I.

seldom speaks. Wh a t is more, this voice speaks not t o the Th i r d Wo r l d alone nor 1 9 again to the powers that be in the 'mot her countries.' I t is not a voice of representa_ tion, pet it ion or remonstrance. Its message, which began to spread in Lat in Americ a : some years ago, is today being heard and nds an echo among those sectors of the First Wo r l d whicIh, f or one reason or another, feel at t uned t o t he . 1 Something has V happened since Frantz Fallon wrot e The iVret c hed of the Earth. L . When t hat book appeared, i n t he early sixties, Jean-Paul Sartre not ed w; t h some Y 1iird. alarm: he is not t alk ing t o us. I n Fanon, said Sartre, t he Th i r d Wo r l d had f ound 5 itself and was s peaking t o itself; i t was not concerned wi t h t h e mas t er world. Nevertheless, Sartre went on, t he master world, t he Europeans, would do well t o take heed of what the man was saying, if they cared f or t heir own survival. I n t he voice of Paulo Freire t he Th i r d Wo r l d s t ill disdains t o address it s elf t o the managers of the First. I n his opinion, and i n t hat of many of his peers, there can be n o dialogue bet ween antagonists. B u t Freire inv it es t he hit hert o s ilent sectors of the afuent world or at least t he more awakened members of those overmanaged, ov erc ons uming societies to a rediscovery of t he world in whic h they liv e and of their own vocation in t hat world, in dialogue wit h its pariahs. Th a t his inv it at ion did not f all on deaf ears was demonstrated by the enthusiastic response o f students and other minorit ies to his brief passage in this country last year. Th e Center for the Study of Dev elopment and Social Change whic h wit h die cooperation of many others made t hat passage possible was convinced that an encounter of Paulo Freire wi t h t he Americ an realit y , and of t he actors i n t he s t ruggling grass-roots movements wit h his t hought and personality, c ould only have salutary effects. I t was not mistaken. Th e t hought of Paulo Freire is essentially a situated h o 1 a n d a n y at t empt 7 to promot e i t t o an abstract universality, o n t he grounds of t he ac k nowledged efciency o f his lit erac y met hod, a t onc e misrepresents and dis gures i t . T h e situation whic h occasioned the Freire approachas he hims elf takes pains t o explain in his int roduc t ionis the emergence of the popular masses int o the nat ional

-ft t F r Q c Me . t o r a r l c I ral3 ( . 0 c, t o k l ( 1 Yi i k i c)( v 1 ) , C t H . A M b E c t t k k A Here is a voice t r o m t hat T h i r d (%Vorld i whic h is so of t en s pok en o f but it s elf f e

Preface

iC C 'I A 7 A 0 i t / r t , i l q _ c i r t

*,- , D ) 1 9 . 1 -. 7 1

,1 , 0 3 b 1/ 4, 1 ) S 1 l o i 4 3 3 . 1 " c L X 9 ; . 1 I G I p c i , A I

polit ic al scene in the so-called 'underdeveloped' countries, more precisely in Lat in America. I n the global context, the situation is that of the emergence of the Th i r d World ont o t he stage of c ont emporary history. Th i s is a s it uat ion pregnant wit h the most exciting as well as the most dismal possibilities. Th e decolonization of the Th i r d Wo r l d opens the way eit her t o the t rue liberat ion of all mank ind or t o its more efcient domestication. It is a situation, therefore, which calls for a reappraisal of t he meaning and methods of education. I n a way, t his can be said t o be what t he debate around 'dev elopment ' is a l l about. Clearly t his is more than just another ideological debate. I t is f ar more t han a struggle between opposing economic or polit ic al interests. At issue are div ergent images of man, or more correctly, an already established image whic h it s keepers are at t empt ing to prescribe f or others and a new image whic h is s t ruggling to be. I n this way the t hought of Paula Freire nds its link wit h what has been described as 'the mak ing of a counter-culture' and wit h the search f or a de nit ion and met hod l'l of radic al education. Th e debate carries us t o t he very sources of our humanit y . That is why Freire introduces his met hod of alphabetization wit h an excursus int o the philos ophic al presuppositions of his pedagogy. Th e c ardinal princ iple of that philos ophy is man's vocation t o be m o r e that is, t han what he is at any given t ime or place. Th e r e are t hus no developed m except men o r e , i n a biologic al sense. Th e essence of the human is t o be i n c ont inual non-nat ural process. I n ot her words, the characteristic of the human species is its repeatedly demonstrated capa'city f or transcending what is merely given, what is purely det ermined. Man's vocation realizes itself i n his praxis, whic h transforms and expresses t he world. I n its t urn, this praxis, whic h is action and language, t urns back upon man and 'overdetermine's' him; that is to say, it conditions h i m and denes the horiz on of meanings wit hin whit It his f urt her action is t o take place. Educ at ionlik e all other processses of socializationtends to reinforce this 'ov erdet erminat ion. ' From the inherent ambivalence of education, namely, its capacity t o bring out what is least det ermined i n man as well its t o program and det ermine him, Paulo Freire

i derives what I t h i n k is his f undament al thesis: t hat there is no neut ral education. n't z t et ir Education is eit her f or domestication o r f or freedom. Alt hough i t is c us t omarily conceived as a c ondit ioning process, education can equally be an ins t rument f or de-conditioning. c h o . Education ,can be ide-con d io i n i n g because m a , essentially a c ondit ioned being, s n t r e q u i r e d is also essentially a being capable of k nowing what c ondit ions him, capable of reo f ecting on his ac t ion and behavior, and of perceiving his perceptions. Th e key t o t h e e d u c a t vi r o .

gm

'perception of perc ept ion' and hence t o the rec uperat ion Of hidden Or mystied reality, is problemat iz at ion. Problematization, whit I i means bot h asking questions anti c alling int o question and is therefore a c halic nging attitude, is, at one and the same time, t he beginning of an authentic act of k nowing and the beginning of an act o f subversion o f 'ov erdet erminat ion, ' t hat is, s ubv ers ion o f prax is inv ert ed upon man. Problemat iz at ion does not c ome easily t o silent, passively receptive masses, n o matter where they arein t he 'countryside' of the wo r l d o r i n t he classrooms o r before t he television sets of the 'cities.' A key role is therefore t o be played by the rev olut ionary educator, whose task is to challenge both the students and the realit y whic h is t o be studied. Th e 'theory' or 'theoretical context' of problemat iz at ion is dialogue, i.e., the ex aminat ion and appropriat ion of mediat ing realit y by conscious actors who stand in a subject:tosubie_ct relationship t o one another. 'This t heoret ic al context may, however, degenerate int o ideology, whic h is t he opposite o f dialogue. I deology is doc t rine o r t heory wh i c h is adminis t rat iv ely preserved and t rans mit t ed. There is t heref ore a permanent need of dialogue f or dis mant ling bureauc rat ic constructions and f o r prev ent ing t he ent renc hment of vested interests. It is not s urpris ing that the Freire met hod has report edly produc ed spectacular results among illit erat e peasants i n L a t i n Americ a and has t ouc hed responsive chords among marginal o r disaffected groups i n t he indus t rial world. N o r is i t dif c ult t o see why a met hod based on such a philos ophy would be received wit h caution, if not alarm, by the holders of polit ic al or academic power. Th e _truth is that at the heart of the t hought of Paulo Freire there is an experience and a v iv id perception of what he calls t he 'cuIture of-silence' and at t he core of his projec t the decision t o subvert it . Th i s c ult ure of silencewhich is yet t o be accurately described and s t ruc t urally analyzedhas f or its dis t inguis hing mark its prescriptive character: i t is dictation, c ommunique, I nf ormat ion' in short, pre-processed and pre-digested reality. Th e Th i r d Wo r l d has long subsisted on such pre-empt ed de nit ions not o n l y of realit y as such, b u t o f its o wn his t oric al realit y . Such pre-masticated f ood is usually t he f are of dependent, 'objec t ' beings, beings wh i c h . are n o t o r not y et beings h . is t . f o d Th i rL World c ould adequately be described as the 'object' world par excellence: it o y t h is rthe world whic h was 'discovered,' invaded, subjugated, governed, t hen educated, m e m converted, and 'assistetf_by another. Th e purpose of this systematic concern and a s e d l v e s f , o b r u i t t f b o u r t a t n h o

action was its pacication. Th e pacication of the Th i r d Wo r l d wi d e r the benecent rule of the Firs t has been and remains the t heme of recent history. Not only armies and c iv il services but churches and universities hav e c ont ribut ed t o t his unprecedented undert ak ing. Th e challenge of Paulo Freireand his is one of a growing number of voices is f or t he oppressed of t he Firs t as well as t he Th i r d Wo r l d t o rediscover t hat history a nd its essentially inhuman character, and to join hands in the construction of a t ruly human and universal history. I t seems unnecessary to emphasize the ut opian nat ure of this call and t his pedagogy, ut opian not in the sense that they are unrealiz able but i n that they unit e in a single perspective time denunc iat ion of a deliumanit ing realit y and the annunc iation of a possibly more Imminian one, and are thus primarily turned t oward the future. But ut opian alsoit must be addedin the sense that the forces of the established order arrayed against t hem are all too powerf ul and cannot light ly be discounted. Th e nat ions now i r r u p t i n g int o his t ory carry, not only i n t h e i r economies and polit ic al systems b u t i n t h e ment alit ies o f t h e i r pres ent rulers , t h e mark s o f centuries o f efforts t oward t heir pacication. Th e mass media and schools of t he director societies produce an unrelent ing ow of c onnnunic at ion and pres c ript ion which f ew of t hem s how any signs of being able t o resist. Th e No r t h and Wes t persist in c laiming the right to dene the tm nth of the East and South, and what is called 'underdev elopment i s at its deepest root a state of pros t rat ion of the spirit: objectively, a s it uat ion so dened by an overbearing c ult ure and, subjectively, the c ondit ion of a mind whic h has meekly internalized its prescriptions. There begin, however, to appear signs that t he 'object' world is s t irring and there is a spreading feeling that t ile t rut h of the First World may not be f ound in its own self-authenticated de nit ions but i n the lives and consciousness of its victims. Th e examples o f China, Cuba and Tanz ania have not been lost, n o r have t he unbelievable suffering and courage of the Vietnamese passed unnoticed. There are people who arc speaking of a new language t o redene the realit y whic h we live. I t is to them, wherever they are, that t he voice of Paulo Freire is addressed. J OAO da V E I G A C O U T I N H O
Center for the Study of D evel opm ent and Social C hange Cam br idge, Al assach m e l ts

v i

Introduction

I th in k it is importantfor my own sake as well as the reader'sthat we try, at the very outset, to clarify some points fundamental to the general understanding of my ideas on education as cultural action for freedom. This is all the more important since one of the basic aims of this work, where the process of adult literacy is discussed, is to show that if o p t ion is for nian,_educaLion is cultural action fo r freedom and therefore c t of k n o win g _ a p d . memorization, Th is act can never be accounted fo r in its complex totality by a mechanistic p o t o f theory, for such a theory does not perceive education in general and adult literacy in particular as an act of knowing. Instead, it rpth t s the practice of education to a complex of techniques, naively considered tck 1; eutral, by means of which the educational process is standardized in a sterile and bureaucratic operation. ) ; This is not a g r a t u i t o u t i between knowing and memorizing and the reasons why we attach such importance to a s sadulti o n . the e r t literacy process. \ Vrst, some words about the socio-historical conditioning of the thinking e But w presented, as well as art explanation of the necessity for critical reection on i l l here l a t e such conditioning. r c l a r i From a non-dt a list f y . always refer to t le reality of the thinking subject. Au th e n tth o u g h t-la n g u a g c tc h e generated in the dialectical relationship between the subject and his concrete InsNr aw p o i n tireality. In the case of theblienated cultural processeOchard v i toricaleand cultural is c l , acteristicao f dependent o r object societies, thought-language itself is alienated, d h i o fact that these societies do not manifest an authentic thought of their su g t i t whence the n tc t i o h own during the periods of most acute alienation. Reality as it is thought does not n a n correspond to the reality being lived objectively, but rather to the reality in which dalienated man imagines himself to be. This thought is not an effective instruthe l a ment eithern objective reality, to whidt alienated man does not relate as thinking in g u aor ingthe e subject, imagined and longed for reality. Dissociated from the action im, plied by authentic thought, this mode of thought is lost in ineffective, false words. c o n s t i t u t i n g a w h o l e ,
-. M. . . r. '11. *--

, : Z r'sf z ;

Irresistibly attracted by the lif t style of the director societytalienated man is a nostalgic man, never truly committed to his world. TO . a p p e aof histalienated w i s he l i s thinking and the way he expresses the world o b be is one r e r a t h a reection of thehthought and expression o f the director society.' ) t a n are generally e r t alienated culture prevents h im fro m understanding that his th in kin g and o His world-expression cannot nd acceptance beyond his frontiers unless he is faithful to his particular world. Only to the extent that he reectively feels and knows his own particular world for having experienced it as mediation of a collective transforming praxis, only to that extent will his thought and expression gain signicance beyond that world. Such awareness of oneself and the world, however, is not the result o f a purely private choice, but of an historical process in which object societies, some more rapidly than others due to the structural transformations they undergo, reect upon themselves and perceive themselves to be dependent. These moments, which characterize the transitional stage of such societies, are both problematic and creative. They witness to the emergence of the masses and to their clamoring presence in the historical process in varying degrees of intensity 2 This popular presence naturally creates a new life style in the society. It begins to reveal society's internal and external contradictions, formerly undetected* both by the masses and the so-called intelligentsia. I n this way the alienated culture begins to be judged. Certain intellectuals begin to change their former view of society, really discovering society's structure for the rst time. What alienation dened as the intrinsic inferiority of the popular masses is now objectively recognized to be the s s u l t f domination.Thus the more the alienated culture is uncovered, the situation o f a ' These m anaging societies i n thei r to n usually suffer, as is natur al , fr om the contr ar y illness: l i e theya e convinced of the i nfal l i bi l i ty of thei r thought, and for thi s reason nd i t nor m al t hat n ar t i it shoul d be piously followed by the dependent societies. I n saying this we merely under l i ne an o n obvious fact: i n t he r elationship between m etr opol i tan and dependent societies. t he al i enati on i t s of the l atter ( w hi ch implies w hat Guer r eir o Ramos calls exemplari3m) corresponds t o the l or dl y manner of the former. I n ei ther case, however, one must r efr ain fr om absolutizing the statement, e l f for just as am ong the alienated ther e are those w ho thi nk i n a non- alienated m anner , ther e ar e , unlordly denizens of the metropolises. I n both cases, for di ffer ent reasons, they br eak w i th t he norms o f thei r respective contexts. w h This process o f tr ansition also takes place i n i ts ow n w ay i n m etr opol i tan societies, w hi ch give an appearance o f unshakeable stability. T her e also we see the emergence o f the m ost depressed popul ar sectors, which previously di d not exist as problems, hi dden as they were i n thei r i society's allitlenCe. As they emerge, these groups make thei r presence fel t by the power structures, c whether by or ganizing themselves t o gi ve simple witness t o thei r inescapable presence i n t h e historical process, or by the most aggressive forms of political pressure. h i s 2 d i s c

M EE.

Ao rt

more the oppressive reality in which it originates is exposed. A twofold pattern e me rg e s. (p n Th e on the society which o Tresses it and whose economic and cultural interests it o f f e T f the serves. At n d ,same tint ' k i l n ) the alienated society itself, a regime of oppression is h e t imposed upon the masses by the power elites which in certain cases are the same c u u as the l et x t r a l metastasis into idomestic power groups. l a l e y e a either case there is a fundamental dimension to these societies resulting from r nIn l ' n e l a cotlo n il phase: th e ir culture was established and maintained as al:culture their i t e e d s i s silence."c of -o a a i i as whole, as the mere object of the director society, is not heard by the 3 societyT a a T d e r O n t i e contrary the metropolis prescribes its word, thereby effectively H latter. e a 'a g i a it. Meanwhile, with in the alienated society itself, the masses are subsilencing h n n jected, to the same kind of silence by the power elites. iw l o When the popular masses get beyond the stage of fascination with th e ir own t to h e h e e emergence, and from demand to demand announce by their action that they are r w s ti nearing a stage of sufcient organization to be able to break their submissive silence, s power elites violently attempt to arrest the process. a o the f t r o 4 Al n d e i the masses to their original silence, the director society, "invited" t h e power lto return f p r e not, ie t it upon itself l to do so. c d l takes e s or e a k th e e p ttu Thearepression used to return the masses to their silence is preceded and ach tx t t companied by a myth-making effort to identify as diabolical all thought-language e whic h ruses such words as liena lion, dominat ion, oppression, liberatiOn human izae n lion , and autonomy. To counter this effort among it well-intentioned but naive x t i e r sStudent gr oups w hi ch f or a l ong ti m e concentrated o n pur el y academic dem ands gr adual l y n a come to share the restlessne among the intellectuals. T hus the entir e scheme of m etr opolitan societies begins to be called i nto sa l p question. st o f r t h e pIt is tr ue that i n speaking of the process of social change w i thi n these societies, one has to take oa p p r e s s e d r I gn r s u p s called attenti on to the fact that thi s technological power is aisle to transMarcuse o repeatedly )tas e m any of these protest movements i nto mere manifestations of folklore. T hi s poi nt, however, form i . f n t subject, nor i t be T not o t of our e n is aOn parh "cultur e of silence," canFault-. adequately dealt w i th i n a simple footnote. the we Ft r m s. a t Ri ghts a n d th e L im e ra ti o n o f M a n i n t h e Ameri c as , ed. Loui s M . Colones e ( N o t r e Dam e, I n d i a n a : b University o ee6 r e , " of N otr e Dante Press. tw o) . E C u l t u r a l a hd4Eventae p danalysis of Lati n American politics conrms thi s assertion. Nevertheless, the xF ra cursory p o m e e n s c successive coups (Petal must not be seen as a demonstration of the incapacity of Lati n American bi e peoples tr contr ol thei r own destiny. O n the contrary, the coups, and t he violence w i th w hi ch o n c t L i some o f a r leaders tr y no m ai ntai n themselves i n pow er , ar e a r eacti on o f t he oligarchies, n thei t t oy o dominated by ethe metropolis, t o the pressure of the peopl e ;Ittl i fpti ng t o become p e o p l E A r i c a --,______m ___.---l ta h u , " l y n 'eki n o t m1 i , 1 1 4 M 3 t t sna t n p r o g h d h e s s e r o v e i ie a r f g l r i e e a n t e a

