Race, Politics, and Pandemic Pedagogy: Education in a Time of Crisis

by Henry A. Giroux

In this book Henry A. Giroux passionately argues that education and critical pedagogy are needed now more than ever to combat injustices in our society caused by fake news, toxic masculinity, racism, consumerism and white nationalism. At the heart of the book is the idea that pedagogy has the power to create narratives of desire, values, identity, and agency at time when these narratives are being manipulated to promote right wing populism and emerging global fascist politics. The book expands on the notion of the plague as not only a medical crisis but also a crisis of politics, ethics, education, and democracy itself. The chapters cover a range topics beginning with historical perspectives on fascism and moving on to issues of social atomization, depoliticization, neoliberal pedagogy, the scourge of staggering inequality, populism, and pandemic pedagogy. The book concludes with a call for educators to make education central to politics, develop a discourse of critique and possibility, reclaim the vision of a radical democracy, and embrace their role as powerful agents of change.

Genres: Education

296 pages, Hardcover

Published January 28, 2021

About the author

American cultural critic. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the United States, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, higher education, media studies, and critical theory.

A high-school social studies teacher in Barrington, Rhode Island for six years, Giroux has held positions at Boston University, Miami University, and Penn State University. In 2005, Giroux began serving as the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Giroux has published more than 35 books and 300 academic articles, and is published widely throughout education and cultural studies literature. Since arriving at McMaster, Giroux has been a featured faculty lecturer, and has published nine books, including his most recent work, The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.

Routledge named Giroux as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in 2002.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't find issue in the content of Giroux's book. Reading it was reliving the horrors of 2020 and Trump's presidency. Giroux isn't exactly saying anything new about this time, so it reads more like an academic historical recording.

What I find issue with is the lack of concrete organization that would allow the argument to formulate properly and, to be honest, make better sense. Although there are headings and chapter titles, Giroux does not sew together these many parts to build the reader's understanding. Transitions are nowhere to be found, and, as a result, the book reads as one long, tedious recounting of 2020 and Trump's fascist tendencies with repetition of similar ideas throughout but no meaningful connections.

Truthfully, these ideas probably could have been adequately explored in a journal article, rather than a book.

[Miska · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on Trump’s mismanagement during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Giroux’s thoughts are structured around 4-5 basic attributes of Trump’s rampage: the negative effects of full-blown neoliberal policies, racism, misogyny, inequality… Although his words are powerful and clearly written, the thoughts he has put on paper become repetitive and lack structure. So one could argue that the book could have as well be published as a more concise essay.