Stealing Innocence: Youth, Corporate Power and the Politics of Culture

by Henry A. Giroux

Continuing his ongoing social critique, Henry Giroux now looks at the way corporate culture is encroaching on the lives of children by exploring three myths prevalent in our that the triumph of democracy is related to the triumph of the market; that children are unaffected by power and politics; that teaching and learning are no longer linked to improving the world. Looking at childhood beauty pageants, school shootings and the omnipresent nihilistic chic of advertising, Giroux paints a disturbing picture of the world surrounding our children. Ultimately, he turns to the work of Antonio Gramsci, Paulo Freire and Stuart Hall for lessons about how we can reinstitute a realistic childhood for our children.

Genres: Young Adult

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

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

[Eliade Weismann · Rating 3 out of 5]

No need to read further than the introduction. It's 40 pages, and contains everything that the book has to say. It's important to know, but this could have been a Wikipedia article instead of a book.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was more interesting and useful to me than the second. The writing becomes very jargon-y in the last three chapters and the focus and theme seemed to shift suddenly from children and "the myth of innocence" to critical pedagogy, culture and politics.

[Ivan Labayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

iniiip ko pa po kung kinalimutan, di lang sinantabi, ni girouks sa librong to ang mga mga bagay tulad ng political economy, economic production, social theory, para mapunta ang spotlight sa meaning meaning, pedagogy at representations

[Shannen Aguimbag]

Yoko na bye