I I \

I V ' :

e s a C

population, a de-mystifying work is necessary to show what the words really stand for: th e expression dfrobjective, socio-historical, and political categories whose ) dramatic character in the Th ird World allows no one to be neutral. 1 -----' At a time in Brazil when the "culture of silence" was being exposed for what it is, I began, as a man of the Th ird World, to elaborate not a mechanical method for adult literacy learning, b u t a n i the cultur o f silence hself/---a theory which could become in practice not the of voice tofI the cu c n abut one of the instruments of that still faltering voice. t e i i _ ture, l The thinking developed here is not, o f course, free o f the inuence o f other t h e o r g e n r a t e thought. Thatewould be impossible. We have never rejected positive contributions from men of the Th ird World or of the director societies. But confrontation with d i n our particular world has taught us that any ideas coming frQm_another part o f t h e the world cannot simply be transplanted.jhey must rst be submitted to what wr o f e s s o r o m P b orously scientic attitude is still not widespread in the Th ird World. Being a world l i of silence G T i j i r e it is still unablenot because of any "ontological" incapacity, for such a thing (toes not existto assume the posture of one who "has a voice," of one who is the i r o subject of his choices, of one who freely projects his own destiny. Nevertheless, the m i T R aemerging Th ird Wo rld is rapidly becoming conscious of its plight. I t is beginning to understand that the much-publicized need for dgvelopme s a realized under the continuing conditions of silence or of an illusory voice. Under such a n n o t mereemodernization tc c conditions, only b ----------------_ _ _ is possible. - Thus the fundamental theme of the Th ird 'Worklim plying a if cu lt but not a l l s impossible task for Jts peopleis the co mp ie st 4 2 r pronounceoits/word.\ Only then can the word of those who e n c e it or give it the n o n e c s . mere illusion iof speaking also became an authentic word. Conquering the right of i t s r g h t t o 4 v o c to speak its word, thei right toebe itself, to assume direction oT its own destiny, only c the Th ird World itself will create the currently non-existent conditions for those o i of t h e /-; whootodaynsilece h to _ _ _ into dialogue with it. c l it r i g -----------_ enter g t c a ti As a man of this world, who has a l i i i i d y o l traumatic, experiences for having presumed to have a voice in the culture of silence, r t vee r i a wel havet only one desire: that our thinking may coincide historically with the undrest ofuall those who, whether they live in those cultures which are wholly silenced c in t i g n i of cultures or m ethessilent sectors c a n t , which prescribe their voice, are struggling to have a voice of their own. I i i o f nn . o t 5 Gu Ra , Alb o o s Ue e rre i ro c m o s1965).e rt s , A i r e dv loe oc i ol ogi c a ( R i o d e J a n e i ro : / m a t uto S u p e ri o r d e Estudosn Brwileiros, x e s l f y o r t 4u n a t

Part I The Adult Literacy Process as Cultural Action for Freedom*

Dr. Freire writ es f rom a Th i r d Wo r l d perspective, but zeith obv ious implic at ions f or education i n general. He rejects mechanistic conceptions of t he adult literacy process, advocating instead a t heory and praclice based upon aut hent ic dialogue between teachers and learners. Such dialogue, in Freire's approac h, renters upon codied representations of the learners' existential situations and leads not only to t heir acquisition of literacy shills, but more import ant ly t o t heir awareness of t heir right and capacity as human beings t o t rans f orm realit y . Bec oming lite-rate, then, means f ar more t han learning t o decode t he writ t en repres ent at ion o f a sound system. I t is t ruly an act of knowing. t hrough whic h a person is able to look critically at the c ult ure whic h has shaped him, and t o move t oward reection and positive action upon his world.

Every educational practice implies a

concept of man and the world.
Experience teaches us not t o assume that t he obvious is c learly understood. So it is wit h t he t ruis m wit h whic h we begin: A l l educ at ional practice implies a t heo T he author gr atefully acknowledges the contr ibutions of Lor etta Slover, w ho translated thi s essay, and Joao da Veiga C outi nho and R ober t Rior dan, w ho assisted i n t he pr epatati on of the manuscript.

Harvard Etligratiorwl Review V o l . 40 N o . 2 M a y 1070. 205.225.

5
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t't

retical stance o n t he educator's part . Th i s stance i n t u r n implies s omet imes more, sometimes less ex plic it ly an int erpret at ion of man and the world, I t c ould not be otherwise. Tire process of men's orient at ion in t he world involves not jus t / the association of sense images, as f or animals. I t involves, above all, t h i Ng l i t l a n guage:/ that is,.the possibility of the act of k nowing t hrough his praxis, by whic h man transforms reality. Fo r man, this process of orient at ion i n t he world can be understood neit her as a purely subjective event, n o r as an objec t iv e o r mechanistic one, but only as an event i n whic h subjectivity and objec t iv it y are unit ed. Orient at ion i n t he world, so understood, places t he ques t ion o f t he purposes of action at the level of c rit ic al perception of reality. If, f o r animals , orient at ion i n t he wo r l d means adapt at ion t o t he world, f o r

mallicAneAns humaniziiI the woi___:!sty_t)traiforming_it. For animals there is no historical sense there is bot h an his t oric al and a v alue dimens ion. Me n have t he sense of "pro. ject," i n contrast t o t he ins t inc t iv e rout ines of animals. , n Th e ac t ion o f men wi t h o u t objectives, whet her t he objectives a r e r i g h t o r o o wrong, my t hic al or demythologized, naive or critical, is not praxis, t hough it may be orient at ion i n t he world. A n d not being praxis, i t is ac t ion ignorant bot h of p own n s its i l oprocess and of its aim. Th e int errelat ion of the awareness of aim and o f o processr is t he basis f or planning action, whic h implies methods, objectives, and value a Options. v l u Teac hing adults t o read and writ e mus t be seen, analyzed, and unders t ood i n e s i this way. Th e critical analyst wi l l discover in the methods and texts used b y cators and students prac t ic al v alue opt ions whic h bet ray a philos ophy o f man, .n t wellu o r e i e d h - poorly on c o h e r e n t o r in)herent . O n l y someone wi t h a mec hanr istic mentality, whic h Marx would c all "grossly mat erialis t ic , " c ould reduce adult literacy learning t o a purely technical action. Such a naiv e approac h wo u l d be o i l e incapable o f perc eiv ing t hat t ec hnique it s elf as an ins t rument o f me n i n t h e i r Orien t a lion in the world is not - i m a t i io n . We s hall try , however, t o prov e by analysis t he self-evidence of o u r statement. i us consider the case of primers used as the basic texts f o r t eac hing adult s t o Let n read and writ e. Let its f urt her propose t wo distinct types: it poorly done p r i me r t and a good one, according t o the genre's own c rit eria. Let us even suppose t hat h the aut hor of the good p r i me r based t he selection o f its generative words ' o n a e ' wIn languages like Portuguese or Spanish, words ar e composed syllabically. T hus , every nonmonosyllabic word is, l et Imically, generative, i n t he sense t hat other words can be constructed o from its de-composed syllables. For a w m d t o be authentically genci alive, however, certain condir l 6d ;

Adult Literacy Process

prior knowledge of whirls words have the greatest resonance fo r the learner (a practice not commonly found, though it does exist). Doubtlessly, such an author is already far beyond the colleague who composes his primer with words he himself chooses in his owls library. Both authors, however, are identical i n a fundamental way. I n cads case they themselves decompose the given generative words and f ro m the syllables create new words. With these words, in turn, the authors form simple sentences and, little by little, small stories, the so-called reading lessons. Let us say that the author of the second prinser, going one step further, suggests that the teachers who use it initiate discussions about one or another word, sentence, or text with their students. Considering either of these hypothetical cases we may legitimately conclude that there is an imp licit concept o f man i n the primer's method and content, whether it is recognized by the authors or not. This concept can be reconstructed from various angles. We begin with the fact, inherent in the idea and use of the primer, that it is the teacher who chooses the words and proposes them to the learner. Insofar as the primer is the mediating object between the teacher and students, and the students are to be "lled" with words the teachers have chosen, one can easily detect a rst important dimension of the image of man which here begins to emerge. I t is the prole of a man whose consciousness is "spatialized," and must he "lled" or "fed" in order to know. This same conception led Sartre, criticizing the notion that "to knowis_to eat," to exclaim: " 0 philosophic aliment oire! " 2 This "digestive" concept o f knowledge, so common i n current educational

practice, 1 nourished," not in the literal sense in which many of them really are, but because they latk the "bread of the spirit." Consistent with the mcept of knowledge as s food, illiteracy is conceived of as a "poison herb," intoxicating and debilitating f o u n persons who cannot read or write. Thus, much is said about the "eradication" d v e riot's must be present w hi ch w i l l be discussed i n a l ater section o f thi s essay. [ A t t he phoneti c r ythe term generative word is properly applicable only w i th regard to a soundsyllabic reading level c l tnethodology, while the thetnatic application is universal. See Sylvia Ashton-Warner's Teacher for a di l l e - Jean Paul Sdrtre, Si/Ha/tom / (Paris: Li br atr i e Gallimard, 1((7). p. 31. a r mThe digestive concept of knowledge i s suggested by "contr ol l ed r eadings," by classes which e 3 il t consist only i n lectures; by the use of memorized dialogues i n language lear ning: by bibliogr aphiy t r notes which indicate not only which chapter , but w hi ch lines and words ar e t o be l ead: by cal ithe e amethods of evaluating the students* progress in learning. t m n e n t t 7 h o e f p r t h i m e e r c . o 3 n I l v l e i
p

'

Of illiteracy to i r e the disease.' I n this way, deprived ol t heir character as linguis tic signs constitutive of man's thought-language, words are t rans f ormed int o mere "deposits of v o(abulary "t he bread of the s pirit whic h the illit erat es are t o "eat " and "digest." This "nut rit ionis t " v iew of knowledge perhaps also explains t he humanit arian character of certain Lat in Ant erit an adult literacy campaigns. I f millions of men are illit erat e, "s t arv ing f or letters," "t hirs t y f or words,' t h e word mus t be brought to t hem t o save t hem h o m "h u n g e r " and "t hirs t . " Th e word, ac c ording t o t he naturalistic concept of consciousness implic it in t he primer, mus t be "depos it ed, " not b o r n o f t he creative effort o f t he learners. As unders t ood i n t his concept, man is a passive being, t he object of t he process of learning t o read and writ e, and not its subject. As object his task is t o "s t udy " t he so-called reading lessons, whic h in fact are almost completely alienat ing and alienated, hav ing so lit t le, i f anything, t o d o wi t h t h e student's socio-cultural realit y . 5 It would be a ft itly interesting study to analyze the reading texts being used in private or ofcial adult literac y campaigns in rural and urban L a t i n Americ a. I t would not be unus ual t o nd among such texts sentences and readings lik e t he f ollowing random samples:"
asa da ave- - - " T he w i ng is of t he bi r d." Eva yi n a uv a- - " Ev a saw the gr ape." O gab o c a n t a - - - cachor r o l adr a- O T h o o T h ea c d c k M ar ie gosta dosgani m ai s- - " M ar y likes anim als." c r o w s . " b i o c ui da das .ar eor es" John takes car e o f t he tr ees," a r k s fol " 0 pal de C ar l i nhos .se charna Antoni o. C ar l i n/- i s f estudiosa"Charles' s father ' smnam e n s iA nt oni o. . C har l es i s a good, w el l - behaved, a n d ;1 1 7 1 1 b O M e i n o studious boy ." m h e c o r Ada den o dedo ao n undo' ? D av i d . Ada del i a ed a ar ar a. . p o r t a d o 7 'See P al & Freire. " La allahetizat mu de adultos, zr itita s t i 5011111 i ngenua: tompreension e su vision ctitica," i n i nti tni ni gn' tn ci to .4( tai n c ul tur al (Santiago: l C IR i ( ( 3 9 ) . hvie al e t w o w acw or l i ty usi epti ons am ong these tonne' s: ( 1) i n Br ai d, r i v er r o o r , deselopeti by it team of spec o f the Bash Edl i tati on M m em ent, sponsored by the N ati onal Conference of Bishops. ( This leadei t h e olzit(t of )cintimersy after i t was banned as sub
versive b y t h e t h e n g o v c i n o r i n a n a b a t a . M r . Ca rl o s C a m i l a . i n 191;3.) t o i n C h i l e , t h e

ESPIGA collection, despite some Sinai! (ICICits. T he collection was organized by j efat ut a de Planes Extraoldinarios de Ed11(3doll de Ailttltos, of the Public Education Ministry. 'Since at the time this essay was wr itten the writer di d not hi nc a(cess to the primers, and was,
therefore, v i ti numbl e t o re c o rd i n g pl i tas c s i mptec i s el y o r t o c onfus i ng t h e a u t h o r o f o n e o r a n caber p ri m e r. i t was t h o u g h t l i c , t n o t tcP i detni fy t h e a u th o rs o r t h e ti tl es o f t h e book s . on7the consonant d.Edi tor 1 1 w E n g

Adult Literac'y Process

.S von' trab ii !ha coin inartelo e prego, tenha ruidath) para nno f urar a tied. - c hammer a nail, be careful not t o SIWISII your nger. " 11 y o u
a

r registered for a night course. Peter's teacher was very good. Peter knows how to read now. " I PLook at Peter's face. [These lessons are generally illustrated.] Peter is smiling. He is a happy man. He already has a good job. Everyone ought t o f ollow his example." e t I n saying that Peter is s miling because he knows how t o read, t hat he is happy i e because he now has a good job, and t hat he is a li ex ample f or all t o f ollow, t he r authors establish a relat ions hip between k nowing how t o read and get t ing good d jobs whic h, i n fact, c annot be borne out. Th i s naivet reveals, at least, a f ailure i to perceive t he structure not only of illiteracy , but of social phenomena i n gend n eral. Such an approach may admit that these phenomena exist, but i t cannot per o ceive t heir -relationship_ to t he structure of t he society i n wh i c h t hey are f ound. It is as if these phenomena were mythical, above ant i bey ond concrete situations, t k or t he results of the int rins ic inf eriorit y of a certain class of men. Unable t o grasp n contemporary illit erac y as a t y pic al manif es t at ion o f t he "c u l t u r e o f silence," o directly relat ed t o underdev eloped structures, t his approac h c annot oiler an Obw jective, c rit ic al response t o t he c hallenge of illit erac y . 1 % h .read and writ e (toes not work miracles; i f there are not enough jobs f or men able o 1 I work, teaching more h i n read andm e e t e a c men to g n to ) r writ will not create them. w t One of these readers presents among its lessons the f ollowing t wo texts on cono t o secutive pages wit hout relat ing them. Th e rst is about Ma y 1st, t he Labor Day r holiday, o n wh i c h work ers c ommemorat e t h e i r struggles. I t does n o t say h o w e or where these are c ommemorat ed, or what t he nat ure o f t he his t oric al c on ic t a was. Th e main t heme of the second lesson is ha/days. I t says t hat "o n these days d people ought t o go to the beach t o s wim and sunbathe . . . " Theref ore, i f May 1st . is a holiday , and i f on holidays people s hould go t o t he beach, t he conclusion is P tliat the workers should go s wimming on Labor Day, instead of meet ing wit h t heir e unions in the public squares to discuss t heir problems. t Analysis of these texts reveals, then, a s implis t ic vision of men, of t heir world, e r w " T he author may even have added her e, " . . . 11 mercurol h t t h i s a , h o w e v e r , s h o u l d s a p p e n , a h a p p l y 9 s a h l i t t l e a m e d . O n e

)1

tL it,eett.tzt , c,

of t he relat ions hip bet ween t he t wo, and o f t he lit erac y process whi c h unf olds in that world. A am d o aye, Eva y in a ;tya, o gab canto, and o each orro t o r , are linguis t ic contexts wi t h It, wh e n mec hanic ally memoriz ed a n d repeat ed, a r e & p r i v e d o f t heir aut hent ic dimens ion as thought-language in dy namic int erplay wi t h reality.

