In an effort to promote my website (www.TonyWardEdu.com) I have set up several Google Alerts - just to find out who is saying what in my areas of interest: Critical Theory, Critical Pedagogy, Critical Practice. etc. What they have revealed is rather disturbing.
On the one hand, and to my horror, I have discovered that what people seem to consider to be Critical Theory or Critical Pedagogy are actually far removed from either the history and genealogy of the concepts or my own understanding of what they are. Without going into too much detail here I find myself increasingly frustrated to discover that in the thoughts and writings that seem to be flowing through many blogs and websites, both of these concepts have been completely depoliticised to the point where they have become meaningless. Schools, lecturers, students and would-be intellectuals seem to believe that Critical Theory is simply about criticism - separated from its radical Marxist perspective, that is, from its imperative to bring about actual social change. What I am beginning to realise is that the radical potential of these concepts and theories has been undermined by their assimilation into conventional non-critical educational theories. The cosmeticisation and commodification of Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy is widespread. Their absorbtion and transformation into something that does not actually challenge but rather supports and reinforces mainstream capitalist theorising is both appalling and fascinating. In short, there is very little actual critical theorising about Critical Theory.
Then there's the other side of the coin. What about those theorists who do take Critical Theorising seriously and who do theorise about it? What about them?
There, I have suggested that academics actually strive for impenetrability in their writings because they harbour an unconscious fear of actually being understood, lest they be labeled as "radical", "Marxist" or "idealistic". In this sense, they (we) live a lie.
I once sat in on a graduate seminar given by one of the most famous and prolific critical education theorists. At the end of the seminar, he asked me what I thought. I could only say that if he was truly interested in "liberation", "transformation" etc. - in "freeing" the oppressed from their oppression, then he ought only to be using words that the "oppressed" themselves understood. That anything else was deceitful, and that he wasn't really interested in emancipation but only in his own status among the Critical Theorists. His response was unconvincing.
We seem to believe that the power of our theories is in their capacity to demonstrate the breadth of our knowledge, our grasp of the (equally impenetrable) writings of the many famous names in the field. But all of the name-dropping in the world (Deleuze, Foucault, Lacan, Lyotard, Habermas, etc.) fails to mask the fact that the writers are indulging themselves in a form of intellectual masturbation that is designed to avoid actual engagement with the real world and that fails to deliver the very emancipation they are espouising (for surely emancipation begins with clarity and understanding).
So I find myself somewhere in the middle. Passionately involved in issues of social change, passionately involved in seeing this happen, passionately involved in doing as well as talking. I take seriously my responsibility for social equity and justice - my own role in doing as little harm as possible.
In my website (www.TonyWardEdu.com) I have therefore tried to bridge this gap between Theory and Practice, between Thinking and Doing. To link the worlds of Critical Theory and Critical Practice. There are glossaries to help navigate the impenetrability of the jargon. There are bibliographies to extend the range of understanding of the shifts and changes of the movements. There are numerous links to other sites that I have found to be useful. And there is a deep desire to communicate to others who see the world degenerating into imperialism, Fascism and capitalist oppression and want to intervene. If you want to know more about Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy, look up the website (www.TonyWardEdu.com). There are more than 60 FREE downloadable PDFs that will explain all of this and more. There's no catch! Just a desire to change things, to stop the madness.
On the one hand, and to my horror, I have discovered that what people seem to consider to be Critical Theory or Critical Pedagogy are actually far removed from either the history and genealogy of the concepts or my own understanding of what they are. Without going into too much detail here I find myself increasingly frustrated to discover that in the thoughts and writings that seem to be flowing through many blogs and websites, both of these concepts have been completely depoliticised to the point where they have become meaningless. Schools, lecturers, students and would-be intellectuals seem to believe that Critical Theory is simply about criticism - separated from its radical Marxist perspective, that is, from its imperative to bring about actual social change. What I am beginning to realise is that the radical potential of these concepts and theories has been undermined by their assimilation into conventional non-critical educational theories. The cosmeticisation and commodification of Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy is widespread. Their absorbtion and transformation into something that does not actually challenge but rather supports and reinforces mainstream capitalist theorising is both appalling and fascinating. In short, there is very little actual critical theorising about Critical Theory.
Then there's the other side of the coin. What about those theorists who do take Critical Theorising seriously and who do theorise about it? What about them?
To a large extent they are indecipherable. They speak in jargon, private academic languages, and practice the most mystifying conceptual gymnastics. Elsewhere, I have written extensively about this process of mystification. See:Walking Our Talk: The Mystification of Critical Language) (http://www.tonywardedu.com/content/view/158/40/)
There, I have suggested that academics actually strive for impenetrability in their writings because they harbour an unconscious fear of actually being understood, lest they be labeled as "radical", "Marxist" or "idealistic". In this sense, they (we) live a lie.
I once sat in on a graduate seminar given by one of the most famous and prolific critical education theorists. At the end of the seminar, he asked me what I thought. I could only say that if he was truly interested in "liberation", "transformation" etc. - in "freeing" the oppressed from their oppression, then he ought only to be using words that the "oppressed" themselves understood. That anything else was deceitful, and that he wasn't really interested in emancipation but only in his own status among the Critical Theorists. His response was unconvincing.
So I find myself somewhere in the middle. Passionately involved in issues of social change, passionately involved in seeing this happen, passionately involved in doing as well as talking. I take seriously my responsibility for social equity and justice - my own role in doing as little harm as possible.
In my website (www.TonyWardEdu.com) I have therefore tried to bridge this gap between Theory and Practice, between Thinking and Doing. To link the worlds of Critical Theory and Critical Practice. There are glossaries to help navigate the impenetrability of the jargon. There are bibliographies to extend the range of understanding of the shifts and changes of the movements. There are numerous links to other sites that I have found to be useful. And there is a deep desire to communicate to others who see the world degenerating into imperialism, Fascism and capitalist oppression and want to intervene. If you want to know more about Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy, look up the website (www.TonyWardEdu.com). There are more than 60 FREE downloadable PDFs that will explain all of this and more. There's no catch! Just a desire to change things, to stop the madness.
2 comments:
Thank you for the comment you left on my blog. Critical theory is new for me, and I'm struggling to get a good grasp on it.
However, I'm commenting because I see you are from New Zealand? I will be studying abroad there in the spring. Are you a professor at a university?
Kia ora Sputin,
I am no longer a professor at a University, although I was for almost 40 years. I am retired and live in the small Bay of Plenty town of Whakatane - about three hours south of Auckland. Stay in touch. I am happy to share ideas with you about Critical Theory. Where are you going to be studying?
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