Democratic Means for Democratic Ends: The Possibilities of Bakhtin's Dialogic Pedagogy for Social Studies

Abstract

In light of the common mission of social studies education to prepare future democratic citizens, the field continues to be rooted in didactic and monologic practices. Finding an alibi in the current accountability movement that favors teaching about democracy instead of teaching through democracy, many social studies teachers have reneged on their responsibility to engender the democratic capacities of students. In this article, I draw on the writings of literary scholar Mikhail Bakhtin to examine the possibilities that emerge when grounding pedagogy in dialogue. Based on Bakhtin's writings, I sketch three possible pathways that a dialogic pedagogy allows social studies educators to explore: (1) nonneutrality of language, (2) testing of authority, and (3) development of voice. Through my discussion of Bakhtin's history, pedagogic action, philosophy, and sociology, I argue that pedagogy in social studies grounded in dialogue provides an aesthetic for democracy as a means to an end.

Keywords:

• democratic education
• dialogue
• dialogic
• pedagogy
• Mikhail Bakhtin
• answerability