Il Thus impoverished, they are not authentic expressions of the world. i Th e i r authors do not recognize i n , -. 01', t h perc o o r (their e Pept ion o f t he world. Th e aut hors repeat wi t h t he texts what t hey d o i a s s e wit h c r e !,-. c tlhe words, i.e.,s t hey int roduc e t hem i n t o t he learners ' consciousness as i f ii-t h a t e oAl i t were empt y e spaceonce more, the "digestive" concept of knowledge. a b i l i t y t more, t he a-strut tural perc ept ion of illit erac y revealed i n these texts e x : t o h )Ltinjit' S t i l l p ot her false v iew of illit erat es as marginal me n . e s o the k n o w e T h o s e 9 w h o c o n s i d e r a n d tV t h e m marginal mus t , nevertheless, recognize t he existence o f a realit y t o whic h \ they are marginalnot only physical space, b u t his t oric al, social, c ult ural, a n d e v e e economic realitiesi.e., t he s t ruc t ural dimens ion o f realit y . I n t his way , illit ern x ates have t o be recognized as beings "out s ide of , " "marginal t o " s omet hing, since t s w h i c h w o u l d e x p r e s s t h e i r o w it is impossible_ to be marginal. to not hing. B u t being "out s ide o f " o r "ma r g i n a l to necessarily implies a movement of the one said t o be marginal f rom the center, where he was, t o the periphery . Th i s movement, whic h is an action, presupposes in t u r n not only an agent but also his reasons. A d mi t t i n g t he existence of men "outside of " or "marginal t o " s t ruc t ural realit y , i t seems legit imat e t o ask: W h o is the aut hor of this mov ement f rom the center of the structure t o its margin? Do

-7

so-called marginal men, among t hem t he illiterates, mak e t he dec is ion t o mov e , ' out t o the periphery of society? I f so, marginalit y is an opt ion wi t h all t hat it involves:Chunger, sickness, rickets, pain, ment al deciencies, l i v i n g deat h, c rime, promiscuity, despair, the impos s ihilit y of b e i n k l I n fact, however, it is dif c ult t o accept t hat 4or 1 about 40% of Peru's, more t han 3o , Guat f 0/ ; , o emala's wo u l d hav e made t he t ragic choise_ of t heir o wn marginalit y as of B / r a z i l illit erat es . " If, then, marginalit y is not by choice, marginal man has been ex pelled 1 ' 1 ) s o t i l ____.---------_ o p and kept outside of the social system and is therefore the objec t of violence. 11 front t n 'a o if o M e x i c o ' s ..,( i , a n d c 9 a V e hn e m u a n a heLw h o has been z a d e me rg i l a l , o r 's ent outs i de s oc iety ; a s %cell as t h e sense o f a s tate o f e x \ n istence o n t he f ri n g e o f s oLi ety .Ttans l ai orl sT , o . h U N E S C O: L a s i tuac i on educ ati v a e n A m e ri c a L a t i n a , C u a d ro n o . 20. page 263 (P ari s , 1960). s t a n d e L o ob aP o u ; ' ' to r _ ' , 0 1 7 r r t o /

Adult Literacy Process

In fact, however, t he social structure as a whole does not "ex pel, " n o r is marginal man a "being outside of." I l e is, on the contrary, a "being inside of , " wit hin the social structure, and in a dependent relat ions hip t o those whom we c all falsely autonomous beings, i out hen tic beings-for-t hemselves. A less rigorous approac h, one mo r e s implis t ic , less c rit ic al, mo r e technicist, would say t hat i t was unnecessat y t o reect about what i t wo u l d consider unimport ant questions such as illit erac y and teaching adults t o read and writ e. Such an approach might even add t hat t he discussion of the concept of marginalit y is an unnecessary academic exercise. I n fact, however, i t is n o t so. I n ac c ept ing t he illit erat e as a person wh o exists on t he f ringe of society, we are led t o env is ion him as a sort of "sick man, " f or whom literacy would be t he "medic ine" t o cure him, enabling h i m t o "r e t u r n " t o the "healt hy " structure f rom whic h he has become separated. Educ at ors wo u l d be benev olent counsellors, s c ouring t he out skirts of t he c it y f o r t he s t ubborn illit erat es , runaway s f r o m t h e good lif e, t o restore t hem t o t he forsaken bos om of happiness by giv ing t hem t he gif t of t he word. In t he light of such a conceptunfortunately, all t oo wides preadlit erac y programs can nev er be efforts t oward f reedom; t hey wi l l nev er ques t ion t h e v ery reality whic h deprives men of the right t o speak upnot only illiterates, but a l l those who are treated as objects i n a dependent relat ions hip. Thes e men, illit erate or not, are, in fact, not marginal. What we said before bears repeat ing: Th e y are not "beings outside of "; they are "beings f or anot her. " Theref ore t he s olut ion to t heir problem is not to become "beings inside of,'' b u t men f reeing themselves; for, in reality,Cihey are not marginal to the structure, hut oppressed men wi t hi n i t . ] Alienat ed men, t hey cannot overcome t heir dependency by "inc orporat ion" i n t o the v ery s t ruc t ure responsible f o r t heir dependency. Th e r e is n o ot her road t o humaniz at iont heirs as well as everyone else'sbuta u t h tus_k_ti_wtsformation of the dehumaniz ing structure. From t his last point of view, t he illit erat e is no longer a person l i v i n g on t he fringe of society, a marginal man, but rat her a representative o f t he dominat ed strata of society, in conscious or unconscious oppos it ion t o those who, i n the same structure, t reat h i m as a t hing. Thus , also, teaching men t o read and writ e is no longer an inconsequential mat t er of ba, be, bi, bo, bu, of memoriz ing an alienat ed word, but a difcult apprenticeship in naming the world. I n t he rst hypothesis, int erpret ing illit erat es as men marginal t o society, t he literacy process reinforces t he my t hi c at ion o f realit y by k eeping it opaque and by dulling the "empt y consciousness" of the learner wit h innumerable alienat ing

11

words and phrases. B c ont ras t , in t he second hy pot hes is int erpret ing illit erat es as HI M oppressed wi t h i n t he system---the literac y process, as c ult ural ac t ion f o r freedom, is an act of k nowing in wh i t h t he learner assumes t he role of k nowing subject in dialogue wit h t he educator. For this very reason, i t is a courageous endeavor t o demythologize reality, a process t inough whic h men wh o had previously been submerged in realit y begin t o emerge in order t o re-insert themselves int o it wit h c lit ic al awareness. Theref ore t he educ at or mus t strive f or an ev er great er c larit y as t o what , a t times wit hout his conscious knowledge, ilit nnines t he pat h of his action. Onl y i n this way wi l l he t ruly be able t o assume the role of one of the subjects of this action and remain consistent in the process.

The adult literacy process as an act of knowing.

T o be an act of k nowing the adult literacy process deinands among teachers and students a relat ions hip of an d i a l o g u e . Tr u e dialogue _unites subjects t ogetIter in the c ognit ion of a k nowable object whic h mediates between them. If learning t o read and writ e is t o constitute an act o f k nowing, t he learners must assume from t he beginning the role of creative subjects. I t is not a mat t er of memoriz ing ant i repeat ing given syllables, words, and phrases, b u t rat her of reecting c rit ic ally on t he pro( ess o f reading and wr i t i n g itself, and o n t he prof ound signicance of language. Insofar as language is impossible wit hout t hought , and language and t hought are impossible wit hout t he %solid t o whic h t hey refer, t he h u ma n wo r d is more than mer e vocalni hat yit is word-and-action. T h e c ognit iv e dimens ions o f t he literacy process must inc lude the relationships of men wit h t heir world. Thes e relationships are t he sotirte of t he dialet tic between t he produc t s men achieve i n transforming t he world and t he c ondit ioning whic h these products in t u r n exercise on men. Learning to read and \ s t ile ouigl it 10 he an opport unit y f or Men t o k now what speaking I he wo r d really means: a h u ma n ac t i mp l y i n g re ec t ion a m! ac t ion. As such it is a primordial human right ; mil not t he priv ilege of a f ew. " Speaking the word is not a t rue at t it it is not at t he saute t ime associated wit h t he right of self-expression and world-expression, of creating and re-creating, of dec iding and choosing and ult imat ely part ic ipat ing in society's historical process.
" Paolo [ 'icily, op. ( it .

12

Adult Lit erary Process

hi t h e c ult ure of silence t he masses are "mu t e , " t hat is, t hey are prohibit ed front creatively t ak ing part i n t he t rans f ormat ions of t heir society and t heref ore prohibit ed horn being. Even if they can occasionally read and writ e because they were "taught."_ in humanit arianbut not ht nnanis t lit erac y campaigns, t hey arenevertheless alienated f rom the power responsible f or t heir silence. ) Illiterates k now they are concrete men. They k now t hat t hey do things. Wh a t they do not k now i n t he c ult ure of silencein whic h t hey are ambiguous , dual beingsis t hat men's actions as such are t ranNf orming, creative, and re-creative. Overcome by the myths of this culture, inc luding the my t h of t heir own "nat ural inf eriorit y , " they do not k now that t heir action upon t he world is also t rans f orming. Prevented f rom hav ing a "s t ruc t ural perc els i2n" of the facts inv olv ing them, they do not k now that they c a n n F i i a the right t o part ic ipat e consciously in t he socio-historical t rans f ormat ion of t heir . ve a v o c _ , society, because it heireWM"k does not belong t o t hem. . i . e . , It c ould be said ( a n d we would agree) t hat i t is not possible t o recognize a l l t h a t this apart f r o m oax is , t hat is, apart f rom re ec t ion and ac t ion, and t hat t o at t h e y tempt a wo u l d b rn mr e o it r idealism. But i t is also t rue t hat ac t ion upon an objec t c n t must be c rit ic ally r analyzed ' ni order t o unders t and bot h t he objec t it s elf and t he e x e c u i t e, s n d hegoes f r o m ac t ion t o reection and f r o m re ec t ion u p o n ac t ion t o a n e w whic r s t action. o r the learner t o k now what he did not k now before, he mus t engage i n a aut an n dhent ic process of abstraction by means of whic h he can reect o n t he aci n g tion-object whole, or, more generally, on f orms of orient at ion i n t he world. I n o n this process o f abstraction, situations representative o f h o w t he learner orient s e himself in the world are proposed to him as the objects of his c rit ique. h a s As an event c alling f ort h t he c rit ic al reection of bot h t he learners and educators, t he lit erac y process mus t relat e speaking t he wo r d t o t rans f orming realit y , o and t o man's role in this t rans f ormat ion. Perc eiv ing the signicance of t hat relaf i tionship is indis pens ible f o r those learning t o read a n d wr i t e i f we are really cT ommit t ed t o liberat ion. Such a perc ept ion wi l l lead t he learners t o recognize a h much great er right t han t hat o f being lit erat e. Th e y w i l l ult imat ely recognize e that, as men, they have die right to have a voice. a On t he ot her hand, as an act of k nowing, learning t o read a n d writ e pres upc poses not only a theory of k nowing but a met hod whic h corresponds to the theory. t We recognize t he indis put able uni t y bet ween s ubjec t iv it y a n d objec t iv it y i n o the act of k nowing. Realit y is never just s imply the objective dat um, t he concrete 1/ f fact, but is also men's perception of it. Onc e again, t his is not a subjectivistic o r 1 k n o w 13 i n g i n v o l v

idealistic afrmation, as it might seem. On the contrary, subjectivism and idealism come in to play' when the subjective-objective u n ity is broken." The adult literacy process as an act o f knowing implies the existence o f two interrelated contexts. One is the . context and educators_as_equally knowing subjects. Th is is what schools should be o f theoretical h e n tofi dialogue. Th e second is the real, concrete context o f the , A u t context c facts, the social_Lealityin_which_men exist." d i a l o g u e b In the theoretical context of dialogue, the facts presented by the real o r cone t w e e n crete context are critically analyzed. This analysis involves the exercise of abstracltion, through which, by means o f representations o f concrete reality, we seek e a r n e r s that reality. The instrument for this abstraction in our methodolknowledge of ogy is codication," or representation of the existential situations of the learners. Codication, on the one hand, mediates between the concrete and theoretical contexts (o f reality). On the other hand, as knowable object, it mediates between the knowing subjects, educators and learners, who seek in dialogue to unveil the "action-object wholes," This type of linguistic discourse must be "read" by anyone who tries to interpret it, even when purely pictorial. As such, it presents what Chomsky calls "surface structure" and "deep structure." The "surface structure" o f codication makes the "action-object whole" explicit in a purely taxonomic form. The rst stage of decodicationor reading L is descripive. At this stage, the "readers"or decodiersfocus on the relationship between the categories constituting the codication. Th is preliminary focus on the surface structure is followed b y leads the learner to the second and fundamental stage of decodication, the com s p r o b l e m a t i codication's "deep structure," By understanding the codicaprehension of the z i n g ttion's ''deep structure" the learner can then understand the dialectic which exh e ists o d c between ithe categories presented in the "surface structure," as we ll as the e d s i between the "surface"oandn"deep" structures. unity t u a t i . " T her e ar e tw o ways t o fal l i nto idealism: T h e one consists o f dissolving t he r eal i n subT h s jectivity; t he other i n i denyi ng al l r eal subjectivity i n t he interests o f obj ecti vi ty." Jean Paul
Sartre.5 o r c h for a M ethod, trans. i l ar el E. Barnes ( New Yor k: Vi ntage Books, 1968), p. 33. " See Kar el Kosik, Dialcctica de In C ontr eto ( M exico: ( r i j al bo, 1967). e" " [C odi c ati on refers alteinatively to the imaging, or the image itself, of some signicant aspect of t he learner's concrete r eality ( of a slum dwelling, for example). As such, i t becomes both the object o f the teacherlearner dialogue and t he context f or t he i ntr oducti on o f t he gener ative word.Editorj "[Decollication r efer s t o a process o f descr iption a n d i nter pr etati on, w hether o f pr i nted words, pictures, or other " c o d i t n t - i process o f decoding. ( It w oti r m ogni ti on.Fdi tor .1 ati ons ." A s s u c h . 14 e c o d i c a t i o d n

Ailult Literacy Procrs,s

I n o u r met hod, t he c odi c at ion i n i t i a l l y takes t he f o r m o f a phot ograph o r sketch whic h represents a real existent, or an existent constructed by t he learners. When t his representation is projected as a slide, t he learners effect an operat ion basic t o t he act of k nowing: t hey gain distance f rom t he k nowable object. Th i s experience of distance is undergone as well by t he educators, so t hat educators and learners together can reect c rit ic ally on the k nowable object whic h mediates between t hem. Th e aim of &c odi c at ion is to arriv e at the c rit ic al level of k nowing, beginning wit h t he learner's experience o f t he s it uat ion i n d i e "r e a l c ontext." Whereas the codied representation is the k nowable objec t mediat ing between k nowing subjects, decodicationdissolving t he c odi c at ion i n t o it s c ons t it uent elementsis t he operat ion by whic h t he k nowing subjects perceive relat ions hips between t he codication's elements and ot her facts presented by t he real context relationships whic h were f ormerly unperceived. Codi c at ion represents a giv en dimens ion o f realit y as indiv iduals liv e it , and t his dimens ion is propos ed f o r t heir analysis in a context ot her t han that in whic h they liv e it Codi c at ion t hus transforms what was a way o f lif e i n t he real c ont ex t i n t o "o b j e c t u m" i n t h e theoretical context. Th e learners, rat her t han receive inf ormat ion about t his o r that fact, analyze aspects of t heir own existential experience represented i n t he codication. Existential experience is a whole. I n i l l u mi n a t i n g one o f it s angles a n d perceiving t he int er-relat ion of t hat angle wi t h others, t he learners t end t o replace a f ragment ed v is ion of realit y wi t h a t ot al V i theory of. k nowledge, t his means t hat t he dy namic bet ween c odi c at ion o f ex. i4 1 j s t1e n t struction of t heir f ormer "ad-mirat ion" of reality. 1. 1 A -F r o m t h e We clo not use the c onc ept t ad-mirat ion" here in the usual way, or in its ethical s to p iesthetici sense, but wit h a special philos ophic al connotation. n t or u o a t f T o "ad-mire" is to objectify the "not -I . " I t is a dialectical operat ion whic h chari vo n i e w acterizes man as man, dif f erent iat ing him f rom the animal. I t is direc t ly associated s o f wit h t he c reat iv e dimens ion o f his language. T o "a d - mi r e " i mp l i e s t h a t ma n a a stands over against his "not -I " i n order to unders t and it. Fo r this reason, t here is n no d act of k nowing wit hout "ad-mirat ion" of the object t o be k nown. I f the act of d nowing is a dy namic actand no k nowledge is ever c omplet et hen i n order t o k e c o man not only "ad-mires " t he object, but must always be "re-ad-miring" his know, dormer "a d mi r a t i o n , " Wh e n we "re-ad-mire" o u r f ormer "ad-mirat ion" (alway s f i c an "ad-mirat ion of ) we are s imult aneous ly "a d - mi r i n g " t h e ac t o f "a d - mi r i n g " a t i o n 15 i n v o l v e s t h

and t he objec t "ad-mired, " so that we can overcome t he errors we made i n o u r f ormer "ad-mirat ion. ' Th i s "re-ad-mirat ion" leads us t o a perc ept ion o f an ant erior perception. In t he process of decodifying representations of t heir existential situations and perceiving f ormer perceptions, the learners gradually, hesitatingly, and t imorous ly place in doubt t he opinion t hey held of realit y and replac e it wi t h a more and more c rit ic al k nowledge thereof. Let us suppose t hat we were t o present t o groups f r o m among t he dominat ed . classes codications wh i c h port ray t h e i r i mi t at i on o f t he dominat ors ' c u l t u r a l modelsa nat ural tendency of t he oppressed consciousness at a giv en mo t n e n t . 1 -1-- The dominat ed persons wo u l d perhaps, i n self-defense, deny t h e t r u t h o f t he " . codication. As they deepened t heir analysis, however, t hey wo u l d begin t o perceive that t heir apparent innt at ion of the dominat ors ' models is a res ult of t heir int erioriz at ion of these models and, above all, of t he my t hs of t ile ''s uperiorit y of the dominant classes whic h cause t he dominat ed t o feel inf erior. Wh a t i n fact is pure int erioriz at ion appears i n a naiv e analysis t o be hnit at ion. A t bot t om, when t he dominat ed classes reproduce t he dominat ors ' style of lif e, i t is because. the dominat ors liv e " wi l l t i n " t he dominat ed. Th e dominat ed can eject t he dom-1 they recognize hem as t heir ant rom hem inators only by tgetting distance f it hestis . and objec t if y ing them. Only t hen can j 17T o t he extent, howev er, t hat int erioriz at ion of t he dominat ors ' values is not Only an indiv idual phenomenon, but a social and c ult ural one, ejec t ion mus t be achieved by a t y pe of c ult ural ac t ion i n whic h c ult ure negates c ult ure. Th a t is, culture, as a n int erioriz ed produc t whic h i n t u r n c ondit ions men's subsequent acts, must become the object of men's knowledge so t hat they can perceive its condit ioning power. Cult timid action occurs at t he level of superstructure. I t can only be unders t ood b y what Alt hus s er calls "t h e dialec t ic o f o v e r d e t e r mi n a t i o n . " 18 This analytic tool prevents us f rom f alling int o mechanistic explanations or, what 1 worse, mechanistic action. A n unders t anding of it precludes surprise t hat c ulis 1 t ural my t hs remain af t er t he inf ras t ruc t ure is t rans f ormed, ev en b y When the tecreation of a new c ult ure is appropriat e but impeded by int erioriz ed h
t - - " Ru t h e oppres s ed tons tious ttes s , see: Fra n t z Fa n o n , T h e W re t c h e d o f t h e E a rt h ( N e w Y o rk : Gros e Prtss, 1 0 8 ) ; A l b e i t Nl etni ni . Col oni z er a n d t h e Col oni z ed (N e w Y o rk : O r i o n NeSS, 19(15): and P a u l o Fi c h e , Pedagogy o f t h e Oppres s ed (t e n t a t i v e ti tl e ), H e rd e r 1: H e r d e r , i n pres s .

IT Fa n o n , The Wrelt lied; Haire, Pedagogy.

