Banksy

Prompt CR 10: Unfinished Business, Addressing Injustice: The Work of Human Beings

I like to be human because of my unfinishedness. I know that I am conditioned. Yet conscious of such conditioning, I know that I can go beyond it, which is the essential difference between conditioned and determined existence. [. . .] I like being a human person because even though I know that the material, social political, cultural, and ideological conditions in which we find ourselves almost always generate divisions that make difficult the construction of our ideals of change and transformation, I know also that the obstacles are not eternal (Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom,54–55)

Note: What Freire describes here is critical consciousness. As we discussed in class, Freires concept of critical consciousness converges with Arendt’s philosophy that that ties our personhood to our willingness to use our capacity to think for ourselves, to question and challenge and resist the status quo. For both these important thinkers as well as Baldwin, Lorde and every other important voice we have engaged with this semester this is a shared theme. Equally, education to support people in understanding the structures that condition their lives and cause suffering and injustice is crucial.

Class Guiding Questions:

• What? How is my identity, sense of meaning, and well-being interdependent with that of others? What have I learned from the community partners and voices of people I have worked with this semester?
• So What? Who is most impacted and marginalized by systemic issues in our society? What are the larger contexts and histories that have shaped these conditions? Do we all bear collective responsibility to challenge and correct the structures that perpetuate inequity?
• Now What? With this knowledge and experience how do I see my role/responsibilities within this larger context? How can we as individuals and as a collective democratic society think and act to create a more equitable and just world?

For this Critical Reflection

1. Focus on how Freire’s ideas help you respond to some of these questions, especially the Now What?
2. Include how your work with community partners and members have informed your understanding of your identity, responsibility, structural issues etc.

Below are some quotes you might work with and some further suggestions:

Idea: Paulo Freire writes, “What makes men and women ethical s their capacity to ‘spiritualize’ the world, to make it either beautiful or ugly. … It is impossible to humanly exist without assuming the right and the douty to opt, to decide, to struggle, to be political” (53).

How does this help you think about your role and “ethical duty” in terms of what you’ve learned this semester from the readings and discussions and importantly from community?

As you only have a few pages of reading, please work with other quotes/ideas and be sure to use specifics from your community partner experience.