Creighton Nicholas Brown
“Remember, remember the Fifth of November”:
Annotated Bibliography for Democratic and Service Learning Pedagogies
Cushman, Ellen. “The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change.” College Composition and Communication 47.1 (Feb. 1996): JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Ellen Cushman’s “The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change” takes Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed a few steps further, that is, Cushman advocates for affecting social change by bridging the gap between the university’s ivory tower and the surrounding community instead of simply having a liberatory classroom pedagogy. This article is an excellent point of entry into service learning pedagogy, as it spends much time outlining the preparation work and considerations made before embarking on this type of pedagogy.
Dewey, John. “Education and Democracy in the Word of Today (1938).” Schools: Studies in Education 9. 1 (Spring 2012): 96-100. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
While this is an excerpt from John Dewey’s “Education and Democracy in the World of Today (1938),” it is strikingly appropriate for our current classroom makeup: Dewey’s students in the 1930s were expecting and hearing the drums of war (ours are submerged in war and its rhetoric); experiencing isolationism, especially with respect to immigrants (ours experience the rampant anti-Mexican/Latino immigrant rhetoric); and undergoing a social and technological transformation as it relates to jobs (ours are doing the same in a similar economic climate). This text is fascinating as it puts the current climate in an historical perspective and demonstrates through its discussion of historical events the teaching of critical pedagogy.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Trans. Myra Bergman Ramos. 30th Anniversary ed. New York: Continuum, 2011. Print.
The first chapter of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed drew on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth, the works of Marx and Engels, and 1960s liberation theology to advocate for a less oppressive pedagogy. Ultimately this chapter did not discuss democratic or service learning pedagogy per se, but it did yield some interesting scaffolding for rationalizing a service learning pedagogy. Freire advocates for a leveling or dismantling of hierarchical educational structures.
George, Ann. “Critical Pedagogy: Dreaming of Democracy.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate, et al. New York: Oxford, 2001. 92-112. Print.
Ann George’s “Critical Pedagogy: Dreaming of Democracy” provides a brief history of the critical pedagogy movement from its progressive roots in the early twentieth century to Freire to the 1980s. George clearly states the purpose of 1980s to present critical pedagogy by drawing on the work of Ira Shor and Henry A. Giroux to say that critical pedagogy must focus on overcoming the innately conservative nature of the university and the construction of knowledge. Also, George makes an interesting and sound critique of Freire about the nature of critical pedagogy in universities where the majority of students are white and middle and upper class.
Giroux, Henry A. “The Politics of Higher Education and the Militarized Academy after 9/11.” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics No. 29 (2009): 104-126. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
In “The Politics of Higher Education and the Militarized Academy after 9/11,” Henry A. Giroux argues for a critical pedagogy that was lost after the events of 9/11 and a critical pedagogy to confront the militarization of the academy—a militarization that has resulted from an increase in military research funding and grants as well as through a rise in officer training at over 100 universities in the U.S. Giroux contends universities—because of the aforementioned reasons—have become conservative and militarized knowledge factories instead of the enlightened places of learning that existed at an earlier time. Ultimately, Giroux reasons universities should oppose the militarization of their own campus and more importantly the militarization of society in general. This article marks an interesting shift in critical/democratic pedagogy.
Hutchinson, Mary. “Living the Rhetoric: Service Learning and Increased Value of Social Responsibility.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 5.3 (2005): 427-444. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
In “Living the Rhetoric: Service Learning and Increased Value of Social Responsibility,” Mary Hutchinson succinctly rationalizes the use (and need) for service learning in the classroom as well as clearly outlines the classroom application. Hutchinson spends considerable time discussing the importance of student reflection before, during, and after a service learning project, as this bridges the gap between the personal and the academic. This article is a great exploration of a practical application of service learning.
