I imagine that most people with a knowledge of critical theory will have encountered it while studying at university. My earliest recollection of the word ‘critical’, beyond the fault-finding meaning we tend to learn first, was while studying A’ Level English Literature. I remember agonising over assignment titles like ‘critical analysis’ and ‘reflective critique’, trying to figure out exactly what my teachers wanted from me. This was the late 90s, when Googling wasn’t quite the world at your fingertips it is now, so I resorted to a dictionary! Then, just when I thought I’d got a handle on “the other” type of critical, going to university opened the doors to a whole world of critical discourse and cultural theory. I started to see the world from different perspectives, within unfamiliar, sometimes conflicting, narratives. And now, as a higher education professional, critical pedagogy, design and praxis are the reflective lenses and frames I use to explore my methods and purpose. Some might wince at how fluffy or perhaps even ostentatious that might sound, particularly in a climate of frameworks, best practices, and standards. But, despite the increasingly corporate culture within higher education, there are new pockets and growing networks of critical adventurers emerging all the time.
Sean Michael Morris and Jesse Stommel (2018, p3) express the broader meaning of critical, across several registers:
– Critical, as in mission-critical, essential;
– Critical, as in literary criticism and critique, providing definitions and interpretation;
– Critical, as in reflective and nuanced thinking about a subject;
– Critical, as in criticizing institutional, corporate, or societal impediments to learning;
– Critical Pedagogy, as a disciplinary approach, which inflects (and is inflected by) each of these other meanings.
For many higher education staff, taking time to engage in meaningful professional reflection is a luxury they can barely afford. But as the teaching environment becomes increasingly pressurised and less and less recognisable, compared to what they’d imagined when they started out, the critical community is starting to be recognised as a safe and legitimate academic space to share concerns; a reassurance that they are not alone and all is not lost… just yet. Critical discourses are connecting like-minded professionals across the globe, as they attempt to rediscover humanity in a climate of dehumanizing practices and contexts.
My blog isn’t just about higher education and critical pedagogy, however. There are other areas of my life that have benefited from a critical viewpoint and approach. Questioning assumptions, challenging the status quo, and critical reflection has been fundamental to improving my physical and mental health, and my family’s quality of life.
Critical praxis compels us to interrogate what we think we know, scrutinise our motives, and assume accountability for the impact we have on others, ourselves and wider society. I have found that not only is it critical that we do this within education, but also in our workplaces, in taking care of our physical and mental health, and in making lifestyle decisions that are good for humanity and the planet.
References
Morris, S.M. and Stommel, J. (2018) An Urgency of Teachers: the Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy Hybrid Pedagogy Inc
