Hello and welcome!
First of all, please excuse the strange paragraph alignments in this posting. I will have new laptop later this week; I assume this will resolve the problems. In the meantime, we will start the semester with
three articles about major figures in Critical Pedagogy. These articles, which
can be found at the top of the side bar on the right side of your screen, are
short introductions to the work of three influential people in the development
of Critical Pedagogy - Lev Vygotsky, Paulo Freire and bell hooks. Freire is
usually considered the founding figure of the field, but Vygotsky's ideas paved
the way. bell hooks is important because she adapted Freirean ideas to feminism
and critical race theory. There are other major thinkers in Critical Pedagogy -
Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren and Joe Kincheloe, for example, but I felt
their work might be too academic for our first reading of the semester. If
you would like to read about these educational theorists, the link at the
bottom of each article will take you to my source material.
I've written one question for each article. You may or may not find
these questions very challenging. If you find them impossible,
please don't panic. Just send me an email, let me know how you're feeling and
we'll work something out. I won't think any less of you, I promise.
Before we're halfway through the
semester, you will look back at these articles and wonder why you were
baffled. I am 100% sure of this. Therefore, you have no need to panic or
feel intimidated by big academic words. When you encounter a word you've never
seen or heard before, just look it up. Most big academic words are just
important-sounding terms for familiar concepts. For example,
"positionality" can be translated into ordinary English as meaning
"your opinion about something". "Patriarchy" and
"patriarchal" mean "dominated by males" - which in real
terms means women represent 70% of the world's poor, although in almost every
country women work longer hours than men. Worldwide, the wage gap between men
and women is 17% and women own 1% of the land. In the United States, the
wage gap is 24%. And so on.
Below please find the questions for the readings. I expect
you to write at least one full paragraph for each question.
Article #1: Lev
Vygotsky
Is Vygotsky’s understanding of the role of
artifacts and sign systems in cognitive development relevant to art education?
Explain why you think it is or is not, quoting the text of the article to back
up your answer. You may also use examples from personal experience.
Article #2: Paulo Freire
The article about Paulo Freire contains the following
passage-
"The transformation of social conditions
involves a rethinking of the world as a particular world, capable of being
changed. But the reframing proposed here depends upon the power of the
imagination to see outside, beyond, and against what is. More than a cognitive
or emotional potential, the human imagination, in Freire's view, is capable of
a radical and productive envisioning that exceeds the limits of the given. It
is in this capacity that everyone's humanity consists, and for this reason it
can never be the gift of the teacher to the student. Rather, educator-student
and student-educator work together to mobilize the imagination in the service
of creating a vision of a new society."
In
another part of the article, the author describes a Freirean educational tool
that involves making visual images. What is this educational tool, and how
might art teachers use it to “mobilize the imagination in the service of
creating a vision of a new society”? Think of an artwork, art project or
teaching strategy (real or imagined) that would reflect these principles of
this philosophy.
Article #3: bell hooks
Name at
least one way in which schools produce knowledge in ways that undermine
American claims to democracy. If you don’t think schools have policies or
engage in practices that undermine American claims to democracy, explain your
position. If you think they do, or if you’re not sure, answer the following
questions – Do you think art can help young people develop a global
perspective? Do you think art can help students learn to see themselves as
others see them? What kind of art project could move students toward greater
self-awareness and critical consciousness? (use your imagination!)
Once again, I realize that some of you may find the readings and
the questions challenging. Keep in mind that it's good to feel challenged, even
if make us a little uncomfortable. Use the anxiety to push ahead fearlessly.
Don't be afraid of the unfamiliar words. Not knowing what they mean does not
make you stupid. Everybody has to crack open a dictionary now and then. The
Surgeon General says it's good for you!
Let me know if you have questions.
There is no such thing as a stupid question. Email me if you don't want to post
your question on the blog.
Thank you ~~ and happy reading!
carolyn/Dr. Erler
