Critical Theory: Rituals, Pedagogies and Resistance

This collection of essays incorporates some of the most important and longstanding foundational texts in education developed by the leading educational neo-Gramscian social theorist Peter McLaren. The volume provides a much necessary framework for understanding more precisely not only the historical and philosophical foundations for McLaren's ideas, but even more importantly, it unpacks a clear understanding of the dynamics of ideological production framing the epistemicidal nature of capitalist schools. The chapters provide state of the art approaches grounded in both Marxist social theory and 'post-critical' sensibilities. They show the unique opportunities provided by critical theoretical approaches towards revolutionary pedagogies which are crucial to address the current challenges one is facing locally, nationally, and internationally. "Critical Theory: Rituals, Pedagogies and Resistance speaks to the current challenges we face as humanity, not only situating them historically, but also securitizing the role that our educational institutions, curriculum matrixes and teacher education programs have played in such social havoc. It provides crucial insights, not only to help a better understanding of the accomplishments produced by the critical educational and curriculum river in the struggle against the educational and curriculum epistemicide, but also to help explore alternative ways responsive to the world's endless epistemological difference and diversity. While the future of our field needs to go beyond Peter McLaren's intellectual thesaurus, it cannot certainly avoid going through him. The itinerant curriculum theory - and the ICTheorists - are conscious about that." - João M. Paraskeva, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Strathclyde