Insurrections: Education in an Age of Counter-Revolutionary Politics

Description

With this book Henry A. Giroux argues that insurrection has become a dominant motif for the USA and other countries torn between the promises and ideals of democracy and an emergent authoritarianism. He argues that education is central to the idea of insurrection, showing how on the one hand it contributes to an insurrectional authoritarianism, wedded to a fascist legacy that calls for racial purity, militarism, ultra-nationalism, and state terrorism. On the other hand he presents the idea of insurrectional democracy which has a long legacy in the battle for racial justice, economic equality, and a politics of inclusion. The book explores how both positions are motivated by specific visions, values, and particular understandings of education and agency. He also shows how powerful images, social media, and the internet are in merging political education, power, and cultural politics. Giroux makes an impassioned call for an insurrectional democracy that makes education central to politics and produces an anti-capitalist consciousness as the basis for developing a mass movement in defence of a radical democracy.

Henry A. Giroux holds the Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University, Canada. His books include American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism (2018), On Critical Pedagogy (2020), Race, Politics, and Pandemic Pedagogy (2021) and Pedagogy of Resistance (2022).

Inspiring! Henry Giroux is essential reading in today's political climate when democracy is at risk, and Insurrections lays it all out. Giroux makes startlingly clear that the insurgent forces of anti-democracy need our attention immediately. Right-wing extremism and White Supremacy must be met by organizing common cause against catastrophes ranging from environmental collapse and armed mobs overtaking our national institutions to racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Most fundamentally, Giroux spotlights the Right's central strategy of reimagining education in line with a Goldman Sachs vision through book banning and "Anti-Woke" legislation, and the urgent imperative that educators have to fight back. As Giroux outlines our dire need for critical thought, there is no thinker with more of a finger on the pulse! * Robin Goodman, Professor of English, Florida State University, USA * To say this book is topical and socially important would be vast understatements as the stakes include democracy itself. This book is excellent for typifying Giroux's habitually careful scholarship, hard-hitting and compelling arguments, analytic and systematic thought, wide-ranging use of critical scholarship, literary references, and mass media, and devising of new terms to describe new social realities and imagine alternatives. A terrific read, an extremely important intervention. I can't wait to teach it. * Kenneth J. Saltman, Professor of Educational Policy Studies, University of Illinois Chicago, USA * The James Baldwin quote that comes at the end of Insurrections: Education in an Age of Counter-Revolutionary Politics might easily have been one of its beginning epigrams: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." In this latest book, Giroux fearlessly stares down the implications of the extremely alarming conditions that led to the January 6th attack on the Capital and analyzes the very real threat they pose to democracy. This is an extremely brave, startlingly lucid and terrifying book that nonetheless offers a path forward and a much-needed infusion of hope. * Carol Becker, Professor of the Arts, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts, USA * In this courageous and urgent book, Henry Giroux sets out an unsparing overview of the ghastly forces now coalescing into a merciless and uniquely American fascism. He shatters any grounds for complacency or resignation and persuasively outlines the forms of collective action and imagination essential for resistance. * Jonathan Crary, Meyer Schapiro Professor of Modern Art and Theory, Columbia University, USA * Henry Giroux's phenomenal book couldn't be more urgent, as it calls us to imagine, dream, learn, act, and build against ascendant fascism. Vitally, Insurrections also illuminates a vision of insurrectional democracy grounded in critical education, lighting a path forward in these perilous times. Brilliant! * Maya Schenwar, editor-in-chief of Truthout and co-author of Prison by Any Other Name, USA * Insurrections is a passionate argument for an "insurrectional democracy" to counter-act and triumph over today's massively violent anti-democratic forces. Erudite, encyclopedic, and carrying forth Giroux's unflagging indictment of violence, this book is an indispensable tool-kit for hope, health, and radical education. * David Palumbo-Liu, Stanford University, author of Speaking Out of Place: Getting Our Political Voices Back, USA *