theories? How have these cultures shaped readers’ sensibilities?

Author

• Sandro Barros, Michigan State University