Jay, Gregory. “Service Learning, Multiculturalism, and the Pedagogies of Difference.” Pedagogy 8
.2 (Spring 2008): 255-281. Project Muse. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
In “Service Learning, Multiculturalism, and the Pedagogies of Difference,” Gregory Jay defines service learning the classroom and connects it with issues of social justice. Jay explains how service learning draws on critical pedagogy as it seeks to change society. While Jay’s praxis focused on multicultural issues and the English (literature) classroom, there are ways to bring his ideas into the composition classroom. This article was interesting and provided excellent foundational knowledge for service learning pedagogy.
Pason, Amy. “Reclaiming Activism for Students.” Activism and Rhetoric: Theories and Contexts for Poltical Engagement. Ed. Seth Kahn and JongHwa Lee. New York: Routledge, 2011. 190-7. Print.
Amy Pason’s “Reclaiming Activism for Students” was a joy to read. It comes from the undergraduate version of Pason, not the wizened academic she has become. Pason’s piece discusses the need for activism—and perhaps—critical engagement from a student perspective. This article was delightful.
Rosenblatt, Louise M. Literature as Exploration. 5th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995. Print.
I love this curmudgeonly old woman. Louise M. Rosenblatt’s “Preface to the Fifth Edition” from Literature as Exploration provided an early and extremely relevant project for democratic education. While the majority of the book discusses using literature as a way of teaching for active democratic engagement, there are little gems that can easily transfer into the composition classroom by stressing the need for students to experience low-consequence situations where they can explore political issues and their consequences. This brief preface has provided me with my working thesis.
Shor, Ira. “War, Lies, and Pedagogy: Teaching in Fearful Times.” The Radical Teacher No. 77 (Winter 2006): 30-35. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Ira Shor’s interview with the editors of The Radical Teacher provides some theoretical and practical approaches to teaching critically in a Post-9/11 classroom. Shor proposes questioning both blind patriotism and the status quo by creating student discourse and knowledge rather than imparting premade, prepackaged knowledge onto the students. He achieves by having students “discover” what they know and do not know about a subject, but in addition to this, he has the students choose the subject through various in-class invention activities. This article provides a short and yet interesting juxtaposition of theoretical and practical critical pedagogy.
“Remember, remember the Fifth of November”:
Annotated Bibliography for Democratic and Service Learning Pedagogies
Cushman, Ellen. “The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change.” College Composition and Communication 47.1 (Feb. 1996): JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Ellen Cushman’s “The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change” takes Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed a few steps further, that is, Cushman advocates for affecting social change by bridging the gap between the university’s ivory tower and the surrounding community instead of simply having a liberatory classroom pedagogy. This article is an excellent point of entry into service learning pedagogy, as it spends much time outlining the preparation work and considerations made before embarking on this type of pedagogy.
Dewey, John. “Education and Democracy in the Word of Today (1938).” Schools: Studies in Education 9. 1 (Spring 2012): 96-100. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
While this is an excerpt from John Dewey’s “Education and Democracy in the World of Today (1938),” it is strikingly appropriate for our current classroom makeup: Dewey’s students in the 1930s were expecting and hearing the drums of war (ours are submerged in war and its rhetoric); experiencing isolationism, especially with respect to immigrants (ours experience the rampant anti-Mexican/Latino immigrant rhetoric); and undergoing a social and technological transformation as it relates to jobs (ours are doing the same in a similar economic climate). This text is fascinating as it puts the current climate in an historical perspective and demonstrates through its discussion of historical events the teaching of critical pedagogy.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Trans. Myra Bergman Ramos. 30th Anniversary ed. New York: Continuum, 2011. Print.
The first chapter of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed drew on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth, the works of Marx and Engels, and 1960s liberation theology to advocate for a less oppressive pedagogy. Ultimately this chapter did not discuss democratic or service learning pedagogy per se, but it did yield some interesting scaffolding for rationalizing a service learning pedagogy. Freire advocates for a leveling or dismantling of hierarchical educational structures.
George, Ann. “Critical Pedagogy: Dreaming of Democracy.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate, et al. New York: Oxford, 2001. 92-112. Print.
