Radical Pedagogies in the Age of Authoritarian Neoliberalism: History as Liberatory Praxis

Capitalism’s vision for education has always been dystopian.1 However, in the last twenty years, we have clearly been moving even further into a market-driven, theocratic, racist, ethnocentric, militarized, authoritarian, punitive model, where students of color and middle and, particularly, working-class students are taught obedience, compliance, and conformity and remain relegated to the margins of the educational system (Fine and Weis, 2003). Along these lines, we are witnessing what De Lissovoy calls an “intensifying authoritarianism of educational culture” (2008, p. 4). The educational landscape in the United States has been shifting further and further into authoritarian neoliberalism. The same neoliberal capitalist state that champions free markets, deregulation, the free flow of capital, and the ultimate “freedom to choose” is staunchly opposed to and aggressively regulates the free circulation of ideas in K-12 schools, universities, and beyond. This regulation of ideas is embodied in the ongoing reactionary assault on curricular content across the country, where certain concepts are banned because they are considered dangerous, divisive, and contested. The legislative antiCritical Race Theory (CRT) backlash in progress across the United States is not just a symbolic gimmick by Republican legislators to revive the “culture wars” and distract people. It is a manifestation of blatant racism, colonial and regressive far-right politics, and it is backed by groups tied to extremism, ultra-conservative think tanks, and reactionary grassroots organizations. This chapter is a proposal to remove history from historical revisionism and put “thinking historically” at the core of our pedagogies in articulating a radical educational agenda. At a time when there is an aggressive move to make history and historical thinking irrelevant, it is important to question interventions to the public-school curriculum, where knowledge of the country’s violent past toward People of Color, minorities, and other oppressed and marginalized groups is deemed dangerous by reactionary Republicans, parent groups, and other “activists.” To do this, I am examining the backlash against Critical Race Theory, anti-student inclusion, book bans, the “anti-woke” and “parental rights” movements, and other instances of far-right, conservative attacks on public education to map the shifting terrain in policy and the ensuing material consequences for students, teachers, and communities. While legislation in progress is targeting discussions around multiple issues considered controversial by the legislators (race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, LGBTQ rights, student rights, meritocracy, etc.), I will broadly refer to it as anti-CRT legislation both because CRT has been at its core from the beginning and because it illustrates more vividly the aggressive attempt to rewrite U.S. history for the public-school curriculum.