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- Description:
- This paper uses a reassessment of the legacy of Paulo Freire as a point of departure to construct analytical frameworks, based upon insights from development and political communication, for use in assessing the significance and potential of alternative media for political change in Africa. The notion of alternative media is understood as incorporating a variety of dimensions (difference, independence, opposition, and representation) whose importance is determined by the parameters of particular struggles. The paper eschews country-specific analysis and is sceptical of the likely trajectories of the democratization processes (transitions) in Africa.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Paulo Freire's ideas on the contents, methods and purposes of education are relevant in any serious consideration of the African development dilemma. Not only because he worked in and experimented with African societies, but also because of the universal flavour of his pedagogy, Paulo Freire brings some refreshing insights into strategies for responsible development through culturally-sensitive direct and mass-mediated education.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Paulo Freire has established a position for himself among those who seek to explore the meaning and praxis inherent in liberation movements, Freire was concerned about some of the constraints of committed and practically-oriented education: centralised bureaucracies, alienation, foreign language and illiteracy. These notwithstanding, his pedagogy always rings afresh, especially as his main themes of liberation, freedom, conscientization and practical action which are still contemporary concerns in African development. Thus Freire seems to be engaging African development enthusiasts in a perpetual dialogue.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Paulo Freire's ideas on education, conscientization and participatory development have assumed the status of external and universal truths which can be applied in any developing society. Though Freire's theory of dialogical communcation and action is based on group dialogue rather than the mass media, there is a sense in which this theory can apply to almost any aspect of human communication, in a truly participatory manner. Inspite of the attraction of participatory methodologies, their users are cautioned against uncritical application in all situations.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Paulo Freire is a Brazilian educator and philosopher who is best known for his literacy method based on conscientization and dialogue. He has been called "the greatest living educator, a master and a teacher" (Taylor, 1993, p. 1). This article identifies and examines Freire's educational ideas which offer most important contribution to understanding educational practices and discusses their relevance to education and development in contemporary Africa in terms of the extent to which they are still of value. These ideas include Freire's theory of conscientization and dialogue, liberating education, a criticism of banking education, and a criticism of the concept of extension as cultural invasion. The examination of these ideas shows that, given the existing realities in African societies today, particularly in the rural areas, Freire's ideas now appear more relevant to education and development in Africa than ever before.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- The study of society is necessarily influenced by the social currents and the nature of the interacting forces that characterize human activities. Thus, modernization theories, post-structuralism and dependency theory all reflect cultural patterns and references which can be located in specific times and places. Paulo Freire's sociology derives its character from the cultural and societal norms of his environment, especially his analysis of historical materialist conditions. Freire advocates revolutionary action for liberation and freedom, which must be extended beyond the individual for maximum social significance. Development is a bridge that connects the individual to society, and the local to the global.
- Date Issued:
- 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review