Paulo Freire Re-invented by H.P.Gerhardt

 

Massaker im Süden Israels/ „Vernichtung der Hamas“ im Gazastreifen: Wiederholen sich Katastrophen? Ein befreiungspädagogischer Aufriss*? 

Heinz Peter Gerhardt

Heiner Zillmer



In seinem epochemachenden Werk „Pädagogik der Unterdrückten“ schrieb Paulo Freire (1971: 37): 

“Mit der Schaffung von Unterdrückungsverhältnissen hat die Gewalt bereits begonnen. Noch nie in der Geschichte wurde die Gewalt von den Unterdrückten initiiert. Wie könnten sie die Initiatoren sein, wenn sie selbst das Ergebnis von Gewalt sind? (….) Es gäbe keine Unterdrückten, wenn es nicht zuvor eine Situation der Gewalt gegeben hätte, um ihre Unterwerfung zu begründen. Die Gewalt wird von denen initiiert, die unterdrücken, die ausbeuten, die andere nicht als Personen anerkennen – nicht von denen, die unterdrückt, ausgebeutet und nicht anerkannt werden.” Freire präzisiert aber klar, „Soll dieser Kampf (um Befreiung, d. V.) einen Sinn haben, dann dürfen die Unterdrückten bei ihrem Versuch, ihre Menschlichkeit wiederzugewinnen (als Mittel, um sie zu schaffen), nicht ihrerseits Unterdrücker der Unterdrücker werden, sondern sie müssen vielmehr die Menschlichkeit beider wiederherstellen. Das also ist die große humanistische und geschichtliche Aufgabe der Unterdrückten: sich selbst ebenso wie ihre Unterdrücker zu befreien.“ (S. 22)….

Abstract

The construction of a new capital of Brazil, named Brasília, has been discussed since the revolutionary movement struggled for full independence from Portuguese colonial power and creation of a Brazilian republic. The capital of Rio de Janeiro was a symbol of Portuguese rule and exploitation. The construction of this new metropolis attracted a tremendous workforce flow from all parts of the country, living in tent, board and clay barracks. The squalid living conditions and the unbri-dled exploitation of the construction workers in Brasília were covered up by inten-sive government propaganda that trumpeted nationalist ideas of development. It was there and at that time, that Paulo Freire and his collaborators first investigated their concept of the “vocabulary universe” (universo vocabular). The pilot campaign in Brasília was the only finished practical experience of the famed National Plan for Alphabetization having been put forward by the reformist government of João Goulart. Paulo Freire was personally involved in the management of the pilot where his system and methods were to be employed the first-time on a national scale. This ex-post analysis is able to highlight the political and pedagogical challenges and di- lemmas Freire, his then wife Elza, and his team from Recife, encountered in their innovative approach to overcome illiteracy.

Keywords: Paulo Freire, Literacy, Brasilia – Pilot Campain, Praxis, Critical The-ory, Liberatio

Abstract

The construction of a new capital of Brazil, named Brasília, has been discussed since the revolutionary movement struggled for full independence from Portuguese colonial power and creation of a Brazilian republic. The capital of Rio de Janeiro was a symbol of Portuguese rule and exploitation. The construction of this new metropolis attracted a tremendous workforce flow from all parts of the country, living in tent, board and clay barracks. The squalid living conditions and the unbri-dled exploitation of the construction workers in Brasília were covered up by inten-sive government propaganda that trumpeted nationalist ideas of development. It was there and at that time, that Paulo Freire and his collaborators first investigated their concept of the “vocabulary universe” (universo vocabular). The pilot campaign in Brasília was the only finished practical experience of the famed National Plan for Alphabetization having been put forward by the reformist government of João Goulart. Paulo Freire was personally involved in the management of the pilot where his system and methods were to be employed the first-time on a national scale. This ex-post analysis is able to highlight the political and pedagogical challenges and di- lemmas Freire, his then wife Elza, and his team from Recife, encountered in their innovative approach to overcome illiteracy.

Keywords: Paulo Freire, Literacy, Brasilia – Pilot Campain, Praxis, Critical The-ory, Liberatio

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