Henry Giroux
Encyclopedia
Henry Giroux, born September 18, 1943, in Providence, Rhode Island
, is an American cultural critic
. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy
in the United States
, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy
, cultural studies
, youth studies
, higher education
, media studies
, and critical theory
.
A high-school social studies teacher in Barrington, Rhode Island
for six years, Giroux has held positions at Boston University
, Miami University
, and Penn State University. In 2005, Giroux began serving as the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University
in Hamilton, Ontario
Giroux has published more than 50 books and over 300 academic articles, and is published widely throughout education and cultural studies literature. Since arriving at McMaster, Giroux has been a featured faculty lecturer, and has published nine books, including his most recent work, The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.
Routledge
named Giroux as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in 2002.
. After teaching high-school social studies in Barrington, Rhode Island
for six years, Giroux earned his doctorate at Carnegie-Mellon in 1977. His first position as a professor was in education at Boston University
, which he held for the next six years. Following that, he became an education professor and renowned scholar in residence at Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio
. While there he also served as the founding Director of the Center for Education and Cultural Studies.
In 1992 he began a 12-year position in the Waterbury Chair Professorship at Penn State University, also serving as the Director of the Waterbury Forum in Education and Cultural Studies. In 2004 Giroux became the Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University
in Hamilton, Ontario
. He currently lives there with his wife, Dr. Susan Searls Giroux.
to Zygmunt Bauman
. He is also an advocate of radical democracy
, vigorously opposing the anti-democratic tendencies of neoliberalism
, militarism
, empire
, religious fundamentalism, and the ongoing attacks against the social state, the social wage, youth, the poor, and public and higher education. Giroux's most recent work focuses on public pedagogy, a term he coined to describe the nature of the spectacle and the new media
, and the political and educational force of global culture. He is also a regular columnist for Truthout and writes for a variety of academic journals and public venues.
While at Miami University
Giroux was named as a Distinguished Scholar. He won the Visiting Distinguished Professor Award for 1987–1988 at the University of Missouri–Kansas City
. Between 1992 and 2004, he held the Waterbury Chair Professorship at Penn State University. He was awarded the Visiting Asa Knowles Chair Professorship by Northeastern University in 1995. He won a Tokyo Metropolitan University
Fellowship for Research in August 1995.
In 1998 Giroux was selected to the Laureate Chapter of Kappa Delta Phi
. He was awarded a Distinguished Visiting Lectureship in art education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
in 1998 and 1999. He was the winner of a Getty Research Institute
Visiting Scholar Award for May–June, 2000. He was selected as a Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor at McMaster University
in 2001.
Giroux was named as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in Fifty Modern Thinkers on Education: From Piaget to the Present as part of Routledge
’s "Key Guides Publication Series" (2002). In 2001 he won the James L. Kinneavy Award for the most outstanding article published in JAC in 2001, which was presented by the Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition at the Conference on College Composition and Communication Chicago in March 2002.
Giroux was selected as the Barstow Visiting Scholar for 2003 at Saginaw Valley State University
. In 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Memorial University of Newfoundland
.
, Giroux has published the following books:
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, is an American cultural critic
Cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy
Critical pedagogy
Critical pedagogy is a philosophy of education described by Henry Giroux as an "educational movement, guided by passion and principle, to help students develop consciousness of freedom, recognize authoritarian tendencies, and connect knowledge to power and the ability to take constructive...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
, cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
, youth studies
Youth studies
Youth studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the development, history, culture, psychology, and politics of youth. The field studies not only specific cultures of young people, but also their relationships, roles and responsibilities throughout the larger societies...
, higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
, media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
, and critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
.
A high-school social studies teacher in Barrington, Rhode Island
Barrington, Rhode Island
Barrington is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,310 at the 2010 census.In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Barrington sixth on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States.-History:...
for six years, Giroux has held positions at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
, and Penn State University. In 2005, Giroux began serving as the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
Giroux has published more than 50 books and over 300 academic articles, and is published widely throughout education and cultural studies literature. Since arriving at McMaster, Giroux has been a featured faculty lecturer, and has published nine books, including his most recent work, The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.
Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
named Giroux as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in 2002.
Biography
Henry Giroux was born in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. After teaching high-school social studies in Barrington, Rhode Island
Barrington, Rhode Island
Barrington is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,310 at the 2010 census.In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Barrington sixth on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States.-History:...
for six years, Giroux earned his doctorate at Carnegie-Mellon in 1977. His first position as a professor was in education at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, which he held for the next six years. Following that, he became an education professor and renowned scholar in residence at Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
in Oxford, Ohio
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...
. While there he also served as the founding Director of the Center for Education and Cultural Studies.
In 1992 he began a 12-year position in the Waterbury Chair Professorship at Penn State University, also serving as the Director of the Waterbury Forum in Education and Cultural Studies. In 2004 Giroux became the Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. He currently lives there with his wife, Dr. Susan Searls Giroux.
Theory
Giroux has been an important contributor to a variety of academic fields, including critical pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, and media studies, among others. His work draws from a number of theoretical traditions extending from Marx to Paulo FreirePaulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
to Zygmunt Bauman
Zygmunt Bauman
Zygmunt Bauman is a Polish sociologist who, since 1971, has resided in England after being driven out of Poland by an anti-Semitic campaign, engineered by the Communist government which he had previously supported...
. He is also an advocate of radical democracy
Radical democracy
Radical democracy as an ideology was articulated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe in their book Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics, written in 1985. They argue that social movements which attempt to create social and political change need a strategy which...
, vigorously opposing the anti-democratic tendencies of neoliberalism
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
, militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
, empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
, religious fundamentalism, and the ongoing attacks against the social state, the social wage, youth, the poor, and public and higher education. Giroux's most recent work focuses on public pedagogy, a term he coined to describe the nature of the spectacle and the new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
, and the political and educational force of global culture. He is also a regular columnist for Truthout and writes for a variety of academic journals and public venues.
Accomplishments
Henry Giroux's writing has won many awards, and is written for a range of public and scholarly sources. Giroux has written more than 40 books; published almost 300 papers; and hundreds of chapters in others' books, articles in magazines, and more. Seven of Giroux's books have been chosen as significant books of the year by the American Educational Studies Association.While at Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
Giroux was named as a Distinguished Scholar. He won the Visiting Distinguished Professor Award for 1987–1988 at the University of Missouri–Kansas City
University of Missouri–Kansas City
The University of Missouri–Kansas City is a public university located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It is a branch of the University of Missouri System. Its main campus is in Kansas City's Rockhill neighborhood east of the Country Club Plaza...
. Between 1992 and 2004, he held the Waterbury Chair Professorship at Penn State University. He was awarded the Visiting Asa Knowles Chair Professorship by Northeastern University in 1995. He won a Tokyo Metropolitan University
Tokyo Metropolitan University
Tokyo Metropolitan University is one of the largest public universities in Japan...
Fellowship for Research in August 1995.
In 1998 Giroux was selected to the Laureate Chapter of Kappa Delta Phi
Kappa Delta Phi
Kappa Delta Phi is a college general men's fraternity that was founded on April 14, 1900 at the Bridgewater Normal School, now known as Bridgewater State University...
. He was awarded a Distinguished Visiting Lectureship in art education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
in 1998 and 1999. He was the winner of a Getty Research Institute
Getty Research Institute
The Getty Research Institute , located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". A program of the J...
Visiting Scholar Award for May–June, 2000. He was selected as a Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in 2001.
Giroux was named as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in Fifty Modern Thinkers on Education: From Piaget to the Present as part of Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
’s "Key Guides Publication Series" (2002). In 2001 he won the James L. Kinneavy Award for the most outstanding article published in JAC in 2001, which was presented by the Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition at the Conference on College Composition and Communication Chicago in March 2002.
