Radical Pedagogy: Lessons from the “Africa Book” Project

Abstract

As public affairs educators search for meaningful ways to spark discussions of diversity and promote cultural competencies among their students, a radical assignment highlights the potential of MPA coursework to engender profound results. The “Africa book” project engaged 50 students in social justice research. Although the project explicitly focused on writing and presentation skills, it simultaneously challenged students’ conceptions of the world, privileged marginalized viewpoints, and sparked debates about race, class, international affairs, and the responsibility of public affairs professionals to employ their training for positive social change. Suggestions for future radical projects are provided by the student and faculty authors of the Africa book.

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Notes on contributors

Sarah E. Ryan

Sarah E. Ryan is an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York. She is the former director of the Bronx Defenders Debate Initiative and holds a Ph.D. in Rhetorical Criticism from the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. She may be contacted at [email protected].