"2 " s e e L o i n s A l thus s er, P o u r M a rx ( P a r k : L i b t a n i e Franc oi s Ni as pero. i nG5); a n t P a u l o Fre i re. A n n u a l R e p o rt : 7 -Chi l r, thi ns . J o h n D e w i t t . Ce n t e r l o t t h e S tudy o f Dev el opment a n d Soc i al Ch a n g e , Ca m b l i d g e . IMass., in139i (n n t i n o g i a p h e d ). ctiville t o r r 9 i 5 S , A 16 g r a r i a n R e f

Adult Literacy Process

c ult ural "res idue, " t his residue, these myths, mus t be ex pelled by means o f c ulture. Cu l t u r a l ac t ion ant i u l t u r a l rev olut ion, at dif f erent stages, constitute t he modes of this expulsion. Th e learners must discover the reasons behind many of t heir attitudes t oward c ult ural realit y and thus confront c ult ural realit y in a new way. "Re-ad-mirat ion" of t h e i r f o r me r "a d - mi r a t i o n " i s necessary i n o r d e r t o b r i n g t his about . T h e learners' capacity f or critical k nowingwell beyond mere opinionis established in t he process of unv eiling t heir relationships wi t h t he his t oric al-c ult ural wo r l d ill and wi t h whit ! ) t hey exist. We do not mean t o suggest t hat c rit ic al k nowledge of man-world relat ions hips arises as a s erbal k nowledge outside of praxis. Prax is is inv olv ed i n t he concrete situations whic h are codied f o r c rit ic al analysis. T o analyze t he c odi c at ion i n its "deep s t ruc t ure" is, f or this very reason, t o reconstruct t he f ormer prax is and -to become capable of a new and dif f erent praxis. Th e relat ions hip bet ween t he theoretical context, i n whic h codied representations of objective facts are analyzed, and the concrete context, where these facts occur, has t o be made real. Such education must have t he character of c ommit ment . I t implies a mov ement f rom t he concrete context whic h prov ides objective facts, t o t he t heoret ic al context where these facts are analyzed i n dept h, and bac k t o t he concrete c ont ex t where men ex periment wit h new forms of praxis. I t might seem as if some of our statements defend t he princ iple that, what ev er the level of the learners, they ought t o reconstruct t he process of human k nowing in absolute terms. I n fact, when we consider adult lit erac y learning or educ at ion in general as an act of k nowing, we are advocating a synthesis between t he educator's max imally systematized k n o wi n g and t he learners' mi n i ma l l y systematized in dialogue. Th e educatorc . t r e l- i o lems about the codifte4 existentialr situations in torder to) help h e t k nowinga _ po rr h e i r p o y s Th e educator's res pons ibilit y as o realit . e more and more c rit ic al v iew a t ra o t b l e i r r i e r s ta r p r i lio v e p conceived by his h league whose dut y is t o t rans mit inf ormat ion whic h t he learners memorize. Such f o educ ator can s imply repeat what he has read, and of t en misunderstood, since an - Ph education f or him does not mean an act of ktutwing. Th e rst t y pe of educator, on t he contrary, is a k n o wi n g subject, face t o face y wit h ot her k nowing subjects. He can nev er be a mere memoriz er, b u t a pers on -constantly readjus t ing his k nowledge, wh o calls f ort h k nowledge f r o m his stui dents. Fo r hint , educ at ion is a_petlagogy o f k nowing. T h e educ at or whos e ap-proach is mere memoriz at ion is ant i-dialogic ; his act of t rans mit t ing k nowledge thus g r i e r w y t a t a o r e n v y a h n h t e a t e 17

is inalterable. For the educator who experiences the act of k nowing together wit h his students, in contrast, dialogue is t he seal of the act of k nowing. He is aware, however, that not all dialogue is in itself the mark of a relat ions hip of t rue k nowl- t edge. Socratic int ellec t ualis mwhic h mis t ook t h e de nit ion o f t h e c onc ept f o r knowledge of the t hing dened aml this k nowledge as v irt uedid not constitute a t r u e pedagogy o f k nowing, ev en t hough i t was dialogic . P h i Los t heory o f dialogue f ailed t o go beyond t he Socratic theory of the de nit ion as k nowledge, even t h o u g h f o r P l a t o o n e o f t h e necessarync ondit ions f o r k n o wi n g wa s that ma n be c apable o f a "pris c . d._ conscience,' and t hough t he passage f r o m doxa t o logos was indispensable f or man t - conscience" did not ref er t o what man k new or did not k now o r k new badly de about his dialec t ic al relat ions hip wi t h t he world; i t was concerned rat her wi t h o - - man once k new and f orgot at birt h. T o k now was t o remember or recollect what i c h i e vk nowledge. u e apprehens ion of bot h dox a a n d logos, and t he ov ert r Th t h . forgotten e F o r c oming of doxa by logos o tared not i n t he man-world relat ions hip, b u t i n t he P l a t o , effort t o remember o r rediscover a f orgot t en logos. t h e " For dialogu t o be a met hod of true knowledge, t he k nowing subjects mus t app r i s e proach realit y scientically in order t o seek the dialectical connections whic h explain the f orni of reality. Tthmis, to k now is not t o remember s omet hing previously k nown and n o w forgotten. N o r can dox a be overcome by logos apart f r o m t he dialectical relat ions hip of man wit h his world, apart f rom men's reective ac t ion upon the world. , T o be an act of k nowing, then, the adult literacy process must engage the learners i n t h e constant problumat iz ing o f t h e i r ex is t ent ial s it uat ions . T h i s p r o b lemat iz ing employs " g liminary inv es t igat ion of what we c all t he " mi n i ma l linguis t ic univ ers e" o f t he --e n e r learners. Th e words are chosen ( a) f o r t heir pragmat ic value, i.e., as linfuture a guistic signs whic h c ommand a c ommon unders t anding in a region o r area of the t i v e city or country ( i n time Unit ed States, f or instance, t he word s oul has a spesame - - signicance in black areas which it does not have among whites), and ( b ) f or cial words " t heir phonet ic dam nities whic h wi l l gradually be presented t o those learning t o c h o s e read and writ e. Finally , i t is import ant t hat t he rst generat iv e wo r d be tri-syln labic. When it is div ided int o its syllables, each one c ons t it ut ing a syllabic f amily , b y the learners can ex periment wit h vatious syllabic c ombinat ions even at rst sight s p e c i of the word. a l i t e d e d u c a t 18 o r s i

i#

Adult Literacy Process

Hav ing chosen seventeen generative words , " t he nex t step is t o c odif y seventeen existential situations f amiliar to the learners. I'he generative words are t hen worked i n t o t he situations one by one in t he order o f t heir increasing phonet ic difculty. As we hav e already emphasized, these codications are k nowable objects wh i c h mediat e bet ween d i e k n o wi n g subjects, educator-learners, learnereducators. Th e i r act of k nowing is elaborated in t he circuto de c ult ura (c ult ural discussion group) whic h functions as the theoretical context. I n Braz il, bef ore analy zing t he learners' existential s it uat ions and t he generative words c ont ained i n t hem, we proposed t he codied t heme of man-world relationships in general. " I n Chile, at t he suggestion of Chilean educaors, t his important dimens ion was discussed c onc urrent ly wi t h learning t o read and writ e. What is import ant is t hat t he person learning words be c onc omit ant ly engaged in a c rit ic al analysis of the social f ramework its whic h men exist. Fo r example, t he word Mo t h i n Ri o de Janeiro, Brazil, and the word c allampa i n Chile, represent, each wit h its own nuances, t he same social, economic, and c ult ural realit y of t he vast numbers of shun dwellers in those countries. I f lavela and c allampa are used as generative words f or the people of Braz ilian and Chilean slums, t he codications will have to represent s lum situations. There are ma n y people wh o c ons ider stunt dwellers marginal, int rins ic ally wicked and inf erior. T o such people we rec ommend t he pro t able ex perienc e of discussing t he s lum s it uat ion wi t h s lum dwellers themselves. As some of these critics are often s imply mistaken, it is possible that they may rectify t heir my t hic al clichs and assume a more scientic attitude. Th e y may av oid saying t hat t he illiteracy, alc oholis m, and c rime of t he slums, t hat it s sickness, i n f a n t mort alit y , learning deciencies, and poor hygiene reveal t he "inf erior nat ure" o f its inhabitants./They may even end up realiz ing that i f int rins ic ev il exists it is part of t he structures, and that it is the structures which n e e It s hould be point ed out t hat t he Th i r d Wo r l d as a whole, and more i n some d parts t han in others, suffers f rom t he same mis unders t anding f rom certain sectors of the so-called met ropolit an societies. They see the Th i r d Wo r l d as t he inc arnalobe tion o f a n s he primit iv e d he dev il, s in and sloth-4--in suns, as his t oric ally un- t r evil, t f o r m e, t . viable wit hout t he direc t or s o c i e t i e s . / obset ved i n B ra t i l a n d S pani s h A m e ri c a , especially Ch i l e , t h a t n o m o re t h a n s ev enteen Suc h a words were necessary f o r teac hi ng adul ts t o l ead a n d W ri te s l l abi c l anguages l i k e P ortugues e a n d Spanish. m a n i c h e a n ; t t l i l ean u auld h (Santi ago:u!c(; ItR A , nj 69). tSee P di titi e i r e , I . : d a e Chi E on i s an c o i n a a P r a tt i r a a t d h e s L io b e u r d r c w i e (
P d e J i P a z c T r a .

a r

n o :

e r ,

of t he impuls e t o "s av e and h e - t "c orrec t ing its t hink ing" ac c ording t o t he direc t or societies' o wn c rit eria. " The expansionist interests of the direc t or societies are implic it i n such notions. d e m o n p o s societies s e nev er relat e t o t he Th i r d Wo r l d as partners, since part nerThese s e s can d " T h i r ship presupposes equals, no mat t er how dif f erent t he equal part ies may be, and d can never be established between parties antagonistic to each other, W o r Thus , "s alv at ion" of the Th i r d Wo r l d by t he direc t or societies can only mean l d , its " dominat ion, whereas in its legit imat e as pirat ion t o independence lies its ut opie d u :m c vision: t ot save ithe director societies in the very act of f reeing itself. a n In t his sense the pedagogy whic h we defend, conceived i n a signicant area of g i the Th i r d World, is itself a 149,41ian pedagogy. By this very fact it is f ull of hope, f t r t o be ut opian is not t o be merely idealis t ic o r imprac t ic al b u t rat her t o i eno " gage in Oenunc iat ion a n d annunc iat ion. O u r p e agogy c annot d o wi t h o u t a vision o f man and of t he world. I t f ormulat es a scientic humanis t c onc ept ion ' w together, i n t he act of analyzing a dehumaniz ing realit y , denounc e i t wh i l e anh nounc ing its transformation in the name of the liberat ion of man. i For this very reason, denunc iat ion and annunc iat ion i n t his ut opian pedagogy c are not meant t o be empty words, but an historic c ominit ment . Denunc iat ion of a h dehumaniz ing s it uat ion today increasingly demands precise scientic understandf i ing of that situation. Likewise, the annunc iat ion of its t rans f ormat ion increasingn ly requires a t heory of t rans f orming action. Howev er, neit her act by itself implies d the t rans f ormat ion of the denounced realit y or the establishment of t hat whic h is s announced. Rat her, as a moment in an his t oric al process, the announc ed realit y is i already present i n t he act o f denunc iat ion and a n n u n c i a t i o n . t 2 1 a t is why the ut opian character of our educ at ional t heory and practice is as Th s permanent as education itself whic h, f or us, is c ult uraUc t ion. I t s t hrus t t o wa r d s ---e denum iat ion and annum ialion cannot be exhausted when t he realit y denounced x today cedes it s plac e t omorrow t o t he realit y prev ious ly announc ed i n t h e dep nunciation. Wh e n educ at ion is n o longer ut opian, i.e., wh e n i t n o longer emr bodies ihe drainat ic unit y of denunc iat ion and annunc iat ion, i t is eit her because e s the f ut ure has no more meaning f or men, or because men are af raid t o risk liv ing s the fut tire as creative overcoming of the present, whic h has become old. i Th e more lik ely ex planat ion is generally t he lat t er. Th a t is why some people o today study all t he possibilities whic h t he f ut ure contains, i n order t o "dpmes t in Rc i l l y u t o p i a n d i m e n s i o n o f demtni ri ati on a n d p l o t l amati on, s ee ' , r o c k K ol ak ows k i , T o i ward a M arx i s t h u m a n i s m (Ne w Y ork : Grov e Press, 1969). n a d20 i

e y

Adult Literacy Process

cate" i t and keep it i n line wit h t he present, will(N is what t hey int end t o maintain. I I there is any anguish in direc t or societies hidden beneath t he cover of t heir cold technology, i t springs f rom t heir desperate det erminat ion t hat t heir met ropolit an status be pteserved i n t he f ut ure. A mo n g t he t hings wi n d ) t h e T h i r d World may learn f rom t he met ropolit an societies t here is t his t hat is f undamental: n o t t o replic at e those societies when its c urrent ut opia becomes actual fact. When we defend such a conception of educationrealistic precisely t o t he extent t hat it is ut opiant hat is, to the extent t hat it denounces what in fact is, and nds t heref ore bet ween denunc iat ion and it s realiz at ion t h e t i me o f it s prax is we are at t empt ing t o f ormulat e a type of educ at ion whic h corresponds t o t he specically h u ma n mode of being, whic h is historical. There is n o annunc iat ion wi t h o u t denunc iat ion, jus t as every d e n u n c i a t i o n ) / generates annunc iat ion. Wi t h o u t t he latter, hope is impos s ible. I n an aut hent ic ut opian vision, hOWn cr, hoping does not mean f olding one's arms and wait ing. Wait ing is only possible when one, lled wi t h hope, seeks t hrough reective action t o achieve t hat announced f ut ure whic h is being born wi t h i n t he denunc iation. Th a t is why there is no genuine hope in those who int end t o mak e t he f ut ure repeat t heir present, nor i n t t h o s e - h have a "domes t ic at ed" not ion of history: t he f ormer because t hey want t o Bot W h ot ime; ethe lat t t because they are certain about a f ut ure they already "k now. " s e stop er h e f opian hope, on t he contrary, is engagement f ul l of risk. Th a t is why t he _dom. u t u r e Ut a s inators, who merely denounce those who denounce t hem, and wh o have not hing s o m e t h i n to announc e b u t t h e pres erv at ion o f t h e status q u o , a n nev er b e u t o p i a n g nor, f or t hat matter, prophet ic . p r e d e t e r 22 ut opian pedagogy of denunc iat ion and annunc iat ion such as ours wi l l hav e mA i n e d . to be an act of k nowing the denounced realit y at the level of alphabet iz at ion and post-alphabetization, whic h are in each case c ult ural action. Th a t is why t here is such emphasis on t he c ont inual problemat iz at ion o f t he learners' ex is t ent ial s it uations as represented i n t he codied images. T h e longer t he problemat iz at ion proceeds, a n d t h e mo r e t h e subjects e n t e r i n t o t h e "essence" o f t h e p r o b lematized object, t he more they are able t o unv eil t his "essence." Th e more they unv eil it , t he more t heir awak ening consciousness deepens, t hus leading t o t he c o n s c i e n t u i a t i o n o f the situation by the poor classes. Th e i r c rit ic al self insertion
" " T h e r i ght, as a conservative force, needs no utopi a: i ts essence is the afrmation o f existing conditionsa fact arid not a utopiaor else the desire to revert t o a state which was once an accomplished fact. T he R i ght strives t o idealize actual conditions, not t o change them . W hat i t needs is fr aud not utopi a." Kolakowski, op. cit., pp. 71-72.

21

int o reality, i.e., t heir conscientization, makes t he t rans f ormat ion of t heir state of apathy int o the ut opian state of denunriat ion and annunc iat ion a v iable project. One mus t not t hink , however, t hat learning t o read and wr i t e precedes "c onscientization," or vice -versa. Conscientization occurs simultaneously wit h the lit eracy or post-literacy process. I t must be so. I n our educational met hod, t he ' w o s ometi hing static o r disconnected f r o m men's ex is t ent ial ex perienc e, b u t a s not r d dimension of t heir thought-language about the world. Th a t is why, when they participate c rit ic ally in analyzing the rst generative words link ed wit h t heir existent ial experience; when t hey focus on t he syllabic f amilies whic h res ult f rom t hat analysis; when they perceive the mechanism of the syllabic c ombinat ions of t heir language, t he learners nally discover, in the various possibilities of c ombinat ion, their o wn words . L i t t l e b y lit t le, as these pos s ibilit ies mu l t i p l y , t h e learners , through mas t ery o f n e w generative words , ex pand b o t h t h e i r v oc abulary a n d t heir capacity f or expression by the dev elopment of t heir creative i ma g i n a t i o n . 2 3 some areas in Chile undergoing agrarian ref orm, die peasants part ic ipat ing In in t h e lit erac y programs wrot e words wi t h t heir t ools on t h e d i r t roads where they were work ing. Th e y composed t he words f r o m t h e s y llabic c ombinat ions they were learning. "Thes e men are sowers of the word, " said Ma r i a Edi Ferreira, a sociologist f r o m t he Santiago t eam work ing in t he I ns t it ut e o f Tr a i n i n g and Research i n Agrarian Ref orm. Indeed, they were not only s owing words, but discussing ideas, and c oining to understand t heir role in the world bet t er and better. We asked one of these "sowers of words , " nis hing t he rs t lev el o f lit erac y classes, why he hadn't learned to read and writ e before the agrarian ref orm. ( " B e f o r e the agrarian ref orm, my f riend, " he said, "I didn' t even t hink . Neit her did my friends." "Why ?" we asked. "Because it wasn't possible. We liv ed under orders. We only had t o c arry out orders. We had not hing to say," he replied emphatically. Th e s imple ans wer of t his peasant is a v ery c lear analysis of "t h e c ult ure o f silence." I n "t he c ult ure of silence," t o exist is oilly_to_live. Th e body carries out orders f rom above. Th i n k i n g is difcult, speaking the word, f orbidden. "Wh e n all this land belonged to one l a t i f u n d i a " said anot her than in t he same conversation, "t here was no reason t o read and writ e. We weren't responsible f or
.."NV e hav e obs erv ed t h a t t h e s tudy o f the c reati v e aspect o f l anguage us e dev elops t h e as s ump-

tion that l i ngui sti c and m ental pimess ar e vi i tual l y identical, language pr ovi di ng t he pr i m ar y
means f o r ee ex pans i on o f t h o u g h t a n d feel i ng, as wel l as f o r t h e f u n c t i o n i n g o f c reati v e i m a g i nall011." No t o o Choms k y , Col l us i on n g u i s t l i s (Nevs V o a : I l a rp e t a n d R o w , 1966), ps

