Review by Michaela Corniea 

Pedagogy of the Oppressed was originally written in Portuguese by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, and first published in 1968.  Two years later, in 1970, the English translation was published and sold more copies globally than any other book translated from Portuguese (JSTOR).  The 30th Anniversary Edition, translated by Myra Bergman Ramos and including an introduction from Donaldo Macedo, was published in 2000.  The most well-known of Freire’s books, Pedagogy of the Oppressed introduces the approach to learning known as “popular education.”  In this approach, education is more of an exchange than a hierarchy.  Both the teacher and the student learn and grow through a process of reflection and action with each other, their community, and society at large.

When I chose “Pedagogy” from the shelves of the Larry Olds Collection, I thought – thanks to the multiple sticky tabs and bookmarks (presumed to have been placed there by Olds himself) – that it would help introduce me to the ideas that Olds used in his own teaching. What I got – in addition to the introduction I expected – was a full understanding of why Olds was such a proponent of popular education. While reading, I filled four notebook pages with quotes. In fact, for a book with only 183 pages, it took me quite a while to read through it entirely, because I stopped so often to copy down a quote or make a note about a specific thought.   After reading, I cannot imagine why an educator would want to teach in any other way! As someone who is not a teacher, I did not expect this book to impact me as strongly as it did.  

The best part of this book is that it is not solely focused on education. Yes, that is the purpose of the book. Freire himself struggled to get an education, and after completing his studies, he worked with a literacy program that eventually led to a peasant uprising in Brazil with better education as one of the aims (JSTOR).  As politics shifted, Freire’s views and this movement were not always popular and after time in prison and then exile. Freire wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed to continue his advocacy for literacy and education. Even as the context is based in literacy, the teachings in the book can be applied to any situation in which a group is being oppressed.  

Freire explores the reasons a group of people would oppress others, the role of the oppressed in creating change, the importance of dialogue and community, and how to revolutionize.  He explains the need for interaction between humans and the world, the reflection and action required for transformation, and the difference authentic action and revolution make.  “The revolution is made neither by the leaders for the people, nor by the people for the leaders, but by both acting together in unshakeable solidarity,” Freire writes (129).  “Dialogue with the people is radically necessary to every authentic revolution” (128).  It is a process that requires community between all members of the oppressed no matter which role they take, as well as, surprisingly, community between the oppressed and their oppressors.  “This, then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well,” because both have fallen to dehumanization.  In treating others as less than human, the oppressors are themselves dehumanized.  

Dehumanization is a distortion of becoming more human, and ultimately Freire’s goal is that everyone becomes “beings for themselves,” not things to use or things that use others (44, 161).  “The pedagogy of the oppressed is an instrument for their critical discovery that both they and their oppressors are manifestations of dehumanization” (48).  This inclusion of the oppressors – the acknowledgement that they suffer from the system of their own making – allows for the full examination of the oppressive systems and a heightened understanding of how to break these systems down.  In addition, Freire pays close attention to the roles of teacher, student, leader, and revolutionary.  Everyone has a place in the pedagogy of the oppressed.  Everyone should read Pedagogy of the Oppressed.  If you are searching for transformation in your life, community, education, teaching, or in society at large, this is an excellent place to start.

If this topic caught your interest or you are looking for what to read next after Freire, the East Side Freedom Library has plenty of books for you!  The Olds collection has many of the other works of Paulo Freire, if you’d like to read more from this author.  Also housed in the Olds collection is Ah-hah! A New Approach to Popular Education by GATT-Fly.  If you are interested in learning more about education and adult literacy, Chalk Lines: the Politics of Work in the Managed University edited by Randy Martin can be found in the Rachleff collection.  Another book on adult literacy is Empowering Women Through Literacy: Views from Experience edited by Mev Miller and Kathleen P. King, which can be found in the Cleary collection.  If you do follow your curiosity to the ESFL, be sure to check the shelves to find their wealth of books on related topics!