Anonymous
Posted October 23, 2002
Modern day Africa, like the rest of the Third World, is at a crossroads with poverty, famine, unfavourable economic policies contributing to increase in social evils. Within this political, social and economic conondrum, Paulo Freire¿s conceptualisation of liberation education known as critical pedagogy 'We make the road by walking' demostrates Freire's reconcetualisation of development and his emphasis on what Antonio Gramsci termed 'expansive hegemony' (Hoare and Nowell Smith, 1971) as a springboard from which authentic development has to be built. This book manifests Freire's u-turn from 'pedagogy of the oppressed' through the Guinea Bissau experiences to post cold war realities and argues for a re-understanding of development. That even having a small garden from which a family can get vegetables to sell and consume might constitute development from the poor family's perspective. Much as he does not mention Gramsci, Freire introduces gramscian concepts of intellectuals, expansive hegemony, politicised education and social justice as being part of 'participatory development'. In many ways, Freire's life regurgitated Gramscis experiences in fascist Italy. This book, conversations with Myles Hurton is Freire's best work ever, in easy language and straight to the point: that conditions in the third world require much more than donor interventions with huge bughets. third world's poverty can only be successfuly tackled if indigenous peoples and organic intellectuals (Freire's teachers) work together for lifetime-an element of continuity donor projects ignore. A must for teachers, lecturers, extension workers, third world ministers and who else-everyone. Freire and hurton argue out that social change is not out there but it developes within the relationship the educator has with indigenous people. This book will make whoever reads it a better person....
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