The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire is among most the influential educational thinkers of the late 20^th century. Born in Recife, Brazil, on September 19, 1921, Freire died of heart failure in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 2, 1997. After a brief career as a lawyer, he taught Portuguese in secondary schools from 1941-1947. He subsequently became active in adult education and workers' training, and became the first Director of the Department of Cultural Extension of the University of Recife (1961-1964).

Freire quickly gained international recognition for his experiences in literacy training in Northeastern Brazil. Following the military coup d'etat of 1964, he was jailed by the new government and eventually forced into a political exile that lasted fifteen-years.

In 1969 he was a visiting scholar at Harvard University and then moved to Geneva, Switzerland where he assumed the role of special educational adviser to the World Congress of Churches. Hereturned to Brazil in 1979.

Freire's most well known work is Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). Throughout this and subsequent books, he argues for system of education that emphasizes learning as an act of culture and freedom. He is most well known for concepts such as  "Banking" Education, in which passive learners have pre-selected knowledge deposited in their minds; "Conscientization", a process by which the learner advances towards critical consciousness; the "Culture of Silence", in which dominated individuals lose the means by which to critically respond to the culture that is forced on them by a dominant culture. Other important concepts developed by Freire include: "Dialectic", "Empowerment", "Generative Themes/Words", "Humanization", "Liberatory Education", "Mystification", "Praxis", " Problematization", and "Transformation of the World".

For a glossary of Freireian terms visit Tom Heaney's site:

Issues in Freirean Pedagogy http://nlu.nl.edu/ace/Resources/Documents/FreireIssues.html#conscientization

Other useful web sites include:

Paulo Freire                                                                      http://nlu.nl.edu/ace/Resources/Freire.html

Paulo Freire: A Homage                                                                 http://nlu.nl.edu/ace/Homage.html

Paulo Freire                                                                                                  http://www.paulofreire.org/

Those reading Freire for the first time will find a good place to begin is *Pedagogy of the oppressed (1970) and **Cultural action for freedom (1970).

Works by Paulo Freire

*Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the oppressed. [New York]: Herder and Herder, 1970.

**Freire, Paulo. Cultural action for freedom The Harvard educational review. Monograph series, no. 1. [Cambridge]: Harvard educational review, 1970.

Freire, Paulo. Cultural action for freedom Penguin education. Harmondsworth,: Penguin, 1972.

Freire, Paulo. Education for critical consciousness. [1st American ] ed. A Continuum book. New York,: Seabury Press, 1973.

Freire, Paulo. Education, the practice of freedom. London: Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, 1976.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy in process : the letters to Guinea-Bissau A Continuum book. New York: Seabury Press, 1978.

Freire, Paulo. A day with Paulo Freire . Delhi: I.S.P.C.K., 1980.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy in process : the letters to Guinea-Bissau. New York: Continuum, 1983.

Freire, Paulo. The politics of education : culture, power, and liberation. South Hadley, Mass.: Bergin & Garvey, 1985.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1986.

Freire, Paulo, and Donaldo P. Macedo. Literacy : reading the word & the world Critical studies in education series. South Hadley, Mass.: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, 1987.

Freire, Paulo, and Antonio Faundez. Learning to question : a pedagogy of liberation. New York: Continuum, 1989.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the city. New York: Continuum, 1993.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New rev. 20th-Anniversary ed. New York: Continuum, 1993.

Freire, Paulo, and Ana Maria Araújo Freire. Pedagogy of hope : reliving Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1994.

Freire, Paulo, and Donaldo P. Macedo. Letters to Cristina : reflections on my life and work. New York: Routledge, 1996.

Freire, Paulo. Mentoring the mentor : a critical dialogue with Paulo Freire Counterpoints, vol. 60. New York: P. Lang, 1997.

Freire, Paulo, and Ana Maria Araújo Freire. Pedagogy of the heart. New York: Continuum, 1997.

Freire, Paulo. Teachers as cultural workers : letters to those who dare teach The edge, critical studies in educational theory. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1998.

Freire, Paulo. Politics and education UCLA Latin American studies ; v. 83. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, 1998.

Freire, Paulo, Ana Maria Araújo Freire, and Donaldo P. Macedo. The Paulo Freire reader. New York: Continuum, 1998.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of freedom : ethics, democracy, and civic courage Critical perspectives series. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1998.

Works About Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire "Keyhole" series ; 1. Washington: Division for Latin America USCC.