22

A d u l t Li t er ac y Pr ocess

anything, I - dif f erent story. Ta k e me, f o r example. I n t h e as ent iant ient o, a h e Inot onlymf or my work lik e o n - ot her men, but also f or t ool repairs. Wh e n 24 a r e s p all the sible b started I c ouldn't read, but I soon realiied that I needed t o read and writ e. You I o s s g a v can't imagine what it was lik e t o go t o Santiago t o buy parts. I c ouldn' t get orie entated. I was af raid o f ev ery t hingaf raid of t he b i g city, o f buy ing t he wrong t h thing, of being ( heated. Now it's all different." e o Observe h o w precisely t his peasant described his f ormer experience as a n i l r literate: his mistrust, his magical (thought logic al) f ear of the world; his t imidit y . d e Andsobserve t he sense of security wit h whic h he repeats, " No w it's all dif f erent . " r a "What did you feel, my f riend, " we asked anot her "s ower of words " on a differn ent occasion, "when you were able to writ e and read y our rst word?" d "I was happy because I discovered I could make words speak," he replied. w Dario Salas report s , e 25 " I t the images n hey used t o express t heir interest at ul satisfaction about bec oming o b literate. Fo r ex ample, 'Bef ore we were blind, n o w t he v eil has f allen f r o m o u r o u r e y c 'I n v e r s eyes'; o came only to learn how to sign my name. I never believed I would be able e d a t i o n s to read, t oo, at my age'; 'Before, letters seemed lik e lit t le p p p e t s . To d a y t hey . i t sayw W something to me, and I can make them talk.' h h "I t is t ouc hing, " continues Salas, "t o observe the delight of the peasants as t he p e a y world o f words opens t o t hem. Sometimes t hey wo u l d say, ' We' re so t i r e d o u r s a n r heads ache, b u t we d o n ' t wa n t t o leav e here wi t h o u t l e a r n i n g t o r ead a n d t s write.' " e 2 w a Th e f o l l o wi n g words were t aped d u r i n g research o n "generat iv e t h e me s . " " e d 27 They are an illiterate's decodication of a codied existential situation. w a e r n " A f t e r t h e d i s a p p ro p ri a ti o n o f l ands i n t h e a g ra ri a n re f o rm i n Ch i l e , t h e peas ants w h o w e re e d salatied wo rk e rs o n t h e l arge l a ti fu n d i a bec ome s t in e thti c h rt h e y re ic e k e v a ri e d assistance f r o m t h e g o v e rn m e n t t i n o u g h t h e A g ra ri a n R e f o r m s w l e s " ( w t r u i s p e ri o d o f "s e t t l e m e n t " (a5entanti ento) prec edes t l i a t o f as s i gni ng l ands t o t h e Corporati on. T h ,r peasants. n hi i s k) ey is n o w c hangi ng. - n e nc t , t 0 pok d u r i g Fi i ftae o rpo fhan i m m edi ateh d i s tri b u e o n e f lands t o th e peasants, T h e A g ra ri a n R e f o rm Co rp o ra t i o n a s e t o in b a v r f ti o wi l' l se u nue, l r e m e n tto ai d t h e peasants. t c onti ia t neVCI thdeSS, y -p y ri o Salas, r fi o d e Da e o beliz arnohfonei onal no Chi l e. Re p o rt t o UNE S CO. Nov ember, 1 0 8 . I n t ro d u c t i o n : P aul o Frei re. t A l g t i m a e l ?" D a r ao Solos refers d e re t os one o f t h e bes t a d u l t educ ati on p ro g ra m s organi z ed b y t h e A g ra rn h s i ian e f m C s i N R e xo rp e orrp o ra t i o n i n Ch i l e , i n s tri c t c ol l aborati on w i t h t h e M i n i s t ry o f E d u c a ti o n a n d ICI RA, Fief t y peas ants rec ei v e b o a rd i n g a n d i n s tru c ti o n s c hol ars hi ps f o r a m o n t h . 'Fi l e c ours es b i c n c i i n co a o g enter s n discussions o f t h e l oc al , regi onal , a n d n a ti o n a l s i tuati ons , aw An b i y s i s o f tl h e obj ec ti v es a n d methodol ogy o f t h e i nv es ti gati on o f generati v e themes l i es i s v anal o v hi ide h , i a outss e td e sd ,p e o f t h i s essay, b u t i s d e a d w i t h i n t h e a u t h o r's %yolk, P edagogy o f t h e o p pr sed. es t n s a
S p r s o d e E i c c o b a s u e v a i

23

t n a a

"You see a house there, sad, as i f it were abandoned, Wh e n y ou see a house wit h a c hild in it , it seems happier. I t gives more joy and peace t o people passing by. Th e f at her of the f amily arrives home f rom work exhausted, worried, bit t er, and his lit t le boy comes t o meet hint wit h a b i g hug, because a lit t le boy is not stiff lik e a b i g person. Th e bolt er already begins t o be happier jus t f r o m seeing his c hildren. Th e n he really enjoys himself. He is mov ed by his son's want ing t o please hint. Th e father becomes more peaceful, and forgets his problems . " Not e once again t he s implic it y of expression, bot h prof ound and elegant , i n the peasant's language. Thes e are t he people considered abs olut ely ignorant by the proponents of the "digestive" concept of literacy. In t 968, an Uruguay an t e a m 8 p u b i Puede), (Se2Yiv e romol 3e s h e d whose contents are tak en f r o m t he t ape rec ordings o f a literacy classes f or urban dwellers. I t s rst edit ion o f t hree t hous and copies was s m a l l sold out in Mont ev ideo in fteen days, as was t he second edit ion. Th e f ollowing b excerpt front this book. o o k , is an Y o u L i v T H E C OLOR O F W A T E R e W ater? W ater? W hat is water used for ? a s "Yes, yes, w e saw i t ( i n t he pi ( l ur e) ." Y o " Oh, m y nati ve village, so far aw ay . . . . " u " D o you r em em ber that village?" C a n stream w her e I gr ew up, called D ead F r i ar , , , you k now , I gr ew u p ther e, a chi l d" T he
hood m ov i ng fr om one pl ace to another t h e col or of the w ater br i ngs back good memories, beauti ful m em or ies," at is the water used for?' ' " I t is used f or washing. W e used i t to wash clothes, and the an go t her e t o dr i nk , a n d w e w ashed oursel% es ther e, t oo, " " D i d you also use the water for dr i nki ng?" "Yes, w hen w e wer e at t he stream and had no other w ater to dr i nk , w e dr ank fr om t he stream. I r em em ber Once i n 19,15 a pl ague o f locusts cam e fr om som ewher e, a n d w e had to sh t hem o u t o f the w ater I was small, b u t I r em em ber t ak i ng out t he locusts l i k e this. w i t h m y tw o hands and I h a d n o othets. A n d I r em em ber how hot t h e w ater was when ther e was a dr ought and t he str eam was alm ost dr y t h e w ater was di r ty, m uddy , and hot, w i th all ki nds of things in i t. But we had to dr i nk it or die of thi r st." i n t he el ds used t o

Th e whole book is lik e this, pleasant in style, wit h great strength of expression

1 4

24

c Adult Literacy Process

of the world of its authors, those anonymous people, "sowers of words," seeking to emerge Irons "the culture of silence." Yes, these ought to be the reading texts for people learning to read and write, anti not "Eva saw the grape," "The bird's wing." " I f you hammer a nail, be careful not to hit your ngers." Intellectualist prejudices and above all class prejudices are responsible f o r the naive and unfounded notions that th e people cannot write their own texts, or that a tape of their conversations is valueless since their conversations are impoverished o f meaning. Comparing what th e "sowers o f words" said in the above references with what is generally written by specialist authors of reading lessons, we ate convinced that only someone with very pronounced lack of taste o r a lamentable scientic incompetency would choose the specialists' texts. Imagine a book written entirely in this simple, poetic, free, language o f the people. a book on which inter-disciplinary teams would collaborate in the sp irit of true dialogue. The role of the teams would be to elaborate specialized sections ot the book in problematic terms. Fo r example, a section on linguistics would deal simply, though not simplistically, with questions fundamental to the learners' critical understanding of language. Let me emphasize again that since one of the important aspects of adult literacy work is the development o f the capacity for expression, the section on linguistics would present themes for the learners to discuss ranging from the increase of vocabulary to questions about communicationincluding the study of synonyms and antonyms, with its analysis of words in the linguistic context, and the use o f metaphor, o f which the people are such masters. Another section might provide the tools for a sociological analysis of the content of the texts. These texts would not, of course, be used for mere mechanical reading, which leaves the readers without any understanding of what is real. Consistent with the nature o f this pedagogy, they would become the object o f analysis in reading seminars. Add to all this the great stimulus it would be fo r those learning to read and write, as well as fo r students on more advanced levels, to know that they were reading and discussing the work ot their own companions.... To undertake such a work, it is necessary to have faith in the people, solidarity with them. I t is necessary to be utopian, in the sense in which we have used the word.

25

Part I I Cultural Action and Conscientization'

The aut hor proceeds t o consider the philos ophic al basis and t he social context of his own t hought . Wi t h specic reference to Lat in Americ a, he discusses the emergence of the masses int o the polit ic al process in t he Th i r d Wo r l d and analyzes the levels of consciousness whic h characterize that emergence. Finally he discusses t he nature and f unc t ion o f a t ruly liberat ing education i n t his period o f his t oric al Iran sition.

Existence in and with the world

It is appropriate at this point to make an explicit and systematic analysis of the concept of conscientization. 1 The starting point fo r such an analysis must be a critical comprehension o f man as a being who exists in and , conscientization w i t h t h e N that it s agent must be a subject (i.e ., a conscious being), conscientization, w o r l d . like education, is specically anti exclusively a human process. It is as conscious beings that men are not only in the world, but with the world, S i n c e t h e b Thi s i s ' par t I I I io f D r c Freire' s "Conscientization: C ul tur al Ac t i on f o r Fr eedom ." t h e a s . c t w o parn o f d hi chi appear ed ii n t h e M ay 1970 issue o f H ER . Tr ansl ated b y Lor etta o t rst ts w 'Slover.n Cop) right 0 1970 by the Center for the Study of Development and Social Change. isio o M assachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. f o r

. 7

,._._____I i Konscientization refers to the process i n w hi ch m en, not as recipients, but as know i ng sub\ and of thei r capacity to transform that reality. See Part I, pp. 21-22.Editorj j e c t s . achieve a deepeni ng awareness both o f the soda- cultur al r eal i ty w hi ch sl opes thei r lives 'Harvard Et/twat/0,1a/ Review V o l . 4o N o . 3 A ugus t 1970. 452-477

; , 4 k .

together with other men. Only men, as "open" beings, are able to achieve the complex operation of simultaneously transforming the world by their action and grasping and expressing the world's reality in their creative language. Men can fu lll the necessary condition o f being with the world because they are able to gain objective distance from it. With o u t this objectication, whereby man also objecties himself, man would be limite d t o being in the world, lacking both self-knowledge and knowledge of the world. Unlike men, animals are simply in the world, incapable of objectifying either themselves o r the world. They live a life without time, properly speaking, submerged in life with no possibility o f emerging from it , adjusted and adhering to reality. Men, on the contrary, who can sever this adherence and transcend ( mere being in the world, add to the life which they have the existence which they make. To exist is thus a mode of life which is proper to the being who is capable o f transforming, o f producing, o f deciding, o f creating, and o f communicating himself. Whereas the being which merely lives is not capable o f reecting upon itself and knowing itself living in the world, the existent subject reects upon his life within th e ve ry domain o f existence, and questions h is relationship t o th e world. His domain of existence is the domain of work, o f history, o f culture, of valuesthe domain in whit h men experience the dialectic between determinism and freedom. If they d id n o t sever th e ir adherence t o the wo rld and emerge front i t as consciousness constituted in the "ad-miration" o f the wo rld as its object, men_ would be merely determinate beings, and i t would be impossible to th in k i n terms of their liberation. Only being wh o can reect upon the fact that they are determined are capable of freeing themselves. Th e ir reectiveness results not just in a vague and uncommitted awareness, b u t i n the exercise o f a profoundly transforming action upon the determining reality. Consciousness o f and action upon reality are, therefore, inseparable constituents o f the whichnmen become beingsao f relation. t ia if o rmin g c t b y tionality, t h e i r 2 B y temporality, and transcendence. 3 m e n ' c h a r a sc t e r i s t i c c r 2 oe n ce i o u t s in e s ns , s c o Educocaa c oma P roc ti c a d o L i b e rd o d e (R i o de J anei ro: Paz e Te rra , 1 0 7 ). a i R It n n t n de s context signies t he capacity o f hum an consciousness t o surpass t he n i thi e a 1 1 c n limitations o f t t objiecti veo he congur ati on. W i t hout t hi s "tr anscendental i ntenti onal i ty," c ont ciousness ah r e

how the table at w at o fo n them. hi ch I w r i te !Units m e onl y because I can transcend i ts lim its, and focus m y w eh i t d e ix i 28 t s s s b t e

C ut t ur aI A c t i o n a n d C ons c i ent i z at i on

distinct from the mere contacts of animals with the world. The animals contacts are a-critical; they do not go beyond the association o f sensory images through experience. They are singular and not plural. Animals do not elaborate goals; they exist at the level of immersion and are thus a-temporal. Engagement and objective distance, understanding reality as object, understanding the signicance o f men's action upon objective reality, creative communication about the object by means of language, p lu ra lity o f responses to a single challengethese varied dimensions testify to the existence o f critical reection in men's relationships with the world. Consciousness is constituted in the dialectic o f man's objectication o f and action upon the world. However, consciousness is never a mere reection of, but a reection upon, material real-11
t

If i t is tru e that consciousness is impossible without the wo rld wh ich constitutes it, it is equally true that this world is impossible i f the world itself in constituting consciousness does not become an object o f its critica l reection. Thus, mechanistic objectivism is incapable o f explaining men and the wo rld since it negates men, as is solipsistic idealism since it negates the world. For mechanistic objectivism, consciousness is merely a "copy" of objective reality. For solipsism, the world is reduced to a capricious creation of consciousness. In - the rst case, consciousness would be unable t o transcend it s conditioning . reality; in the second, insofar as it "creates" reality, it is a p rio ri to reality. I n by either case man is not engaged in transforming reality. That would be impossible in objectivistic terms, because for objectivism, consciousness, the replica or "copy" of reality, is the object of reality, and reality would then be transformed by it s e lf . The solipsistic view is equally incompatible with the concept o f transforming 5 reality, since the transformation of an imaginary reality is an absurdity. Thus in 1 both conceptions of consciousness there can be no true praxis. Praxis is only pos- 1 _,/1 where the objective-subjective dialectic is maintained. sible
" ''Man, a reective animal,' let us say more exactly today, putti ng the accent on the evolutionar y characteristics o f a qual i ty w hi ch signies t he passage fr om a sti l l di ffuse consciousness t o one M sufciently w el l center ed t o be capable o f coinciding w i th i tsel f. M an not onl y ' a bei ng w ho a knows' but ' a bei ng w ho knows he knows.' Possessing consciousness raised t o the pow er of tw o n Do we sufciently feel the radical natur e of the difference?" Pierre Tei l har d de Char din, T he , Appearance of M an, translated by J. M . Cohen ( N ew Yor k: H ar per and R ow , Publishers, 1965), p. 224. a a r Marx rejects the transformation of reality by itself i n one of his Theses on Feuerbach ( I I I ) , Kar l M ar x, Selected W ritings i n Sociology and Social Philosophy, translated by T . B. Bottom or e e (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., i964). pp. 67-68. a In a discussion of men-world relationships dur i ng a "circuit) de cul tur a," a Chilean peasant af4 s o n 29 i n g a n i m a l , '

 Behaviorism also fa ils t o comprehend th e dialectic o f men-world relationships. Under the form called mechanistic behaviorism, men are negated because they are seen as machines. Th e second form, logical behaviorism, also negates men, since it afrms that men's consciousness is "merely an abstraction.''7 Th e process o f conscientization cannot be founded upon any o f these defective explanations o f man-world relationships. Conscientization is viable .crnly_because men's consciousness, although conditioned, can recognize that it is conditioned. This "critical" dimension o f consciousness accounts fo r the goals men assign to their transforming acts upon the world. Because they are able to have goals, men alone are capable o f entertaining the result o f their action even before in itia ting the proposed act iott. They are beings who project:
W e pr esuppose l abor i n a f or m t hat stam ps i t as excl usi vel y hum an. A s pi der c onduc ts oper ati ons t hat r esem ble those o f a weaver , and a bee put s t o sham e m any a n ar c hi tec t in t h e constr ucti on o f her cells. B ut w hat di sti ngui shes t he w or st ar chi tect f r om t he best of the bees is thi s, t hat t he ar chi tect raises his str uctur e i n i m agi nati on befor e he er ects i t ti i n r eality.s

Although bees, as expert "specialists," can identify the ower they need f o r making their honey, they do not vary their specialization. They cannot produce byproducts. Th e ir action upon the world is not accompanied by objectication; i t lacks the critica l re lict tion which characterizes men's tasks. Whereas animals adapt themselves to the worhl to survive, men modify the world in order to bei1 more. I n adapting themselves fo r the sake o f survival, without ends to achieve and choices to make, animals cannot "animalize" the world. "Animalization" o f the wo rld would be intimately linked t o the "animalization" o f animals, and this would presuppose in an a n awareness that they are incomplete, which would engage them in a permanent quest. In fact, however, while they skillfu lly construct their hives and "manufacture" honey, bees remain bees in their contact with the world; they do not become more or less bees. For men, as beings of praxis. to transform the world is to humanize it, even if -

rmed, " I n o w see t h a t t h e re i s n o w i n Id i t h o u t m e n . " W h e n t h e e d u c a t o r as k ed. "S u p p o s e all m e n d i e d , h u t t h e re w e re s ti l l ees , ani mal s , b i rd s , ri v ers , a n d s tars , w o u l d n 't t h i s b e t h e wo rl d ? " "N o . " I:ti di ed th e peas ant. "t h e re woul d be no one to say, thi s is the w o rl d . " Ci tadel Press, 1 0 1 ), I n t ro d i n t i o n .

