Henry Giroux: The Pedagogical Is the Political

This chapter describes the conceptual influences, theoretical development, and impact of Professor Henry Giroux. Giroux has been instrumental in developing a theory of radical pedagogy that combines the fields of critical theory, cultural studies, sociology of education, and postmodernism. In what has come to be called critical pedagogy, Giroux advocates for pedagogical practices that empower students to critically look at the world in the hope of challenging and overcoming oppression. Importantly, these pedagogical practices are not restricted to schools but to multiple sociocultural sites of learning. As such, Giroux calls for educators to be public intellectuals, engaged with the political and social issues of their day while connecting these wider issues to the specific contexts of their students’ lives. Ultimately Giroux frames his work as part of the struggle for a truly democratic society against what he sees as the dominant paradigm of neoliberalism and the growing threat of a resurgent fascism. The chapter concludes with a discussion of some critiques of Giroux’s ideas as well as a brief overview of new directions inspired by his writings.