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OverviewA rare and powerful illustration of what it takes to become a sustainable, community-embedded organization that continually grows the next generation of compassionate leaders. This essential, timely book meets us at our current moment of crisis to offer hope that American democracy's stalled trajectory toward its founding creed to embrace all, and not just some, can indeed be re-invigorated. Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons is about low-income youth of color working within justice-oriented, community-based organizations to improve the social and spatial conditions in their surroundings. It draws from hundreds of pages of data, some collected over a decade ago by graduate research assistants at three universities and some collected recently by a graduate research assistant at a fourth university, to present verbatim quotes from interviews with constituents of three youth-serving organizations. The book posits that the disinvested neighborhoods where youth experience abandonment and marginality in fact can serve as a call to action, given appropriate organizational support. Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons envisions a place-based critical pedagogy that can provide young people with the practical skills and deep values to engage with today's economic, racial, and ecological crises. It offers a welcome antidote to a neoliberal education system that has not only veered away from its public mandate to advance democratic citizenship but that has also reinforced today's insidious economic inequality, rendering illusive the idea that rich and poor can work together toward a common good. Between these pages resonates a passionate call for an approach to cultivating citizens who have the critical skills to challenge injustice, the courage to hold the rich and powerful accountable, and the empathy to advance not just their own self-interest but also the health and well-being of their communities and the planet. The author proposes that such citizens develop by exercising collective agency in ""the commons,"" a political and psychic space whose values are mapped out in physical space. Through the expert use of an architect's lens, this groundbreaking book argues that the three-dimensional concreteness of the nation's disinvested neighborhoods provides a virtual stage where disenfranchised youth can experiment with collective life, become more discerning about the forces that have shaped their communities, and practice working toward just and inclusive futures. Merging Paolo Freire's seminal theory of critical pedagogy with Grace Lee Boggs's belief that hands-on community-building can disrupt the ever more destructive forces of neoliberal capitalism, Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons refines an aspirational framework for a pathway forward through a careful analysis of three exemplar organizations. It offers rich, unique portraits of young people transforming their communities in southwest Detroit, Wai'anae, and Harlem, respectively illustrating place-based activism through theater, organic farming, and critical inquiry. Here activism is framed as the hands-on engagement of youth in addressing inequities in the commons of their neighborhoods through small but persistent interventions that also help them learn the language of solidarity and collectivity that a sustainable democracy needs. Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons is a must-read for our times and for our future. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Sharon Egretta SuttonPublisher: Fordham University Press Imprint: Fordham University Press ISBN: 9781531502829ISBN 10: 1531502822 Pages: 336 Publication Date: 06 June 2023 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsPrologue | vii Introduction: The Need for a Place-Based Approach | 1 PART I: SOUTHWEST DETROIT, MICHIGAN: ACTIVISM THROUGH THEATRE | 29 Historical Context | 31 2004–2005 Narrative | 39 2020–2021 Context and Narrative | 54 Theorizing the Narratives | 60 PART II: WAI’ANAE, HAWAI’I: ACTIVISM THROUGH ORGANIC FARMING | 77 Historical Context | 81 2004–2005 Narrative | 88 2020–2021 Narrative | 100 Theorizing the Narratives | 114 PART III: HARLEM, NEW YORK: ACTIVISM THROUGH CRITICAL INQUIRY | 127 Historical Context | 129 2004–2005 Narrative | 136 2020–2021 Narrative | 148 Theorizing the Narratives | 163 Conclusions: Pedagogy of a Beloved Community | 177 Epilogue | 207 Bibliography | 217 Index | 229ReviewsThis extraordinary book is essential reading for our times. Today, we are passing through a moment of crisis as escalating struggles over our nation's contradictory truths take center stage. Though middle-class youth have protections, those living in poverty must navigate the tangle of distractions that interfere with their many pathways for learning. At the heart of Professor Sutton's Pedagogy for a Beloved Commons is a pathway for learning the practical skills and deep values that can help impoverished youth bear formidable burdens and emerge prepared for today's hard struggles. Like me, you will bring particular experiences to the model she offers. Our job as readers is to see exactly what the hard work of learning the truth looks like so we can support youth in finding a pathway forward through the tangles in their lives.---Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, Professor of Urban Policy and Health at the New School This extraordinary book is essential reading for our times. Today, we are passing through a moment of crisis as escalating struggles over our nation's contradictory truths take center stage. Though middle-class youth have protections, those living in poverty must navigate the tangle of distractions that interfere with their many pathways for learning. At the heart of Professor Sutton's Pedagogy for a Beloved Commons is a pathway for learning the practical skills and deep values that can help impoverished youth bear formidable burdens and emerge prepared for today's hard struggles. Like me, you will bring particular experiences to the model she offers. Our job as readers is to see exactly what the hard work of learning the truth looks like so we can support youth in finding a pathway forward through the tangles in their lives.---Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, Professor of Urban Policy and Health at the New School, Author InformationSharon Egretta Sutton is an educator, licensed architect, and outspoken champion for improving disinvested communities. An early pioneer in moving the field of architecture toward equity and inclusion, she is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor of Architecture at Parsons School of Design. Sutton has written several books; her most recent publication is When Ivory Towers Were Black: A Story about Race in America’s Cities and Universities (Fordham, 2017). Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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