We r efer t o behaviorism as studi r d i n J ohn Beloll' s T h e Exi.itence o f M i nd ( N ew Yot k :

" K arl M a r x , Ca p i t a / , ti ans l ated b y S amuel M o o re a n d E d w a rd A v e l i n g , e d i t e d b y Fre d e ri c k Engels (Chi c ago: C h a l k s !i s K e t t and (:o m p a n y . 1932), p . t 9 8 . ' " T h e ti g e r does n o t 'de.ti gerl i e i t , ,elf," s a i d O r t e g a 30 y G a s s e t i n

Cult ural Action and Conscientization

making the world human may not yet signify the humanization o f men. I t may sirnply mean impregnating the wo rld with man's curious and inventive presence, imp rin tin g i t wit h the trace o f his works. Th e process o f transforming 1 1 world, which reveals this presence of man, can lead to his humanization as the well as h is dehumanization, t o h is growth o r diminution. These alternatives reveal to man his problematic nature and pose a problem f o r h im, requiring that he choose one path o r the other. Often this very process of transformation ensnares man and his freedom to choose. Nevertheless, because they impregnate the world with their reective presence, only men can humanize or dehumanize: I humanization is their utopia, which they announce in denouncing dehumanizing processes. The reectiveness and nality of me n be.possible if these relationships did not occur in a historical as well as physical context. Withtoiuo critica li reection there is no nality, n o r does nality have s r e l a t n s h p s w i outside h uninterrupted temporal series of events. For men there is no t meaning an t h e here relative to a there which is not connected to a now, a before, and an after.; i o r l d , hus men's relationships with the world are per se historical, as are men themTw w No t only do men lmake d history which makes them, b u t they can reo u selves. the n o count the history o f thist mutual making. I n becoming "hominized"") i n th e process of evolution, men become capable of having a biography. Animals, on the contrary, are immersed in a time which belongs not to them, but to men. There is a further fundamental distinction between i t relationships with the world and the animal's contacts with it: only me w o rk . h o r s e , fo r example, lacks what is proper to man, what Ma rx refers 0 in i s example o f the bees: " A t the end of every labor-process, we get a result that already existed in the imagination o f the laborer a t it s commencement."" Actio n with o u t th is < dimension is not work. I n the elds as well as in the circus, the apparent wo rk of horses reects the work of men. Action is work not because o f the greater or lesser physical effort expended i n i t b y the acting organism, b u t because o f the consciousness the subject has o f his own effort, h is possibility o f programming action, o f creating tools and using them t o mediate between himself and the object o f his action, o f having purposes, o f anticipating results. S till more, for action to be work, it must result in signicant products, which while distinct from the active agent, at the same time condition h im and become the object of
"See Tei l har d de Char din, op. cit. " Kar l M ar x. op. cit.

31

grZiWa431.

his re ec t iom work,At h e i r consciousness i s i n t u r n his t oric ally a n d c u l t u r a l l y c ondit ioned 12 s m e throughnt h e "inv ers ion o f prax is . " Ac c ording t o t he qualit y o f t his c ondit iona c t ing, men's consciousness attains various levels in t he context of c ult ural-his t oric al u p reality. W e propos e t o analyze these levels o f consciousness as a f u r t h e r s t ep o n towards unders t anding the process of conscientization. t h e w o Historical c onditioning and levels of consciousness r l To understand the levels of consciousness, we must unders t and c ult ural-his t oric al d e f reality asf a superstructure in relat ion t o an infrastructure. Theref ore, we wi l l t ry to discern, in relat iv e rat her t han absolute terms, t he f undament al characteristics e c t i v e of t he his t oric al-c ult ural (onligurat ion t o whic h such levels correspond. l Our int ent ion is not t o at t empt a study of the origins and his t oric al ev olut ion y , t r of consciousness, b u t t o mak e a concrete int roduc t ory analysis o f t he levels o f a n consciousness in Lat i n Americ an realit y . Th i s does not inv alidat e such a n analys f sis f or rot her areas o f t he Th i r d Wo r l d , n o r f or those areas i n t he metropolises o whic h ident if y themselves wit it the Th i l d World as "areas of silence." m i nWe wi l l rs t s t udy t he his t oric al-c ult ural c on gurat ion wh i c h we hav e c alled g i "t he c ult ure o f silence." Th i s mode o f c ult ure is a s upers t ruc t ural expression wi n d ' c ondit ions a spe( ia I lot m o f consciousness. T h e c ult ure o f silence "ov ert b determines" the inf ras t rut I tire in whic h it originates.'" y Unders t anding the c ult ure of silence is possible only i f it is taken as a t ot alit y t which is itself part of a greater whole. I n t his greater whole we mus t also recogh nize t he c ult ure o r c ult ures wi Mi t det ermine t h e v oic e o f t h e c ult ure o f s ie lence. We do not mean t hat t h e c ult ure of silence is an ent it y created b y t he i metropolis i n specialized laborat ories a n d t rans port ol t o t h e T h i r d Wo r l d . r Neit her is it t rue, howev er, t hat t he t ult ure of silence emerges by spontaneous generation. Th e fact is that t he c ult ure of silence is born i n t he relat ions hip between t he Th i r d Wo r l d and t he met ropolis . " I t is not t he domi nat or wh o constructs a c ult ure and imposes it on t he dominat ed. Th i s c ult ure is t he res ult o f
" T h i s i s p ro p e r t o men's social tel ati ons , w h i t h i m p l y t h e i r rel ati ons hi p t o t h e i r w o rl d . T h a t is w h y t h e t ra d i t i o n a l ari s toc rati c d i r hotomy between m a n u a l w o r k a n d i ntel l ec t oat w o r k i s n o 1 '1 more ti tan a m y t h . A l l wo rk engages t h e whol e m a n as an i ndi v i s i bl e u n i t y . A f a c t o ry h a n d can n o m o re be di v i ded i n t o m anual o r i ntel l ec tual t h a n o u rs i n w i l t i n g thi s essay. T h e o n l y di s . ti ti o s ncw on trh a t c a n b e m a d e h e twe e n thes e h u m s o f w o rk i s t i n ' p re d o m i n a n c e o f t h e k i n d o f k effort d e m a n d e d b y t h v tv otk : n u i s tu l a r-n e rs o u s e f f o rt o r i n te l l e c tu a l e f f o rt . C o n c e rn i n g t h i s poi nt, see A n t o n i o Crams c i , C u l t u ra y L i t e r - "S e e Loui s A l thus s er, P o u r M at ( P a r i s : L i b ra i ri e a n t i s Mas pero, 1965). at:an ( M a d r i d : E d i c i o n e s P C 1 1 1 1 1 C 1 1 1 A 32 . 1 9 6 7 ) ,

Cult ural Action and Conscientization

the s t rut tural relat ions bet ween t h e dominat ed a n d t h e d o mi n a t o r s . "" Th u s , unders t anding t he c ult ure of silence presupposes an analysis o f devemlence as a relat ional phenont enon whic h gives rise t o different ' mi n s of being, of t hink ing, W I of expression, those of t he c ult ure of silence and those of the c ult ure whic h h a s a v oic e. We mus t av oid bot h o f t he pos it ions prev ious ly c rit ic iz ed i n t his essay: o b jectivism, wh i c h leads t o mec hanis m; a n d idealis m, wh i t ! ' leads t o solipsism. Furt her, we mus t guat t l against idealiz ing t he superstructure, dic hot omiz ing i t f rom t he inf ras t ruc t ure. I f we underes t imat e eit her t he superstructure o r inf rastructure i t wi l l be impossiWe t o ex plain t he social s t ruc t ure itself. Social structure i s not an abs t rac t ion; i t exists i n t he dialec t ic bet ween s uper- a n d inf ra-t i structures. Fa i l i n g t o unders t and t h i s dialec t ic , w e w i l l n o t unders t and t h e dialectic of change and permanence as the expression of the social structure. It is t rue t hat inf ras t ruc t ure, created i n t he relat ions by wh i c h t he wo r k o f man t rans f orms t he world, gives rise t o superstructure. B u t i t is also t rue t hat the latter, mediated by men, who introject its myths, t urns upon the inf ras t ruc t urell and "ov erdet ermines " it . I f it were not f or the dy namic of these precarious relationships in whic h men exist and work i n t he world, we c ould speak neit her of social structure, n o r of men, n o r of a human world. Let us ret urn t o t he relat ions hip bet ween t he met ropolit an society a n d t h e dependent society as t he source o f t heir respective ways o f being, t hink ing, and expression. Bot h t he met ropolit an society ant i t he dependent society, t ot alit ies in themselves, are part of a greater whole, t he economic, historical, c ult ural, and polit ic al c ont ex t i n whic h t h e i r mu t u a l relat ions hips evolve. Th o u g h t h e c ontext i n whic h these societies relate t o each ot her is t he same, t he qualit y o f t he relat ions hip is obviously different in each case, being det ermined by the role whic h each plays in the total context of t heir int errelat ion. Th e action of the met ropolitan society upon the dependent society has a directive character, whereas die object society's action, whet her it be response or init iat iv e, has a dependent character. Th e relat ions hips between t he dominat or and t he dominat ed reect t he greater social c ont ex t , ev en wh e n f o r ma l l y pers onal. Suc h relat ions hips i mp l y t h e V intro . the dependent society int rojec t s t he values and l i f e s t y le o f t he met ropolit an society, since t he structure of the lat t er shapes that o f the f ormer. Th i s results i n ecti on b " Jose Luis Fiori, Itt :t letter to the author . Jose Luis Fiori was an assistant t o the author on his (y 1 4 1t ! eh a ne 33 td eo a m m i n i na t e K Id o R A f

the duality of the dependent society, its ambiguity, its being and not being itself, and the ambivalence characteristic o f its long experience o f dependency, both attracted by and rejecting the metropolitan society. The infrastructure o f the depemlent society is shaped b y the director society's will. The resultant superstructure, therefore, reects the inauthenticity of the infrastructure. 'Whereas th e metropolis can absorb it s ideological crises through mechanisms o f economic power and a h ig h ly developed technology, the dependent structure is too weak to support the slightest popular manifestation. This accounts for the frequent rigidity of the dependent structure. _ _ Thedependent society is b y denition a silent society. I t s voice is n o t an authentic voice, b u t merely an echo_of t h e way, the metropolis speaks, the dependent society listens. 15 i c e V The silence of tile object society in relation to the director society is repeated o o f t h e in e t r o p m the relationshipsowithin the i nsociety itself. Its power elites, silent in the l i s object e of v metropolis, silence their own people in turn. On ly when the people e r y face the of a dependent society break out o f the culture o f silence and win th e ir right to: speakonly. that is, when radical structural changes transform the dependent societycan such a society as a whole cease to be silent towards the director society. On the other hand, if a group seizes power through a coup WOO, as in the recent case of Peru, and begins to take nationalist economic and cultural defense IlleaStirCS, its policy creates a new contradiction, with one o f the following consequences. First. the new regime may exceed its own intentions and be obliged to break denitively with the culture of silence both internally and externally. Or, fearing the ascension o f the people, it may retrogress, and re-impose silence on the people. Th ird , the government may sponsor a n e w type o f populism. Stimulated by the rst nationalist measures, the submerged masses would have the illusion_that they were patti( 'paling in the transformations o f their society, when, in fact, they were being shrewdly manipulated. I n Peru, as the milit a ry group which took power in 1 0 8 pursues its political objectives, many of its actions will cause "cracks Ihrough these mu ks, the masses will begin to emerge fro m th e ir silence with - t o a p p e a r i " I t is inter esting t o note how thi s halipetts w i th the churches. T he concept, "mission l ands," n originates i l l the metropolis. For a mission l and t o exist, ther e must be another w hi ch denes i t t h e as such T h e r e is a signicant coincidence between mission-sending nati ons and metropolises as m o s t there is between mission lands and the T h u d W or ld, I t w oul d seem to us that, on t he contrary, all lands m stitute mission Let ritoty to the Clitistian perspective. c l o s e d a r e 34 a s o

Cult ural Ac t ion and Conscientization

int reasingly demanding at I n s o f a r as their demands are met, the masses will tend not tint\ to increase their frequency, but also to alter their nature. Thus, the populist approach will also end u p creating serious contradictions II for the power group. I t 1611 nd itself obliged tith e r to break open the culture of silence or to restore it. That is why it seems to us difcult in Latin America's present historical moment fo r any gOVerililletit to maintain even a relatively aggressive independent policy towards the metropolis while preserving the culture of silence internally. In 1961, ja n io Quadros came t o power in Bra zil i n what was perhaps the greatest electoral victory in the nation's history. Ile attempted to carry out a paradoxical policy o f independence towards the metropolis and control ove r the people. After seven months in ofce, he unexpectedly announced to the nation that he was obliged to renounce the presidency under pressure front the same hidden forces which had driven President Getutio Vargas to commit suicide. And so he made a melancholy exit and headed for London. The Brazilian milit a ry group which overthrew th e Goulart government i n 196.j, picturesquely designating th e ir action a revolution, have followed a coherent course according to our preceding analysis: a consistent policy o f servility towards the metropolis and the violent Unposition of silence upon their own people. A policy of servility towards the' metropolis and rupture of the internal culture of silence would not be viable. Neither would a policy of independence towards the metropolis while maintaining the ( ult tile of silence internally. Latin American societies were established Os closed societies from the time of their conquest by the Spanish and Portuguese, when the culture o f silence took shape. Wit h the exception o f post-revolutionary Cuba, these societies are st ill closed sotleties today." They are dependent sot ieties for whom only the poles of decision o f whit it they are the object have ( hanged a t dilferent historical moments: Portugal. Spain, England, or the United States. Latin American societies are ct _ L r_ s: e t ie s characterized b y a rig id h ie r-1 archical social structure; by the lack of internal markets, since their economy is controlled from the outside; bv the exportation of raw materials and importation of manufactured goods, without a voice in either process: b y a precarious and selective educational system whose schools are an instrument o f maintaining the status quo; b y high percentages of illiteracy and disease, including the naively
Re "closed societies," see: H enr i Bergson, T he T w o Sources of M or ality and Religion, translated by R , A. Andr a and C . Br er eion ( Gar den C i ty, N . Y.: D oubl eday Anc hor Books, 1954): and Kar l Popper , T he Open Society and Its Enemies ( N ew Yor k: H ar per and R ow , Publishers).

77;0::11e,.,

l 'S441s X' , ,,' , 1-Z , s t s , : ,s 1 r, -, 4 4 . .; io

named "tropical diseases" which are really diseases o f underdevelopment and dependence; b y alarming rates of infant mortality; by malnutrition, often with irreparable effects on mental faculties; by a low life expectancy; and by a high rate of crime. There is a mode of consciousness which corresponds to the concrete reality of such dependent societies. I t is a consciousness historically conditioned by the social structures. The principal characteristic of this consciousness, as dependent as the society to whose structure it conforms, is its "quasi-adherence" t o objective reality, o r "quasi-immersion" i n re a lit y. 1 7 have sufcient distance from reality to objectify it in order to know it in a not T h e critical way." a t d o m i n We callethis mode of consciousnes "semi-intransitive."IC d c Semi-intransitive consciousness is typical o f c osed structures. I n its quasi-imo n s c i o u s n e s s mersion in concrete reality, this consciousness fails to perceive many of reality's d o e s challenges, o r perceives them in a distorted way c Its semi-intransitiveness is a kind of obliteration imposed by objective conditions. Because of this obliteration, the only data which the dominated consciousness grasps are the data which lie within the o rb it o f it s lived experience. Th is mode o f consciousness cannot objectify the facts and problematical situations o f daily life. Me n whose consciousness exists at this level o f quasi-immersion lack what we call "structural perception," wh ich shapes and reshapes itself from concrete reality in the ap1 prehension o f facts and problematical situations(Lacking structural perception, men attribute the sources o f such facts and situations in th e ir lives either to some super-reality or to something within themselves; in either case to something outside objective reality. I t is not hard to trace here the origin o f the. fatalistic positions men assume in certain situations. I f the explanation for those situations _ Ilies in a superior power, o r in men's own "natural" incapacity, it is otvous that their action will not be orientated towards transforming reality, but towards those superior beings responsible f o r th e problematical situation, o r towards th a t presumed incapatity. T h e ir a t tion, therefore, has t h e character o f defensive 1 magic o r therapeutic magic. Thus, before harvest time o r sowing, Latin American peasants, and the peasants of the Th ird Wo rld in general, perform magical rites, often o f a syncretistic religious nature. Even when those rites evolve in to cultural traditions, they remain instrumental for a time; the transformation of a
" T hi s m ode of consciousness is still found t o be pr edom inant i n Lati n Am er ican r ur al areas where l ar ge pr opetty hol di ngs ( latifundios) ar e the r ule. T he r ur al areas constitute "closed societies" which m aintain the "cultur e of silence" intact. "See Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Her der and Her der , i n press). " sec Paul o Freire, Educarao como Pratica da Liber dade.