Alschuler, Alfred S. School discipline : a socially literate solution. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Brown, Cynthia Stokes. Literacy in 30 hours : Paulo Freire's process in North East Brazil. London: Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, 1975.

Coben, Diana. Radical heroes : Gramsci, Freire, and the politics of adult education Garland reference library of social science ; vol. 1006. Studies in the history of education ; vol. 6. New York: Garland Pub., 1998.

Collins, Denis E. Paulo Freire, his life, works, and thought A Deus book. New York: Paulist Press, 1977.

Dorvlo, Leonard Kwami Tabernacle. Adult literacy teaching in Ghana : adapting the Freirean approach and technique. Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1993.

Elias, John L. Conscientization and deschooling : Freire's and Illich's proposals for reshaping society. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976.

Elias, John L. Paulo Freire : pedagogue of liberation . Original ed. Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Pub. Co., 1994.

Escobar, Miguel. Paulo Freire on higher education : a dialogue at the National University of Mexico SUNY series, Teacher empowerment and school reform. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.

Gadotti, Moacir. Reading Paulo Freire : his life and work SUNY series, teacher empowerment and school reform. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.

Grabowski, Stanley M. Paulo Freire: a revolutionary dilemma for the adult educator , ed. University Syracuse and Education Publications in Continuing. [Syracuse, N.Y.]: Syracuse University Publications in Continuing Education, 1972.

Horton, Myles, Brenda Bell, John Gaventa, and John Marshall Peters. We make the road by walking : conversations on education and social change. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.

Kallenberg, A. G., C. P. Epskamp, and M. Rutjes. Paulo Freire, a bibliography. 3d rev. / ed. Bibliography - Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries ; nr. 1. The Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries, 1979.

Mackie, Robert. Literacy and revolution : the pedagogy of Paulo Freire Pluto ideas in progress. London: Pluto Press, 1980.

Mackie, Robert. Literacy and revolution, the pedagogy of Paulo Freire. New York: Continuum, 1981.

Mayo, Peter. Gramsci, Freire, and adult education : possibilities for transformative action. London ; New York: Zed Books, 1998.

McLaren, Peter, and Peter Leonard. Paulo Freire : a critical encounter . London ; New York: Routledge, 1993.

McLaren, Peter, and Colin Lankshear. Politics of liberation : paths from Freire. London ; New York: Routledge, 1994.

Moyana, Toby Tafirenyika. Education, liberation, and the creative act. Harare, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Pub. House, 1989.

Mungazi, Dickson A. Colonial policy and conflict in Zimbabwe : a study of cultures in collision, 1890-1979 . New York: Crane Russak, 1992.

Musgrave, P. W., Richard Joseph Wheeler Selleck, and Monash University. Alternative schools. Sydney ; New York: J. Wiley, 1975.

Nogueira, Adriano, and João Wanderley Geraldi. Paulo Freire : trabalho, comentário, reflexão. Petrópolis: Vozes, 1990.

O'Cadiz, Maria Pilar, Pia Wong, and Carlos Alberto Torres. Education and democracy : Paulo Freire, social movements, and educational reform in São Paulo. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1998.

Paiva, Vanilda Pereira. Paulo Freire e o nacionalismo-desenvolvimentista Coleção Educação e transformação ; v. 2. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Civilização Brasileira : Edições UFC, 1980.

Perry, Patricia H. A composition of consciousness : roads of reflection from Freire and Elbow Counterpoints ; v. 101. New York: P. Lang, 1999.

Ram, Geeta. Adult education, literacy to liberation. [New Delhi]: Anmol Publications, 1991.

Ruiz Olabuénaga, J. Ignacio, Pedro Morales, and Manuel Marroquín. Paulo Freire, concientización y andragogía Biblioteca del educador contemporáneo : Serie menor ; v. 199. Buenos Aires: Editorial Paidós, 1975.

Schipani, Daniel S. Conscientization and creativity : Paulo Freire and Christian education. Lanham: University Press of America, 1984.

Shor, Ira, and Paulo Freire. A pedagogy for liberation : dialogues on transforming education . South Hadley, Mass.: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, 1987.

Shor, Ira. Freire for the classroom : a sourcebook for liberatory teaching. 1st. ed. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1987.

Shor, Ira, and Caroline Pari. Critical literacy in action : writing words, changing worlds. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1999.

Taylor, Paul V. The texts of Paulo Freire . Buckingham ; Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1993.

Link to TAL 602