• Bust of Paulo Freire
Attallah College of Educational Studies

» Paulo Freire Democratic Project

The Paulo Freire Democratic Project (PFDP) is a collection of local, regional, and international initiatives based in Chapman University’s Attallah College of Education Studies. These initiatives reflect the political, pedagogical, and ethical imperatives of the great Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, and capture his democratic struggle for social justice. Originally supported by the Jack H. and Paula A. Hassinger Chair in Education, the PFDP began at Chapman’s Attallah College in 1996. It is the living and lasting effect of the inspiration of Paulo Freire upon the hearts, minds, and work of academic scholars and community activists.

Starting with a small group of Chapman professors dedicated to certain core principles concerning education and justice, the project has since grown in numbers. Academic scholars and graduate students from a number of institutions and disciplines, as well as community activists, are part of the project. Through dialogue and action, members re-envision the philosophy of Freire in our contemporary moment. Critical consciousness of injustice and oppression, as well as the material and epistemological forces that perpetuate it in education become the work of the project.


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