56

Cult ural Ac t ion and Conscientization

magical rite in to an expression o f tradition does not happen suddenly. I t is a ( process involving, once again, the dialectic between objectivity and subjectivity. 20 Under the impact of infrastructural changes which produced the rst "cracks" in Latin American societies, they entered the present stage of historical and cultural transitionsome more intensely than others. In the particular case of Brazil, tills process began wit h the abolition o f slavery at the end o f the nineteenth century. 21 I intensied d u rin g Wo rld Wa r I I , and continued wit h ts and starts to 1929, t a 9c c 4 when the military coup violently returned the nation to silence. e What is important, nevertheless, is that once the cracks in the structure begin l e r a t e to appear, and once societies enter the p e r i o t a n s i t i o n , immediately the rst d movements of emergence of time hitherto submerged and silent masses begin to d manifest themselves. This does not mean, however, that movements towards emeru r automatically break open the culture of silence. In their relationship to the gence imetropolis, transitional societies continue to be silent totalities. Wit h in them, n g however, time phenomenon of the emerging masses forces the power elites to experiW ment with new forms of maintaining the masses in silence, since structural changes o which provoke the emergence of the masses also qualitatively alter their quasir immersed and semi-intransitive consciousness. l The objective datum o f a closed society, one of its structural components, is d silence o f the masses, a silence broken only by occasional, ineffective rebelthe W lions. When this silence coincides with the masses' fatalistic perception of reality, a the power elites which impose silence on th e masses are rarely questioned: r When the closed society begins to crack, however, the new datum becomes the 22 I a i t is essential that modernization of backward structures eject the sources of the magic rites n which ar e an integr al par t of the structures. I f not, while i t may do away w i th the phenom enon L o f magic rites themselves, m oder nization w i l l proceed t o mythologize technology. T he m y th o f . d technology w i l l replace the magical entities w hi ch for m er l y expl ai ned pr oblem atical situatiuns. a Further, the M yth of technology m i ght be seen, not as the substitute for t he ol d forces w hi ch. g thi s case, conti nue t o exist, but as something superior even t o them . Technol ogy w oul d thus in be a projected as all-powerful, beyond all structures, mcessible only to a few privileged men. 2 The abol i ti on o f slavery i n Br azil br ought about t he inver sion o f capi tal i n i nci pi ent i n1 idustries, and sti m ul ated t he r st waves of German, Ital i an, and Japanese i m m i gr ati on t o t he south-central and southern Brazilian states. n not matte precise study of the a " Al though w e havetem pted t o astate that, especially i emergence of black consciousness i n t he United Status, we ar e n souther n areas, ther e ar e divergencies fbetween the younger and older generations which cannot be explained by psychological criteria, tbut r ather by a dialectical under standi ng o f t he process o f t he em er ging consciousness. T h e younger gener ation, less inuenced by fatalism ti tan t he older , m ust eo g i c a l l ydiffer ent fr om the older generation, inot onl yoi n n s t o passive silence, but also qualitatively regard l a s s u m e p o s t i in r r egar d to the methods used by their protest movements. t h e d e p r e s s i o

9g

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Cultural Action and Conscientization

In t h e t rans it ional process, t he predominant ly static character of t he "closed society" gradually yitIds t o a dy namis m in all dimensions of social life. Cont radic tions come t o the surface, prov ok ing conicts in whiL h t he popular consciousness becomes more and more demanding, causing greater .ind greater alarm on the part of t he elites. As the lines of this historical t rans it ion become more sharply etched, illuminat ing t he c ont radic t ions inherent i n a dependent society, groups o f i ntellectuals and students, wh o themselves belong t o t he priv ileged elit e, seek t o become engaged i n social realit y , t ending t o reject i mp o r t e d schemes and prefabricated solutions. Th e arts gradually cease to be the mere expression of the easy life of the afuent bourgeoisie, and begin t o nd t heir ins pirat ion in t he hard lif e of the people. Poets begin t o writ e about more t han t heir lost loves, and even t he theme of lost lov e becomes less maudlin, more objective and ly ric al. Th e y speak now of t he eld h a n d a n d laborer not as abstract a n d met aphy s ic al concepts, but as concrete men wit h concrete liv c s . 23I n t he case o f Braz il, such qualit at iv e changes ma r k e d a l l levels o f creative life. As t he t rans it ional phase intensied, these active groups focused more and more on t heir nat ional realit y i n order t o k now it bet t er and t o create ways of ov erc oming t heir society's state of dependency. Th e t rans it ional phase also generates a n e w style o f polit ic al lif e, since t he old polit ic al models o f t he closed society are n o l o n g e r adequat e wh e r e t h e masses are an emerging his t oric al presence. I n t he closed society, relat ions between t he elit e and t he quasi-immersed people are mediat ed by polit ic al bosses, representing t he v arious elit is t factions. I n Braz il, t h e inv ariably pat ernalis t ic polit ic al bosses are owners n o t only o f t heir lands, b u t als o o f t he s ilent a n d obedient popular masses under t heir control. As rural areas i n Lat i n Americ a at rst were not t ouc hed by t he emergence prov ok ed by t he cracks i n society, they remained predominant ly u n d e r t he c ont rol o f t he polit ic al bos s es . 24 I n by u r b a a n e w k i n d of leadership emerged t o mediat e bet ween t he centers, contrast, n power elit es a n d t h e emerging masses: t h e populis t leaders hip. Th e r e i s one characteristic of populis t leaders hip whic h deserves o u r part ic ular at t ent ion: we 1/ if refer to its manipulat iv e character.
See the excellent study on " T he Role of Poetry in the Mozambican Revolution," Afr ica Today, 16, No. 2 ( Apr i l - M ay In Lati n America, the Mexican, Bolivian, and Cuban revolutions br oke open the closed struc. tures9of r ur al areas. Onl y Cuba, however, succeeded i n m aki ng thi s change per m anent. M exico , 1 6 9 ) . frustrated i ts r evol uti on, anti t he Bolivian r evolutionar y movement was defeated. Nevertheless, the presence of the peasant i n the social l i fe of both Mexico and Bol i vi a is an indisputable fact
as a res ul t o f that i n i t i a l openi ng.

39

1 1 g a t l oi e n a u r l L i u ! spi) JO oopeisliel) e pangs! Al1t133J1 set/ 4i n u s I a l p l aa l - l p p g t u e D sse N m a p a a zt u o u t n i ! 'w p vsp r! l v p v . ) ! ; v 3d o u i o ) o v i v _ I n p g 1 3 3 J a A e p jI n t od e do o 0 s 1 u o ! d e m p o ul m ! n s t tuoi 01 atom put: alum pita) Amu, Xlapos ( I n id tit sassetu .trptdod 3i p J S i n m i lmi )eqma o t o u ;mow pue A t L t s (l3sp31(1 ra d o p sa a o aunt' tis!Wiitipsq) a n t ! ate pile ' O p iu m sdno..ezi o p i 0 S A a u ,S I'Xj.teata ;now ;amnia uoti!sueal X l a p o s e Jo leNdX) stiop.)!pr.nuoa atp asatit I A I 1 J o I sy M o tie wlo j Al!s.inAttin Itatit Aq paitojtuat tio p rtla u r tie u r e A la p o s 0 t i p uoputtaqe leintina ;Nit Xq palleut lip s a ll otim su'll 1 taliattu JO sdno_ai Hews Jo M i r l $ 1 0 litiotue SSOlzawAte Jp21!.1j s ira d d e alatit t v " s d i t o t a.tissalliold Jo SWIPMOPS I i s 1103 leappa a tii .toj luatuotu a.-t!spap LI satqa a il] Jo t ie d Dip Ito ssausnops j M - Io t i l u a l v A i r u e JO IllattIOUI a(!) os(e sI ssausitopstio.) j o Duns a titistie t) 1103 A aAp!uLI 0 J l ) lo 'ai ins ittaptiadap j o snopsuoa atuoaaq / as A p i J o) sassrtu aq) A e m atp saiedald sapapos leuopistiel) tit sassetu leindod atp s sO u e l Ja 33113l3t113 ' O . i Jlasumpi 1 . 5 st)t3t ptiopr(nd!ueut ail) Jo s!sXtrur ra p p a e Jo Xinupssod aq) Sl3o tustindod i tJ f s qustiewated atileitidultau jo aatteistu tie s! I i O n o t it iv aldoad g u m latilati 1Oi( a u t e Lo s u o n pS tiopcdppled tr.Niqod asplaxa o t sieniaalialtu ptie u r 1 I ei1 lituoa 2111e31a du sptia uopae jrapllod jo aiXts tsqudod alit 'paapitj . 0 td sa o s .y ut i a p ptie lsassetu alp uaamtaq 2tiiirtpaul 'sJapeat stt Jo 3101 DApeittd!uutu alp ot p a w u1 q 1 ) )a - a M 1a et n t i g n 't 1 o 0t u a j U . T 10! 3ss J .snon'Buittle :up d o stuns xoprted s ! t i i 10 1 ! 1 0a. o -)Old 1 X i alit 3salriamau Alle:Nxopeled tioprinditieut irip u o d 'spilt:map pue Isatold 1 1l i -AnILUSD1 ! 1! 11:111 lualxo alp ot 1s SSI SO i t pat.)a.up 1frhipq Jo uqvii s p 90 Ss 1 H d r atp a i 531I5110131103 -oad a i I osie )nq '5d o a d &itlitatita alp Jo alamett alp 1,(itto IOU stqutuptu u i i 5e d lr o a tiapt.m It e a p pq o d jo pup/ e , l 1 3 i u l a i t lu p OM) tuaq uaas aq )sittu sasseut alp j o uopeptdutrut-lqiiTtio,71 ) (pdt ( lue I la ft a p u t ) 1 -.tad )ai u i m ! Tt j u O lt u 'aura atil atrinditiew )(Niu(1.) 1! anus ! oo t .joi aAprinduietudpistapral amteinditietti e SI Ji illij ssaaold leapotspl Ja X M a o9 sassettitawl O s !t m s i ail ta 5 alpa sa ssu tu atit jo amasald mau atp a su o d sa t airtthapr till aq ot Nes x i pitma 1p ) uap dpislapeal )stindod S 1 31 !% 1 Jo awls aAptstlet) aAuut u ()) tiwslatutw-istuth o S 3 1 . 1. 1 1 1 '1lj s s ; a A p a wok; passed hialatu ateti J i u t i a q Limo u o leads o ) al(le s a s s e t u .o p apa u d M t s lOu saop t rip 'anuptioa 01 Atapos pasola Xilattuol Nit JO atAIS 1 atp r a u 0a t leaptiodO moue IOU saop aaualis wa g SDSSUIll j o antaWlatua atit O n o q q v alp 9 r t N I ul Se te a L s m On t : st A p 1 1e tp t I t Id a e !a k I d t Mp ' O iu 3 O Jt p A 1 d 1' . A !N p , l )e p e 1 . se i 1a i 1 1 l !A d 1 ! e t 0 q (t t 1 u Ji t l

pl'irl ;mow pue aloul ottioiaq ol Si uopnloAai jo Alw(ossod tir!tity,itio.) atp alopq ,AJtiapual asotim lamod .lepidod-pue pue ite_p!gle ue Si! pattuutlost pue patuj -ap si dna) atp ' a t l s letiop!suell matt alp ti! !uopniatal ot aAetualle jeopaqt -pur alp SUM d1103 Dip acriels palop!suell leuOpo Dill Of uop!stzeil mau u jo l'unituliaq otp svetu pile 'ttop!suell imp o isp i s(lapos r jo 5so3oid oil] sn ip ! At -oApeuluill) ivid,p (itto i y dno) aril _to; suopqmoa Aia_t atil paleal) tppim arAls juDpHod awes otp o i splemialje t iln la i o) lapos u lo j olyssodtu! s! 'ipia,p (17103 e Jo a l p suopepunoj p:)0010ap! atit IJ211011S 3111 )Vp,p (PIO) JO 11011 Ii a t o m -njoAal :sopipcossod hoo!peptio3 omi t p p t pamoipto) ale uop!suell It! sapap -os ue_nionly t i p e l A:)w)pti,tdap j o uop!puoi _tptp alotti pue a lo w Iluptseur -tin it: pettiomaid ,(lastlaull a ltp )yi papoisn) e o l pear ip m Alluipspletpatu maul ptielsiapun o l idttmlie tte Ameai Jo uo!s!A 1r3p3aleq) 17 frICOMM oupstiatt -aldtuopul ale eapatuv u p e l lu 012,p wino., alp n u ll paz!selidtua aq Isom I I
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nops.)1(11.1 s.tniris Jo gawp) air) imm dn i nd ol airload nr!ssnw atil lo) alyssod srm I ! moll stip:Idxa aassnilliv aatt.)ps oil uo!sla,sai s a atdcod a q l i o lettopeulaiu!wit a l2w atii ij odeap! a tp tp mm it! Alioloap! to: sisalontj u lip lo j 0 ; t t o t o o t Atuouoio rulo p e u otps Jo .1aA0 ,h'o!pioni otp uo paseg luatudoratap Jo ANoloapi nu m i t a l ( ol ttopepp!deJal 'In ) stag l o p y (Inoi atp Ati p o lle n ' uop!stlep otp Iptpti u r A u

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ot dn 'ttop(la)xa aim aill til!m) sdno) X-ml!IP" ""!-FaltiV 1 1 put: aJuaio!A 9 E 1 J o alp a t ime j u3trkt aidoad at j o Al!A!ssed alp ineldxa u r) aDual tp!At m 4 1 " jo -!s - oinip),) ;Nil Jo Ho p i: A t t . lp p 1 1 - t 1 o t littolog tp u im stilapeci 'oldoad x i ) t i! lo!Autpq jo sulapud p p SJ1U.% - a . t!e%l, " ! s u p aitialo!A tsi! o aatap alp oi ' f A u jo u o ! ,s- l aasuocisaa spii j m s e n 1 sopeA t t i t t ii t t - 3nu0t10)a 7 y Jo lastsue otp atuo)og sett 7072y 4710i alp 'eapattly u p irr u r D pue .. ) n ) . 1 o : ) atp l A ul a e oot ml a l e j a t l i t u /t/idy (Po) atil s! unp3tptuntoo telpJaiew asolpt tzop Of a e lp i p d r -oAal-aid jo i aleuqp r ti! ami ile d e ale Aatp ipnrvi jo ,A)!plol atti JO LIO!Stiapld la J o -jsu a l df t ) ! o p l m i l 7 t I 1 a uJ a a u a q u m p n i .u Ii ( )111m s ; ) p a p o s s a i p . I . l w p a J silip ! s o m )15 p1 ) 0 l ao 1 : 571110)39 N a s s ri l l !i to!',117MID 3111 J o A u A r i m t e l l ; ), t ! e t t o l p t u o l j l i t u s t i r i t g _ 32117[11111 I s j 1 )v oo d . i ; so i p a p Je o 5 5 pM a n t) p p tu 1n 5 1 1 0 p s i i O 3 7 ; O ti a el_ a t a . a.%nlie 01 aige DJI?Sdr 10.119353111Jo autos A pl i 0 1 a a a t Itp p i m a r i o a d a l p 'g i p % 0 p a 0, o '0popp3111)D 'D!SIIIII '1711!;111) .)11) 'SLIP Ll n 0 0 0 l o . ) q tp r 10 i t 1 ! )1 0 1 3 3 1 1i s o t .( t S s ,3 ol u n 'n l o c l ;1r l d 1 a i l ) l ) r t ) ) ! I o o p S e l!Li ip l i oi o l t i l pm o _ as r t s , :' ( r m m i l o Jo o 1 m o 1 , ( 1) (o ) . ! d ; ) ! 1 ' D I.A c 1 l A 0 1 rt a J e t p 11 0 1 1 T 1 2 1 1 1 1o 1 p lq su 1. p i 11' p g 1 1 0 )1i 2 t ! I' l O S L a W

enterprise replaces the idea of the state monopoly as the basis for developmenC One 27 of the basic requirements for such an ideology is necessarily the silencing of popular sectors and t h e ir consequent removal f ro m th e sphere o f decisionmaking. Popular forces must, therefore, avoid the naive illusion that this transitional stage may afford "openings" which will enable them to reestablish the rhythm of the previous transitional stage, whose political model corresponded to a national populist ideology of development. The "openings" wh ich t h e n e w transitional phase offers have t h e ir o wn semantics. Su(h openings (I() not signify a return to what has been, but a give and take within the play of accommodations demanded by the reigning ideology. Whatever its ideology, the new transitional phase challenges the popular forces to nd a n entirely new way o f proceeding. distinct fro m t h e ir action i n the former period when they were contending with the forces which those coups brought to power. One o f the reasons fo r the (ange is obvious enough. Due to the repression imposed by the coup, the popular forces have to act in silence, and silent action requires a difcult apprenticeship. Further, the popular forces have to search fo r ways to counter the effects of the reactivation of the culture of silence, which historically engendered the dominated consciousness. Under these conditions, what is the possibility o f survival f o r the emerging consciousness which has reached the state o f naive transitivity? Th e answer to this question must be found in a deeper analysis o f the transitional phase in augurated b y the milit a ry coup. Since revolution is still a possibility in th is phase, o u r analysis w i l l focus o n th e dialectical confrontation between th e revolutionary project (or, lamentably, projects) and the new regime.

