Identification, language, and subjectivity: Reading Freire through/against Lacan

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to interrogate Freirean critical pedagogy via the work of Jacques Lacan in order to shed new light on psychoanalytic issues that arise when engaging in critical pedagogical work. First, through a close reading of Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the author delineates Freire's conception of the human subject, the mechanisms that function to oppress subjects and prevent full humanization, and the process by which subjects can begin to imagine new possibilities outside of the oppressor/oppressed relationship. Next, careful consideration is given to Lacan's formulation of the function of the imaginary in the emergence of the subject, which was most clearly articulated in his seminal work The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience. This engagement with these two thinkers emphasizes what Lacan can teach us about the complex relationship between identity construction, subjectivity, and the role of intersubjective relations in theorizing and creating a more just world.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical pedagogy
• identity construction
• intersubjectivity
• psychoanalytic theory

Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Beyond Words, Inc., in the editing and preparation of this manuscript. The author maintained control over the direction and content of this article during its development. Although Beyond Words, Inc. supplied professional editing services, this does not indicate its endorsement of, agreement with, or responsibility for the content of the article.

Disclosure statement

The author has no funding or conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kevin J. Holohan

Kevin J. Holohan is an assistant professor of teacher education and social foundations of education in the College of Education at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His research interests include critical pedagogy, place-based education in urban settings, the social and cultural foundations of ecological crises, and youth empowerment.