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Paulo Freire & the Cold War Politics of Literacy

Online ISBN:
9781469606309
Print ISBN:
9780807834190
Publisher:
University of North Carolina Press
Book

Paulo Freire & the Cold War Politics of Literacy

Andrew J. Kirkendall
Andrew J. Kirkendall
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Published online:
24 July 2014
Published in print:
6 October 2010
Online ISBN:
9781469606309
Print ISBN:
9780807834190
Publisher:
University of North Carolina Press

Abstract

In the twentieth century, illiteracy and its elimination were political issues important enough to figure in the fall of governments (as in Brazil in 1964), the building of nations (in newly independent African countries in the 1970s), and the construction of a revolutionary order (Nicaragua in 1980). This political biography of Paulo Freire, who played a crucial role in shaping international literacy education, also presents a thoughtful examination of the volatile politics of literacy during the Cold War. A native of Brazil's impoverished northeast, Freire developed adult literacy training techniques that involved consciousness-raising, encouraging peasants and newly urban peoples to see themselves as active citizens who could transform their own lives. His work for state and national government agencies in Brazil in the early 1960s eventually aroused the suspicion of the Brazilian military, as well as of U.S. government aid programs. Political pressures led to Freire's brief imprisonment, following the military coup of 1964, and then to more than a decade and a half in exile. During this period, Freire continued his work in Chile, Nicaragua, and post-independence African countries, as well as in Geneva with the World Council of Churches, and in the United States at Harvard University.

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