Border pedagogy for democratic practice

Abstract

Border Pedagogy for Democratic Practice articulates a pedagogy that awakens a more nuanced political consciousness, a sense of empathy and agency about social justice, and an increased comfort with ambiguities, for both student and teacher. By combining a theory of border pedagogy (developed by Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren, Renato Rosaldo and others), with tenets from cultural studies, postcolonial literary theory and critical pedagogy/literacy, I argue for a new understanding in the way we teach diverse texts, an understanding that can be applied to the ongoing shifts in history and culture, and local and global politics. The first section historicizes, explores and synthesizes the major theorists and questions from which my framework arises. In the second chapter I analyze the border texts of Sherman Alexie, Rigoberta Menchu, and Guillermo Gomez-Pena, which I find useful in classroom exploration of border theory. In the final section, I offer models of courses each designed with the intent of facilitating an environment for critical literacy, political agency and "border thought," including the courses "Contemporary American Indian Literature," "Critical Thinking" and "The Arts in Society." My hope is that border pedagogy for democratic practice will encourage active citizenship in the interest of social justice.