Critical Reflection #3: Decolonization, Liberation, and Critical Consciousness

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire (1968) states the following about dehumanization:

…marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen, but also (though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human. This distortion occurs within history; but it is not a historical vocation.

On the other hand, humanization can be seen as the opposite of dehumanization. While dehumanization aims to remove someone’s humanity, humanization involves respecting others and allowing them to hold on to their humanity. Individuals who are dehumanized also tend to be oppressed. Oppressed people can be liberated by having critical consciousness because it allows for people to start questioning structures and institutions that condition their lives, which oppressors fear. For some, the fear of freedom traps people in that oppressed role. According to Freire (1968), “freedom would require them to eject this image and replace it with autonomy and responsibility.” Even though freedom is usually seen in a positive light, in this context, it can be seen as daunting. After living a certain way for a long period of time, change can be difficult to strive for and overcome. Once the oppressed individuals have become “comfortable” in their oppressed roles, the though having power is desired yet feared at the same time, creating a difficult situation. Therefore the mental liberation of critical consciousness works to reverse the effects of colonization on people.

When discussing practice and knowledge, Freire makes an interesting statement about the connection between the two terms. Freire (1990) states the following:

But I also know that without practice there’s no knowledge; at least it’s difficult to know without practice. We have to have a certain theoretical kind of practice in order to now also. But practice in itself is no its theory. It creates knowledge, but it is not its own theory” (pg.98)

After reading the connection between the two terms, I view “practice” as something similar to experience. While I view “knowledge” as something that is learned from experience. Both are equally important and I do agree with Friere in the sense that knowledge cannot exist without practice. I believe that individuals learn best through experiences and are able to provide more knowledge due to that experience.

Horton (1990) considers authentic knowledge to be dialectical, meaning that even though people might have different views on a topic it is possible to find some truth in the middle by reasoning. (pg.101) Also, knowledge is not set in stone because humans are constantly growing and learning new things every day. I think authentic knowledge also comes from experience. Therefore, I can work to accumulate authentic knowledge by actively participating in my community. I can also work to accumulate authentic knowledge by destroying social myths about individuals at my community partner site.