A Freirean Journey From Chicana and Chicano Studies to Critical Race Theory

• In Event: Paulo Freire as a Global Public Intellectual: Dialectics of the Global and the Local

Abstract

This chapter recounts my personal journey of how I came to work in Race and Ethnic Studies and Freirean Pedagogy, and how they served as foundational to my work in Critical Race Theory (CRT). I show how these frameworks informed and expanded my work in CRT—specifically the problem-posing process. I acknowledge that the practice of teaching race and racism comes with opportunities and challenges. However, through the intersection of Freirean problem-posing pedagogy and CRT, I hope educators can find ways to incorporate students lived experiences into their teaching and research. The development of CRT and Freirean Pedagogy is intended to assist current and future educators to dialogue and analytically develop critical pedagogical frameworks and theories that lead to social justice praxis in the community and educational settings.

Author

• Daniel Gilbert Solorzano, University of California - Los Angeles