Social Justice for the Oppressed: Critical Educators and Intellectuals Speak Out

by Pierre Wilbert Orelus

Overview

This book draws from interviews conducted with prominent social justice educators and activist intellectuals, such as Noam Chomsky, Gayatri Spivak, Stuart Hall, Henry Giroux, Antonia Darder, Molefi Asante, and Maxine Greene, to examine various forms of social inequities occurring in schools and society perpetrated by those in power. These educators and intellectuals use examples drawn from both personal and professional experiences and relevant literature to point out the manner in which multiple forms of oppression intersect, in both hidden and visible ways, to affect the lives of oppressed groups and disfranchised communities. This book seeks to shed light on various manifestations of social injustices aiming to inspire critical, radical thoughts for socio-political action leading to educational and social change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475804492
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/15/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	166
File size:	848 KB

About the Author

Pierre Wilbert Orelus is associate professor in the curriculum and instruction department at New Mexico State University. His latest books include Race, Power, and the Obama Legacy (Routledge, 2015).

Table of Contents

Foreword: Love, Joy, and Justice
William Ayers

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Section One

Chapter 1: Re-envisioning Social Justice and Democracy
Noam Chomsky Speaks

Chapter 2: Questioning the Essentializing Convenience of Generalizations
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Speaks

Chapter 3: Institutional Racism and White Hegemony
Adolfo Acuna Speaks

Chapter 4: Interrogating Class, Racism, and Inequality
Antonia Darder Speaks

Chapter 5: Re-envisioning the Life of Youth in the Age of Western Neo-liberalism
Henry Giroux Speaks

Chapter 6: Rethinking Literacy and Schooling in a Capitalist Society
James Gee Speaks

Section Two

Chapter 7: Rethinking Schooling in a Neoliberal Economy
Kevin Kumashiro Speaks

Chapter 8: Re-defining Blackness in the 21ist Century
Molefi K. Asante Speaks

Chapter 9: Taking a Stance for Equity and Fairness
Maxine Greene Speaks

Chapter 10: Anti-colonial Thought and Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Doing
George Sefa Dei Speaks

Chapter 11: The Politics of Representation: A Social Justice Issue
Stuart Hall Speaks

Conclusion

About the Author

About the Interviewees

Editorial Reviews

Social Justice for the Oppressed is an amazing collection of activist intellectual voices for social justice in education that we must cherish and study for years to come. Orelus captures in this volume the wisdom and insight of prominent thinkers of our day that can instigate and motivate action leading to political and educational change.

Luis Urrieta

Social Justice for the Oppressed brings together, in one place, the voices and perspectives of some of our nation’s most prominent intellectuals and cultural workers around issues of social justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity. It provides insight into how each of these leaders understands and theorizes social justice as well as uncovering its implications for the everyday world of social-cultural groups pushed to the margins. In doing so, these scholars dig underneath the surface to name the underlying structures, narratives, and ideologies that undergird the systemic forces that perpetuate social inequality. In hearing the range of perspectives provided herein, we come to understand the multiplicity of ways in which we can enter—within the contexts and spheres of influence which we inhabit—this critical work ourselves. Social Justice for the Oppressed is certain to illuminate the complexity of this work, inform our own efforts at liberation, and inspire us to pursue a vision of possibility for generations to come.

Francisco Rios