A new book on Freire by
Professor Peter Mayo
Liberating Praxis. Paulo Freire's legacy for Radical Education and Politics
is the title of Professor Peter Mayo's latest book. It has just been published
by Praeger Publishers which forms part of the Greenwood Publishing Group.
The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Freire's corpus of writings
that are available in English and Italian and explores the relevance of his
ideas within a specific Southern context: the Mediterranean. It concludes
with the author's analysis of and reflections on some 'on the ground projects'
in the areas of workers' education, parental involvement in education, museums
education and schools as community learning centers.
In her endorsement of the book, Professor Nelly P. Stromquist, of the University
of Southern California refers to Professor Mayo's book as "A meticulous piece
of work that updates and weaves Freire's thought with that of other critical
educators and philosophers, producing a text of great clarity and valuable
insight. Mayo's exploration of the concept of "reinvention" and the concrete
application of Freire's ideas to his own context constitutes an excellent
example of praxis in the emancipatory education in which he engages.
This work substantially advances the understanding of adult education for
transformative ends."
Dr. Paula Allman, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham
and a recognized authority on Freire's work, wrote: "For many years, I have
known that Prof. Peter Mayo could and should write this book. Having encouraged
him to undertake the work, I could not be more pleased with the result. Peter
Mayo's command of this subject, in terms of intellectual depth, breadth and
passion, is unparalleled. He has performed a great service to past, present
and future radical/critical education students and Freirean scholars and
also to Freire's legacy."
Meanwhile, Professor Peter McLaren, from the Graduate School of Education
and Information Studies, UCLA, and author of numerous texts (including books)
on the work of Paulo Freire and on critical perspectives in education describes
the book as " a pathfinding work" and goes on to say that "The current political
climate and the intensification of neoliberalism as a global strategy of
exploitation demands that we take Paulo Freire's legacy to heart, and Mayo's
treatment of Freire's pedagogy and politics makes this urgently clear.
It also sets the terms of the debate for how educators can proceed apace
in taking up the struggle for social transformation."
The book forms part of the 'Critical Studies in Education and Culture Series'
edited by Professor Henry A. Giroux. Professor Mayo's other books include
Beyond Schooling. Adult Education in Malta (co-edited with Professor Godfrey
Baldacchino, Mireva, 1997), Gramsci and Education (co-edited with Dr. Carmel
Borg and Professor Joseph A. Buttigieg, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) and
Gramsci, Freire and Adult Education. Possibilities for Transformative Action
(Zed Books, 1999), the last title being published in Catalan (CREC, Valencia,
2003) and Portuguese (ArtMed Editora, Porto Alegre, 2004) translation.
Professor Peter Mayo teaches in the area of Sociology of Education and coordinates
the Adult Education Programme in the Faculty of Education, University of
Malta.
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