Philosophy 222: Liberatory Pedagogies

Human interactions, particularly those that involve educational or caregiving relationships, can be dehumanizing and oppressive.  Such interactions are also essential for becoming human, and they can be truly liberatory.  How can one respect the humanity of all participants in educational relationships while also cultivating, through education, various forms of personal and social liberation?  The course seeks to answer this question as it applies to “students” ranging from infants through adults, with a focus on texts by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maria Montessori, Paolo Freire, and bell hooks.