Ann George’s “Critical Pedagogy: Dreaming of Democracy” provides a brief history of the critical pedagogy movement from its progressive roots in the early twentieth century to Freire to the 1980s. George clearly states the purpose of 1980s to present critical pedagogy by drawing on the work of Ira Shor and Henry A. Giroux to say that critical pedagogy must focus on overcoming the innately conservative nature of the university and the construction of knowledge. Also, George makes an interesting and sound critique of Freire about the nature of critical pedagogy in universities where the majority of students are white and middle and upper class.
Giroux, Henry A. “The Politics of Higher Education and the Militarized Academy after 9/11.” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics No. 29 (2009): 104-126. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
In “The Politics of Higher Education and the Militarized Academy after 9/11,” Henry A. Giroux argues for a critical pedagogy that was lost after the events of 9/11 and a critical pedagogy to confront the militarization of the academy—a militarization that has resulted from an increase in military research funding and grants as well as through a rise in officer training at over 100 universities in the U.S. Giroux contends universities—because of the aforementioned reasons—have become conservative and militarized knowledge factories instead of the enlightened places of learning that existed at an earlier time. Ultimately, Giroux reasons universities should oppose the militarization of their own campus and more importantly the militarization of society in general. This article marks an interesting shift in critical/democratic pedagogy.
Hutchinson, Mary. “Living the Rhetoric: Service Learning and Increased Value of Social Responsibility.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 5.3 (2005): 427-444. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
In “Living the Rhetoric: Service Learning and Increased Value of Social Responsibility,” Mary Hutchinson succinctly rationalizes the use (and need) for service learning in the classroom as well as clearly outlines the classroom application. Hutchinson spends considerable time discussing the importance of student reflection before, during, and after a service learning project, as this bridges the gap between the personal and the academic. This article is a great exploration of a practical application of service learning.
Jay, Gregory. “Service Learning, Multiculturalism, and the Pedagogies of Difference.” Pedagogy 8
.2 (Spring 2008): 255-281. Project Muse. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
In “Service Learning, Multiculturalism, and the Pedagogies of Difference,” Gregory Jay defines service learning the classroom and connects it with issues of social justice. Jay explains how service learning draws on critical pedagogy as it seeks to change society. While Jay’s praxis focused on multicultural issues and the English (literature) classroom, there are ways to bring his ideas into the composition classroom. This article was interesting and provided excellent foundational knowledge for service learning pedagogy.
Pason, Amy. “Reclaiming Activism for Students.” Activism and Rhetoric: Theories and Contexts for Poltical Engagement. Ed. Seth Kahn and JongHwa Lee. New York: Routledge, 2011. 190-7. Print.
Amy Pason’s “Reclaiming Activism for Students” was a joy to read. It comes from the undergraduate version of Pason, not the wizened academic she has become. Pason’s piece discusses the need for activism—and perhaps—critical engagement from a student perspective. This article was delightful.
Rosenblatt, Louise M. Literature as Exploration. 5th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995. Print.
I love this curmudgeonly old woman. Louise M. Rosenblatt’s “Preface to the Fifth Edition” from Literature as Exploration provided an early and extremely relevant project for democratic education. While the majority of the book discusses using literature as a way of teaching for active democratic engagement, there are little gems that can easily transfer into the composition classroom by stressing the need for students to experience low-consequence situations where they can explore political issues and their consequences. This brief preface has provided me with my working thesis.
Shor, Ira. “War, Lies, and Pedagogy: Teaching in Fearful Times.” The Radical Teacher No. 77 (Winter 2006): 30-35. JSTOR. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Ira Shor’s interview with the editors of The Radical Teacher provides some theoretical and practical approaches to teaching critically in a Post-9/11 classroom. Shor proposes questioning both blind patriotism and the status quo by creating student discourse and knowledge rather than imparting premade, prepackaged knowledge onto the students. He achieves by having students “discover” what they know and do not know about a subject, but in addition to this, he has the students choose the subject through various in-class invention activities. This article provides a short and yet interesting juxtaposition of theoretical and practical critical pedagogy.