Revisiting Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Paulo Freire and Contemporary African Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to (re)introduce Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed to the study of contemporary African societies. Widely accepted as foundational work in the field of critical pedagogy, it is argued that Freirean scholarship and analysis is also useful in examining the top-down manner in which ‘development’ is currently being implemented on the continent. By examining the case of post-apartheid South Africa, this article posits that a Freirean understanding of liberation/freedom as a dialogical exercise can aid in opening up a productive avenue of critical enquiry regarding the post-colonial condition in sub-Saharan Africa. This analysis will use Freire's theoretical work in order to contribute to the literature regarding possibilities for more participatory, democratic and bottom-up struggles for social justice.

Notes

Other prominent authors in the field include Henry A. Giroux, Stanley Aronowitz, and bell hooks.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed was first published in 1970. However, the edition used throughout this article is the 30th Anniversary Edition, published in 2000.

The ‘banking method’ of education is the commonly accepted form of teaching whereby the teacher/instructor ‘delivers’ knowledge to the students in a didactic manner. The student acts as a passive recipient of knowledge, instead of actively participating in his/her own education. Freire elucidates the typical features of the ‘banking method’ in Chapter Two of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, pp. 71–79.

For a brief description of Freire's thought, in relation to issues of ‘development’, see Narman (2006).

According to the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report, South Africa ranked third in the world after Namibia and Brazil in income inequality, as measured by the GINI coefficient on income inequality. For further reading on poverty and inequality in South Africa, see Terreblanche (2002) and May (2000).

Furthermore, there is a growing literature describing South Africa as a sub-imperial power on the continent, as South African capital is spreading rapidly across the continent. For example, see Daniel et al. (2003) and Alden and Soko (2005).

The South African state has played a prominent role on the continent in terms of promoting democracy, leading international initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and participating in peacekeeping and mediation efforts. For example see Landsberg (2000), Shubin and Prokopenko (2001), Simon (2001), Taylor and Williams (2001), and Schraeder (2001).

The work of Neville Alexander (2002) is important in this regard.

For example, see Bond (2000), Marais (2001), McKinley (2001), and Taylor (2001).

The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) are in a partnership with the ANC, known as the Tripartite Alliance. This Alliance has deep roots in the anti-apartheid struggle, but has experienced a considerable degree of strain in the post-apartheid period. While occasionally raising concerns over GEAR, the SACP and COSATU have remained loyal to the ANC and its neo-liberal agenda since GEAR's implementation in 1996.

Statistics South Africa reported official unemployment at 28.2 per cent in September 2003, yet unofficial or expanded unemployment is said to be 42.1 per cent. Khathu Mamaila reports that: ‘The term ‘official’ unemployment reduces unemployment, on paper, by at least a million. This is because a million people who are too poor to actively search and apply for work are excluded from the number of those who are actively seeking employment' (Mamaila, The Star, 5 April 2004).

This does not mean that the ANC never attempts to mobilise people on the ground, or that they do not have some active branches at the grassroots level. The point is that organising people from the bottom-up has not been the predominant method of building ‘democracy’ for the ANC, but rather a technocratic system of ‘delivering’ to the masses is used more often.

BEE is a programme designed by the ANC in order to economically uplift the black population in South Africa. Rather than benefiting the majority black population, this programme has instead enriched a small number of blacks with political ties to the ANC.

It is important to acknowledge that Ake's ‘few’ in this context refer not only to authoritarian African leaders, but international financial institutions (IFIs), ‘development’ agencies and multinational corporations (MNCs) who have conducted business on the continent. For further discussion, see Bond (2006b).

See Davidson (1992), Bayart (1993), Allen (1995), Berman (1998), Young (1998), Cooper (2002), and Good (2002).

See Fanon (1963) and (1967).

While a full discussion of the multiple definitions of post-colonialism is beyond the scope of this article, it is important to note that the author does not understand the term as describing a temporal period or era, but rather as a complex theoretical tool intended to analyse conditions of power and identity in regions of the world that experienced colonialism. For one useful source on this topic, see Gilbert and Tompkins (1996). In addition, Freirean scholarship should aid in opening up other avenues of critical enquiry into the concept of post-colonialism.

For an excellent discussion of how these communities mobilise, see Desai (2002).

Two key resources for understanding the new social movements in South Africa are: Ballard et al. (2005), Ballard et al. (2006).

The new social movements have also been criticised on a number of grounds; see Ballard et al. (2006). While these movements are by no means perfect solutions to the socio-economic problems confronting the people of Africa, they represent a sincere attempt to build a more bottom-up political project in South Africa.

It is hoped that future research can be conducted to explore how exactly Freirean theory and methodologies can be developed and adapted in an African context. Such research would also be accompanied by deeper analysis of historical attempts at more participatory forms of ‘development’ on the continent, including Freire's own experience of working in Guinea Bissau (Freire 1978); the works of Amilcar Cabral (1969, 1973, 1980), and Hickey and Mohan (2006).