Our Voices, Ourselves (Latin America, history, literacy)

Interview with Dr. Andrew Kirkendall, associate professor of history at A&M. He is the author of a new book “Paulo Freire and the Cold War Politics of Literacy”. 

 Paulo Freire, born in 1921, was a native of Brazil’s impoverished northeast. He later developed adult literacy training techniques that involved consciousness-raising, encouraging peasants to see themselves as active citizens. Later his work, and political pressures, led to Freire’s brief imprisonment, and then to more than a decade and a half in exile. His pioneering life and work remain influential today.

In this interview, we talk to Dr. Kirkendall about his research on Paulo Freire, and the evolution of the Left in Latin America in the 60s and today.