Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology Praise for Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology is reminiscent of what Paulo Freire called “talking books”, which bring two powerful authors into a direct and fluidly exchange. As such, it exemplifies the very power of dialogue, illustrating the inextricable relationship of knowledge as both a social construction and collective endeavor. The result is a beautiful treatise that, although focused on Peter McLaren, allows the multiplicity of questions and responses to boldly weave a powerful story, from where essential political issues crucial to our liberation and the survival of the planet can emerge. In this sense, McLaren and Jandrić convey a beautiful dance of ideas, woven intricately over the years from each man’s consciousness, scholarship, and lived experiences as radical intellectuals, political freedom fighters, and transformative advocates in the world. Antonia Darder, Endowed Chair of Ethics & Moral Leadership, Loyola Marymount University In Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology, Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić have provided us with a pathbreaking volume traversing the realms of Marxist theory, critical pedagogy, and Liberation Theology combined with the most creative, far-reaching applications of critical social theory likely to be found anywhere. Those applications extend to the realms of modern technology, global capitalism, ecological crisis, U.S. imperialism, and of course the state of modern education in the United States and elsewhere. This is nothing short of a landmark contribution to literature spanning the fields of history, sociology, global studies, philosophy, and education. McLaren’s iconic work is also biographically highlighted here, starting with an introductory section (written by Jandrić) that brilliantly traces the personal and intellectual development of the world’s leading critical pedagogical theorist. A highly-recommended collection of essays for anyone interested in state-of-the-art revolutionary theorizing that outlines a much-needed path out of the modern crisis. Carl Boggs, author of Fascism Old and New In an age when critical pedagogy and a new language for rethinking politics is crucial, Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology is a crucial book to read, study, and give to others. Henry Giroux, author of The Terror of the Unforeseen This is a truly inspiring convergence of revolutionary ideas to offer signposts for redemption in this baleful “New Fascist” era. Peter Mayo, author of Higher Education in a Globalising World and Hegemony and Education under Neoliberalism. Insights from Gramsci This is a wide-ranging, provocative, and insurrectional series of transnational dialogues that becomes an immediate classic within the much beloved tradition of the “Talking Book” in critical pedagogy. #tospeakatrueword #planetarity #fuckglobalwhitesupremacy! Richard Kahn, Professor of Education, Antioch University Los Angeles Peter McLaren stands among the doyens of critical pedagogues, having done much to take the field forward over decades, and this book – of correspondences with Petar Jandrić – goes far in revealing the breadth of that endeavour. To read this book is to eavesdrop on an extraordinary conversation, at once intimate and enriching. Chock-full of insights, this volume exemplifies a lifetime of passionate, humane and radical scholarship, as McLaren ranges effortlessly across education, social theory, religion, the digital age, ecology and the Anthropocene. The cast includes Jesus, Marx, Freire, Rand and Trump and it is clear where McLaren stands in each case. This book is both immensely enjoyable and educational and I shall want to read it again. Ronald Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, University College London Institute of Education Peter and Petar, the wonderful namesakes, have written a book consisting of epiphanic dialogues in their idiosyncratic and rousing styles. The book is an introduction to the authors’ recent thinking, an emic view to the work and research themes of two critical scholars, and also a demonstration of how the discourse of critical pedagogy has over the years expanded from the classroom and public pedagogy to comprise various themes in the changing relationship between technology, education, and society. Juha Suoranta, Tampere University, Finland In this thought provocative book, Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić push again the borders of existing thinking on radical critical pedagogy. In our current times of transhumanism, this book offers its readers new spaces for hope and revolutionary praxis. By connecting faith and postdigital sciences this dialogical book goes beyond addressing issues of capitalism to suggesting a way to reclaim the future of humanity. Maria Nikolakaki, Associate Professor, University of Peloponnese, Greece What started out as a multiyear dialogue between world-renowned educator Peter McLaren and communications technology scholar-activist Petar Jandrić has morphed here into a must-read reflection on revolutionary critical pedagogy and liberation theology as an indispensable reservoir of theories, ideas, insights and practices to draw on for those who want to confront the ravages of a predatory global capitalism. Wide ranging