Read/view the info above. Take some notes, finding answers to these key questions.
1. Where is Paulo Freire from (where was he born?)
Brazil
2. What was his family, upbringing like?
His family as poor, working through the Great Depression. His father died when he was young, and he ended up very behind in school. Nevertheless, he made it to University.
3. What professions did Paulo Freire have?
He was a Portuguese teacher, and later worked for the Dept. of Education and then as a professor in various capacities for many years.
4. What political challenges did he face?
He was imprisoned for treason after a military coup in 1964 which went against the principles of his life's work. He was a Christian Socialist, and much of his philosophy was rejected by the governing bodies of the time.
5. What is his experience with literacy? What is the definition of literacy?
Literacy was very important to him. He dedicated himself to ensuring that the people of Brazil could read and write. He believed that the ability for people to read and write, and thus be made aware of a variety of ideas, was integral to their freedom as human persons.
6. What areas of Latin America did he live in? What is the definition of Latin America?
He lived in Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. Latin America is generally understood to be the nations of South America, and also Central America (sometimes including Mexico), which primarily speak Spanish as a universal language in addition to the myriads of native languages.
7. What languages did he speak?
Spanish, Portuguese, English, French
8. What is his greatest written work?
"The Pedagogy of the Oppressed"
9. What is dialogue? conscientization? praxis?
Dialogue is a necessity for the liberation of the oppressed. It is a critical interplay between word/thought and action, so that people understand what they do and why they do it. Conscientization is making the oppressed understand their situation, it is when they come to comprehend their oppressors and see for themselves the necessity of struggle. Praxis is the set of actions which reconstruct the oppressive structures of society; it is the practice of being human even in the midst of dehumanization.
10. How does Paulo Freire define privilege and oppression? Does this have anything to do with finances?
He says that an act is oppressive when it deprives another of humanity. While oppression is often manifested financially, it extends to many other realms of human existence. He says this about oppression and privilege: "Any restriction on this way of life, in the name of the rights of the community, appears to the former oppressors as a profound violation of their individual right - although they had no respect for the millions who suffered and died of hunger, pain, sorrow, and despair. For the oppressors, "human beings" refers only to themselves; other people are "things." For the oppressors, there exists only one right: their right to live in peace, over against the right, not always even recognized, but simply conceded, of the oppressed to survival. Arid they make this concession only because the existence of the oppressed is necessary to their own existence."
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