Paulo Freire’s Continued Relevance for U.S. Education

• In Event: New transdisciplinary readings of Freire

Proposal

In this presentation, the scholars analyze how Paulo Freire’s educational ideas have been relevant to U.S. educators and activists over the past fifty years. The first presenter will discuss Freire’s first visit to the United States in 1969, and the influence of his educational thought during the subsequent decades of neoliberalism and structural adjustment, reflecting in particular on Freire’s participation in 1983 in a seminar at Stanford University. Next, the second author analyzes Freire’s significance for social movements and educators in the 2000s when “another world” seemed possible and resistance to neoliberal globalization was at a peak in the United States and Latin America. S/he will synthesize the major lessons that Freire offers educators and activist, from the concept of unfinishedness to the tensions between manipulation and directive teaching. In conclusion, both presenters will reflect on the current context, and the lessons Freire continues to offer in the context of Donald Trump’s election.

Authors

• Martin Carnoy, Stanford University

• Rebecca Tarlau, Penn State University