and exciting, of the greatest political urgency, this work will inform and inspire contemporary emancipatory struggles around the world. William I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara Author of Into the Tempest: Essays on the New Global Capitalism This ground-breaking work by two eminent scholars a generation apart in age addresses crucial questions as to whether digital technologies and rapid communication can help free us from a seemingly never-ending capital accumulation designed only to benefit the few. Using ideas from critical pedagogy and liberation theory it asks whether there is hope that new technologies can help the many become more complete and equal human beings in a world no longer devoted to profit and exploitation. Sally Tomlinson is Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths London University and an Honorary Fellow in the Education Department University of Oxford This book is both a homage to, and a kind of radical intensification of, the educational dialogue. McLaren and Jandrić’s exchanges not only excavate the value of critical pedagogy in contemporary times of techno-capitalism, but also expose the richness of their surrounding intellectual communities. The result is a hopeful work that develops liberation theology for the postdigital era. Jeremy Knox, University of Edinburgh In proposing a revolutionary critical pedagogy as a tool informing the struggle for a liberated future McLaren and Jandrić have done a great service in recapitulating past critical theories and indicating a way forward towards a future beyond a digitised capitalism. I highly recommend their conversation as a critical thought provoking and emotion eliciting exercise. Helen Raduntz, Adjunct Research Fellow, University of South Australia Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić’s Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology boldly confronts, in illuminating conceptual analyses, a multitude of contemporary challenges to the creation of new human relations, relations that are not rooted in the value form of labor but rather in human production for humans – production that affirms every other being as a necessary facet integral to one’s own essential and total being. Grappling with such pressing issues as the formation of consciousness in an ecosystem saturated by technology, the re-emergence of authoritarianism and fascist social structures, and the stakes in attempts to reconcile the spiritual and the material, McLaren and Jandrić range far and wide, but through sharp dialectical reasoning, they always bring the analyses back to capitalism as a totality that must be abolished. In their far ranging discussions, McLaren and Jandrić vigorously deploy “theory” in the particular sense articulated by Theodor W. Adorno: as that which “seeks to give a name to what secretly holds the machinery together,” that which “seeks to raise the stone under which the monster lies brooding.” Deborah Kelsh, The College of Saint Rose This book is an invitation to join McLaren and Jandrić on a rigorous yet lively, challenging yet rewarding walk across a sprawling range of pressing political, scientific, educational, and yes, even theological issues of our time. The walk is rigorous in the depth and nuance of the research and argumentation; it’s lively in the way the dialogues are situated again and again in the ongoing political antagonisms of our era; its challenging as it weaves together diverse thinkers together in unorthodox ways; and its rewarding not because it leaves the reading having finally “got it,” but rather because it leaves us with an entirely new set of questions to explore, and the resources necessary to explore them. Derek R. Ford, Assistant Professor of Education Studies, DePauw University In this excellent book, Petar Jandrić and Peter McLaren have created a perceptive commentary on the possibilities and perils of our postdigital world. Richard Barbrook, Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Westminster, founder member of Class Wargames and director of the Digital Liberties cooperative. Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić have written a necessary book for these times. Book that no social militant can stop reading. Fernando Lázaro (Argentina), Educador Popular, Docente Universidad Nacional de Luján Militante social CEIPH Also available from Bloomsbury On Critical Pedagogy, 2nd Edition, by Henry Giroux Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition by Paulo Freire Education For Critical Consciousness by Paulo Freire Pedagogy of Hope by Paulo Freire Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2020 Copyright © Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić, 2020 Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on pp. xiii–xv constitute an extension of this copyright page. Cover design by Carlos Escaño All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-3500-9995-1 PB: 978-1-3501-4466-8 ePDF: 978-1-3500-9996-8 ePub: 978-1-3500-9997-5 Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters. I dedicate this book to my wife Wang Yan, a powerful and fearless soul who has brought great love and comfort to me in the winter of my life. Peter McLaren I dedicate this book to my partner Ana and my son Toma, who made me into what I am today and now fearlessly live with consequences. Petar Jandrić