Cultural action and c ultural rev olution

It would be unnecessary to tel t h e revolutionary groups that they are the antagonistic rout! adiction of the Right. However, it would not be inexpedient to emphasi/e that this antagonism, whit h is born of their opposing purposes. must express itself in a behavior which is equally antagonistic. There ought to be a difference in the praxis of the Right and of revolutionary groups which denes them to the people, making the options of each group explicit. Th is difference between time two group, stems front the utopic lEitUre of the revolutionary groups, and the
Estruuttlas (la (Aim: Pol i i i ta Itiasileir a," i n Revista Civilizacao Brasileira, no. 17. Januar y. 1968. 2 / F e 42 r

Cult ural Ac tion and Con.vcientization

impossibility of the Right to be utopic. This is not an arbitrary distinction, but One which is sufcient to distinguish radically the objectives and forms of action taken by the revolutionary and rightist groups.T m i p u ls r a n x e h tdenunciation o f an unjust reality o and the proclamation of a pre-project, revolutionary leadership cannot: a) denounce reality without knowing reality; b) proclaim a new reality without having a draft project which, although i t emerges i n th e denunciation, becomes a viable project o n ly i n praxis; c) kn o w reality without relying on the people as we ll as on objective facts for the source of its knowledge; d) denounce and proclaim by itself; e) make new myths out o f the denunciation ;Ind annunciationdenunciation and annunciation must be anti-ideological insofar as they result from a scientic knowledge of reality; I) renounce communion with the people, not only during the time between the dialectic of denunciation and annunciation and the concretization of a viable project, but also in the very act of giving that project concrete reality. Thus, revolutionary leadership falls in to internal contradictions which compromise it s purpose, when, victim o f a fatalist concept o f history, i t tries t o domesticate the people mechanically t o a future which the leadership knows a p rio ri, but which it thinks the people are incapable of knowing. I n this case, revolutionary leadership ceases to be utopian and ends u p identied wit h the Right. Th e Rig h t makes no denunciation o r proclamation, except, as we have said, to denounce whoever denounces it and to proclaim its own myths. A true revolutionary project, on the other hand, to which the utopian dimension is natural, is a process in which the people.assume the role of subject in the precarious adventure o f transforming and recreating the world. Th e Rig h t is necessarily - Erich Fromm's terms, the revolutionary utopia is bicAAgic, whereas the use o p p in its rigidity is n o t rilic , as is a revolutionary leadership which has beRight o comedbureaucratic. s e 29Revolutionary utopia tends t o be dynamic rather than static; tends t o lif e t o s u rather than death; to the future as a challenge to man's creativity rather than as c h a Rc radicalization and its opposite, sectarianism, see Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. p r biophilia and necr ophilia, see Erich Fromm, T he H ear t of Al an (New Yor k: H ar per and Row, Publishers). o j e c t , 43 a n d a t t e m p

a repetition of the present: to love as liberation of subjects rather than as pathological possessiveness; t o the emotion o f life rather than cold abstractions; t o living together in harmony rather than gregariousness; to dialogue rather than mutism; to praxis rather titan "law and order"; to men who organize themselves reectively for action rather than men who are organized for passivity; to creative/ and communicative language rather than prescriptive signals; to reective challenges rather than domesticating slogans; and t o values which are lived rather titan myths which are imposed. The Right in its rigidity prefers the (lead to the living; the static to the dynamic; the future as a repetition of the past rather titan as a creative venture; pathologi1 cal forms of love rather than real love; frigid schematization rather than the emotion of living; gregariousness rather than authentic living together; organization men ra t her than me n wh o organize; imposed myths rather tita n incarnated values; directives rather than creative and communicative language; and slogans rather titan challenges. It is indispensable f o r revolutionaries t o witness mo re and mo re t o th e radical dierence which separates them front the rightist elite. I t is not enough to condemn the violence of the right, its aristocratic posture, its myths. Revolutionaries must prove their respect fo r the people, their belief and condence in them, not as a mere strategy hut as an imp licit requirement to being a revolutionary. Th is commitment to the people is ftmdamental a t any given moment, but especially in the transition period created by a coup d'etat. Victimizing the people by its violence, the coup re-imposes, as we have said, the old climate o f the culture of silence. Th e people, standing at the threshhold o f their experience as subjects and participants of society, need signs that will help them recognize who is with them and Nvho is against them. These signs, or witnesses, are given through projects proposed by men in dialectic with the structure. Ea( h project institutes an interacting totality of objectives, methods, procedures, a n d techniqnes. i l i e revolutionary project is distinguished fro n t the rightist project not only by its objectives, but by its total reality. A project's method cannot be dichotomized front its content and objectives, as if methods were neutral a n d equally appropriate f o r liberation o r domination. Such a concept reveals a naive idealism which is satised with the subjective intention of the person who acts. The revolutionary project is engaged in a struggle against oppressive and dehumanizing structures. T o the extent that i t seeks the afrmation o f concrete men as men freeing themselves, any thoughtless concession t o the Oppressor's 44

-oAat apuotptie atp pamtut!Ju! ult:Aan!) 'asuas stip j o aNiallatixa al() ,u! uloq !iittiaq watt mau U jo tun:alp oil tiatu p i a Aol 1! se 'astielaq lnq 'ttortuadsal) Jo Ino IOU riip la n N e auteJaq ati sa it o asolit 01 DJil 0) l i r ) e se tuopaaJj u o p a n p o lit q ue se a iu jirm r11!lian2 poullsof . L sa.q ,suoutuduto) pu t ! o t sisp alp JO OM'S t ll *S13310.1dS111 JO satitiaf o p l u e D -qo r T put! itta tu op 'spotpaut alp uaamIaq sauttototiaq) ateal) p q ) 1!_trAano a ) t i t A t i uopar Iptp Jo a l A2aleits p a t t u e pd p o r l a l a m Aatit Sitia.%3 alanuo) alp paz.qeue a l e Jatpaliol suoutedttio) p u r a ll q )I f . U t Ixa ttio ) te3paloati1 a lp se paAlas I ' m luatudweaua riftuao'd s,eJuAano 'uounttuuto) Jo itlid s awes atp t i t i o t i e d p i l u a t i l uo ulna) ot apie . ( l a n u t p i n Jo dot! isoi I3A311 a ll uop)ajjesq) ssaidxa p q ) h e m tit:!Atiou otp 11! tuatit s a 3 u a la ja l l u a t u a A o t u a q l a t u d i a p i e d s t u e s ra d alp Jo ainpuj alp paJou .(pitelstio) aq a lu m saptalopnithiaJ Jptiatpou Jo; uopfpuo) 3rpstr3(Is11)11! u r SU aAol Ol SOede) atp ot aulisat( fou pq) r i v A a AleuotinioAal a tm U 31110339 ot storm otim auo.(tte Imp tio mmu o ) sit' aAtaitad n l a d 4pl1)s am a lo w atp) '1J0m ispi o a d am alotu a i d o a d at') tiq m anSoluT sa , %! 2 t i t d!tisiapuai a XiettopoloAal ssatiqm tlise a )u lt atp Jo aiduluxa e i t m a t i o atiD t p ! m Apislaprol atit jo ssaulpq alp Aq paq o i z sl! i n t 110A aq a a t i t t s p o a p 'anopqp sup q tu n d s,(emie lot) Op suopqmo) aAppoi u u ) -qo j i Jatpo ; NI t le oditislaprai ,(JeuopttioAal alp put! t iq mo t t l jo 1)e otp Jo 'aidoad atp uaamixt anNo(eq) alp jo Joirtpatti atp t io p e u u o is u u t ;Nod auo 11! a ut ppom p a t u J o i s t i t u i p a a p t i i St mom, alp pup 07itiNO3a1 o l auto) aidoad a lpq'pauuoisttell aq p i l o m u o t io we aAp3atj31 jo ismtu atp l s n / u o p a a p l p u ll a)uaps inotiqm amezitraJun 'ss030ld le )p p a s ! uopoloAall u t ,:uopnloAal puntitia -aq Jo ssa)old a lp t it ,,ttopae lu in t in ) Aiivaiseq Si 1301old AJeuopnio.tal Ala.ta 'apj put! lut!J ;Alt put: dutslaproi t p o q jo s!xeld alp u ! fa 1 lp e t1 !l polold AleuolintoAal alp t q lp tid tu i ' 2 u p e l a q i i Xileapuatrine auole Si tp u lm 'uottednaioald sit u , ssausnopsuo) je a p p ) j o jaAat at(1 01 ssausnopsuo) a.xp 190 -tsurit-oAtuu a mitsu e ittu -Itu a s Jo staAal atit turn; aAotu ot ajdoad l i t u d i a t i E a s t ! -itqlssod auburn pue teal j o aVeturve littp irt stiopiptio) o t uop -Jr Jratp utis hoot s a p r o o p t t i o A a l saqastuatp I F ) put: s3puttop3e31 a lt j I F T I A t s a p ! lau touul!) Aatit tog ttopeymoll).) 01 palqns ate ,(atit saletsuu a va il , rt u 1(0(11 sv a)uatatio) snotladttu III! saAlastuatit Jo !mutua() Isom sapettopniataw 'East' 1/40Jd AlettoputoAal o ) p ( 1 e Jalittel) e s ! spotitato
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1
lutionary utopia as (lid few others. He was one o f the great prophets o f the silent ones o f the Th ird Wo rld . Conversant with man) ,behalf of tall of them., o f h e m h e s In p o Guevara and his witness as a guerrilla, we do not mean to say that k e o n citing revolutionaries elsewhere are obliged to repeat the same witness. What is essential is that they strive t o achieve communion wit h the people as he did, patiently and unceasingly. Communion with the peopleaccessible only to those'L with a utopian vision, in the sense referred to in this essayis one o f the fundamental characteristics o f cultural action f o r ft eedom. Authentic communion implies communication between men, mediated by the world. Only praxis in the context o f communion makes conscientization a viable project. Conscientization is a jo in t project in that it takes place in a man among other me ir, Men united by their action and b y th e ir reection upon that action and upon the, world. Thus men together achieve the state of perceptive clarity which Goldman calls IV "the maximum of potential consciousness" beyond "real consciousness."" - Conscientization is more than a simple prise de conAcience. Wh ile it implies overcoming "false consciousness," a e rco min g , th a t is, a semi-intransitive o r naive transitive state of consciousness, it implies further the critical insertion o f the conscientized person into a demythologized reality. Th is is why conscientizat -ion is an unrealizable project for the Right. The Right is by its nature incapable of being utopian, a n d hence i t cannot develop a f o rm o f cu ltu ra l action which would bring about conscientization. There can be no conscientization o f the people wit h o u tt radical denunciation o f dehumanizing structur6, accompanied by theproclamation o f a new reality to be created by me a )Th e Right cannot unmask itself, nor can it sponsor the means for the people to unmask it more than it is willing to be unmasked. With the increased clarity of the popular consciousness, its own consciousness tends to grow, but this form o f conscientization cannot convert itself in to a praxis leading to the conscientization o f the people. There can be no conscientizatim with o u t denunciation o f unjust strucc tures, )1 timing which cannot be expected o t h e Right. No r can there be popular t only for domination. c o Thus, the two forms of cultural action are antagonistic to each other. Wheren cultural action fo r freedom is characterized by dialogue, and its preeminent as s purpose is to conscientize the people, cultural action fo r domination is opposed c i ' Luc i en Goldm an. T he H um an Science and Phi l m ophy ( London: Jonathan Cape, Ltd., tp69) . e n 46 t i m C'), r , r1 r 1 " 1 / C L
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(6961 ' i x x ( O N : o 3 p o h ) /v1y/1).) l L ; a 1 vAvd a t i a 9 3 p m ! l as i l l i f Iry s p i c y l i o ! ). ) j o s uuoj as atti i l l o g sassn3srp psTAAA/40 l o L l o 2 v p 2 d '.11p1,4 oi nE d 1,,

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denunciation and annunciation. O n the contrary, in th e problematizing and conscientizing cultural action fo r freedom, the annunciation o f a new reality is the historical project proposed for men's achievement. In the face of it semi-intrasitive or naive state of consciousness among the people, conscientization envisages their attaining critical consciousness, or "the maximum of potential consciousness." T h i s objective cannot terminate when t h e a n nunciation becomes concrete. On the contrary, when the annunciation becomes concrete reality, the need becomes even greater fo r critical consciousness among the people, both horizontally and vertically. Thus, cultural action fo r freedom, which characterized the movement which struggled f o r the a ealization o f what was announced, In ust then transform itself into permanent cultural revolution. Before going on to elaborate upon the distinct but essentially related moments of cu ltu ra l action and cu ltu ra l revolution, le t u s summarize o u r preceding points about levels o f consciousness. A n e xp licit relationship has been estab'lished between cultural action fo r freedom, conscientization as its chief enterprise, and the transcendence o f semi-intransitive and naive-transitive states o f consciousness b y critical consciousness. Critica l consciousness is brought about not througla an intellectual effort alone, but through praxisthrough the authentic union o f action and reection. Such reective action cannot be denied to the people. I f i t were, the people would be n o more than activist pawns in th e hands o f a leadership which reserved f o r itself the rig h t o f decisionmaking. The authentic left cannot fail to stimulate the overcoming of the people's false consciousness, on whatever level it exists. just as the Right is incapable of doing so. In order to maintain its power, the Right needs an elite who think for it, assisting it in accomplishing its projects. people in u t i o n a r y R e v o l order to make the revolutionary project a reality, b u t the people in the a d becoming i and more critically conscious. l eprocess ofe r s hin-orep n After the revointionary reality is inaugurated, conscientization continues t o e e d s t indispensible. I teis the instrument fo r ejecting the cultural myths which reh be main i n the people despite the new realit). Further, i t is, aforcecountering the_ bureaucracy, wh it!) dneatens to deaden the revolutionary vision and dominate the people in the very name of their freedom." Finally, conscientization is a defense against ;mother threat, that o f the potential mythication o f the tech" O ne must 1(1(11 t he ut) th that any criticism of necr ophilic bureaucracies which swallow u p revolutionaty pm ( Lunation stiengthens the R i ght. T he opposite i s tr io- . Silence, not criticism, in this case would w i m oni e the 1)10(1;1'11;160n and by a tapi tul dti ol l to the Right.

48

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 :A ..S ol ompal l i o u i l a (p u i v H o o f ...(3apos . ( 1 ! 1 r 1 1 o p e . i . o t rp o s Jo t i o t o a ati l o l .4,1r,e,o1 ( s a2mol6 m03 i u m u a S e u n ti t 1.111)Mi s l ! J o A m p % n o r t o l t o o tulJ uJ II J l lo 9A t io v t i io q u a l ss i s r , (Sl0 l a 1 ! t 1 J . )) , a ) ! ) m o 0 p . . Atulydato II! s.m!plos tisome.mbs bn u d : o lumuu IaAoSJ o uopp ilbd o,)11111 a l t i d alom x a1 m o o l t ( l 1, j o ou a.A.u.ti Ls oumul l E (1.1) ,mp).)ds.).1 .o a ti l J o s l a u o ri p p u t ! s paau s i c oN 11at1 1 ) I I I I o i w e t ) ] m o i t1 n o 10!Attl r o t t o m ol u oim e p o m a p r 1aq s w l l r m , p . m u l o m a 1s ) t p l o o n t ) U ! 31J1 '1)110M. Dip vpuu saApstualp jo 5110 SUO 100 alam l 4 t i l 1 u a 1 l - 3 2 put: .P g t i o p u t a l a s 2tum0uAi jo 'tuA!aa.lad put: 2upar jo alqudra 'sa!po(I snopstio.) IOU alam ttatu J q a l ji u0113u aAm3lla.1auatp Jo utusuaupp 7usug u ' s a ! J u u o p t ilo t a i lo j wimp FM 1 s 1 4 o t i 1 m - ,( 11, ttopuzpuops(io) a tpr u p t i p : '.1aAam0ll l o l l op a 1 s t) r o o i 2 4113 uo ls!stu JDMoqessa ,(ppL Jo asino) atp UI paptillodxa aArti am IppiM StIOSUDI 1 s aI I u 1 A t ifispp ..tod qm Ap ilip o i l latuatS t auAias u ! latpo ,puu l o p a u t u o t jo a u i n j tioAa O31.1111111 1p i put, 2u11uJpsatuop jo ,(um latpouu ,quo JJU Aatp s!siuut, jEtIlJa t p U I Joj x n t -Image r u 'Iamsut, alp lo ll ale suopuial uutunti Jo saniuutpa) a t i , u. g ns,LSoloutpat luoAr op) M0 S i saputiopuloAal u p e j uopsatth alp itiatudoloAap $ l Li n rs ts,uuut tjo 1.1iX1 lu g AirscDJau Apt lott Si Allotoutpa) tutp .5tulalustioD io p , J . k a p r t u 1 o t uopuzwututut p p o m JL I twojsue.11 01 uullact put, 101 isuj spi p A lo i o t tuatuout atp a wl) uutu paSe2ua tpttim ssaaold DA91!3.13 Dip jo asutid m i n i m o t r i m p ssat Jou alotu 2uppou si A20l0utpal 'pama!A Apv.uulD uatu o l pasoddo l Sput, aAoqui a p l o w a p r 511 Diojoutpal jo 2tuA!a3ti0) jo 111111 'uts!puopunt I i Jo pupi Iatpouu J(1 pplom s p n Jtasu , V o l o u t p a l 01 stioptuAap asatp .toj i(upq v u -Isuodsal auto:pine ol apspdtws aq pplom i j 13a10ld n a t p jo sula)uoi d o uatp Jo auop aq isnut luatudolaAap 11,.4010titi3al imp 'IaAamott a q p i q p u n p u n d pue Apspaid atop, utolj slaplo Ino litp.(alua ttuatu 01 sa(uo) d u la tp ri PUPg u o p ta la , i y z ) A l a sp t t i m p pa t p p a u o u a m a q 0 1 S a S C 3 3 X 3 t l a p i l l a * ( I N S I O M J O 0 M 3 . 1 3 A J I 1 i t i a p i m l ltip t!A lp.m j o sapads ii puaistu satuwaq puu lamod 3A91la13 uatp jo suo!s t s ! u 0 1 0 1lJ1la t p jo auo se uatu p a m a i l a d aq s a s u a ) sulp P ilo to u tp u (1-sam1xa 1SZi1 a 1 ' a t 2up1u11p tu:ulpa ,(11auclua uatp laptuti tiatu it(1 papa[oilw 'trutim i(lap 1. i 2 u p t t 1 ! s -os leapSoloutiaa] u Ui 5tuu2!s ruopaaup jo spursnotp 2uotuu ale 4atil 'sapp ; D I ulodowsoa , J C I o v uopunus a lp sazputuapjoici-ap tpplm mo w! ut: sAump: m o p o j I m p o a t -aaup D i a E S S IpplAtl lu p p l a a r l s u 111 asnud a A r t i uatu op 4 a lu x o D a D I E tu op o i lutim sies tI.JUIM junuutu awos s.(ump, Si alaqi !s2upp lsaputlas uopunus :t 1 !' m q u u 0 1 1 d 1p 1 LIOAD inoge l u p p a A u t i lo u o p ..Aatli TaApstuotp I s p if t 0Auti Luop u s a A o o 'Aatp asnuaaq isof JAIl uatu 'pazpuutolnu isotutu Si lo!Artiaq put: palrapcp:Javi st

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rmation o f men. i n cultural revolution, however, this negation occurs simultaneously with the birth of the new culture in the womb of the old. Both cultural action and cultural revolution imp ly _communion between the leaders..and - t h e revolution, however, communion is so rm that the leaders and the people bep e o p one body, checked b y a permanent process o f self-scrutiny." Both come like l e , cultural action and cu ltu ra l a reality, o u i o n - r e v butl in tcultural revolution, science is no longer at the service of dominas tion. r On two points, however, there is no distinction between cultural action fo r a e s o b nculturale u freedomu and revolution. Both are committed to conscientization, and the f d j e c for each is explained by the "dialectic of overdetermination." d necessity t s O We have spoken o f the challenge facing Latin America in this period o f hisr r w s c transition. Wet believe that other areas of the Th ird Wo rld are no excepi e n i torical h c o what we have described, though each w i l l present its own particular tion t o k n o w nuances. I f the paths they follow are to lead to liberation, they cannot bypass la e action fo rgconscientization. Only through such a process can the "maxid cultural r e mum o f potential consciousness" be attained b y the emergent and uncritical e o masses, and the passage fro m submersion in semi-intransitiveness to f u ll emerr ft gence be achieved. I f we have faith in men, we cannot be content with saying a n that they are htnnan persons while doing nothing concrete so that they may exist s such. f as o n n i n g r e a h t i t 7 1 1 1 c u l t ul" Even though these statements On cul tur al r esol uti on can be appl i ed t o an analysis o f t he Chinese cul tur al tcvol ut ion and bcyand, that is not our i ntenti on. W e restrict our study t o a r sketch of the relationship between cultur al revolution and cultur al action, which we propose. a l 52

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