Counternarratives: Cultural Studies and Critical Pedagogies in Postmodern Spaces - Paperback

by Henry A. Giroux (Author), Colin Lankshear (Author), Peter McLaren (Author)

To understand contemporary times, we must appreciate the extent to which our lives are affected by the cultural and political struggle between "official" narratives and the counternarratives which emerge as oppositional responses. Counternarratives develops a concept of "postmodern counternarratives" as a frame for exploring the politics of media, technology and education within everyday struggles for human identities and loyalties. The authors identify two forms of counternarratives. One functions as a critique of the modernist propensity for grand narratives. The second concept, which is the focus of the book, builds on the first; the idea of "little stories" addressing cultural and political opposition to the "official" narratives used to manipulate public consciousness. Each marks an important point of contestation within contemporary education and culture: curriculum, pedagogy, literacy, media representations and applications of new technologies.

Back Jacket

To understand contemporary times we must appreciate the diverse and subtle ways in which our everyday lives are invested in and punctuated by the cultural and political struggle between 'official' narratives and distinctive counternarratives which emerge as oppositional responses to them. In Counternarratives Henry Giroux, Colin Lankshear, Peter McLaren, and Michael Peters offer a forceful critical application of postmodern theory to education and cultural studies; they develop a unique concept of 'postmodern counternarratives' as a framework for exploring the politics of media, technology, and education within the everyday struggles for human identities and loyalties.

Author Biography

books include Fugitive Cultures (Routledge, 1996), BetweenBorders (with Peter McLaren, Routledge, 1993) and Disturbing Pleasures (Routledge, 1994). Colin Lankshear is Associate Professor and Research Coordinator in the School of Language and Literacy Education at Queensland University of Technology. His books include Literacy, Schooling and Revolution.Peter McLaren is Professor in the Department of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. His books include Schooling as aRitual Performance (Routledge, 1993) and CriticalPedagogy and Predatory Culture (Routledge, 1994). MichaelPeters is Senior Lecturer in Education at Auckland University and the editor of Education and the PostmodernCondition.