Paulo Freire

In an age of globalization, where multinational corporations seem to dictate to governments the considerations of the polity, the status of the poor and their education has never seemed more hopeless or urgent. For decades, Paulo Freire - the Brazilian educator and social theorist who died in September 1997 - was the champion of the poor everywhere. He offered a very different notion of the teacher-student relationship that, in this book, looks forward to raising up of poor people everywhere to make them a viable force for change in the 21st century.

Paulo Freire is regarded by many as the most significant educational thinker of the twentieth century. This volume offers Freire's own intimate retrospection of his life and work. These reflections, dedicated to his niece Cristina, provide a backdrop for a deeper understanding of how his experiences are linked to his philosophical and pedagogical work.

Freire and Macedo analyse the connection between literacy and politics according to whether it produces existing social relations, or introduces a new set of cultural practices that promote democratic and emancipatory change.