Giroux was selected as the Barstow Visiting Scholar for 2003 at Saginaw Valley State University
Saginaw Valley State University
Saginaw Valley State University, commonly known as SVSU, is a state university in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the middle of Michigan's lower peninsula in the Saginaw Valley region. The university is located in Kochville Township, Saginaw County...
. In 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Memorial University of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
Publications by Giroux
In addition to being a co-Editor-in-chief of the Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies published by Taylor and FrancisTaylor and Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom which publishes books and academic journals. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kingdom-based publisher and conference company.- Overview :...
, Giroux has published the following books:
- Ideology, Culture and the Process of Schooling. (1981)
- Theory and Resistance in Education. (1983)
- The Hidden Curriculum and Moral Education: Deception or Discovery?. (with David E. Purpel)(1983)
- Education Under Siege: The Conservative, Liberal, and Radical Debate Over Schooling. (co-authored with Stanley AronowitzStanley AronowitzStanley Aronowitz is professor of sociology, cultural studies, and urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also a veteran political activist and cultural critic and an advocate for organized labor.-Social Text:...
) (1985) - Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life. (1988)
- Teachers as Intellectuals: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Learning. (1988)
- Border Crossings: Cultural Workers and the Politics of Education. (1992)
- Between Borders: Pedagogy and the Politics of Cultural Studies (with Peter McLarenPeter McLarenPeter McLaren is a Professor in the Division of Urban Schooling, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles . He is the author and editor of forty-five books and hundreds of scholarly articles and chapters...
) (1993) - Disturbing Pleasures: Learning Popular Culture. (1994)
- Fugitive Cultures: Race, Violence, and Youth Routledge Publishing. (1996)
- Living dangerously: Multiculturalism and the politics of difference. (1996)
- The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. (1999)
- Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture's War on Children. (2001)
- Breaking In to the Movies: Film and the Culture of Politics. (2002)
- The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear. (2004)
- Terror of Neoliberalism. (2004)
- Against the New Authoritarianism. (2005)
- Beyond the Spectacle of Terrorism: Global Uncertainty and the Challenge of the New Media. (2006)
- America on the Edge: Henry Giroux on Politics, Education, and Culture. (2006)
- The Giroux Reader. (2006)
- Stormy Weather: Katrina and the Politics of Disposability. (2006)
- The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex. (2007)
- Against the Terror of Neoliberalism: Beyond the Politics of Greed. (2008)
- Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability? (2009)
- Politics Beyond Hope: Obama and the Crisis of Youth, Race, and Democracy. (2010)
- The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. 2nd edition (co-authored with Grace Pollock) (2010)
- Hearts of Darkness: Torturing Children in the War on Terror. (2010)
- Zombie Politics in the Age of Casino Capitalism. (2011)
- Education and the Public Sphere: Ideas of Radical Pedagogy. (co-authored with Lech Witkowski) Cracow, Poland: Impuls (2011)
- On Critical Pedagogy. (2011)
- Education and the Crisis of Public Values. (2012)
- Twilight of the Social: Resurgent Publics in the Age of Disposability. (2012)
See also
- critical pedagogy
- Paulo FreirePaulo FreirePaulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
- Roger SimonRoger SimonRoger Simon may refer to:* Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe , solicitor and left wing journalist and political activist* Roger L. Simon , CEO and co-founder of Pajamas Media...
- Joe L. KincheloeJoe L. KincheloeJoe Lyons Kincheloe, , was a professor and Canada Research Chair at the Faculty of Education, McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He wrote more than 45 books, numerous book-chapters, and hundreds of journal articles on issues including critical pedagogy, educational research, urban...
- Stanley AronowitzStanley AronowitzStanley Aronowitz is professor of sociology, cultural studies, and urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also a veteran political activist and cultural critic and an advocate for organized labor.-Social Text:...
- Youth empowermentYouth empowermentYouth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults....
External links
- Henry Giroux's Website
- Reading list at The Freechild Project website
- Biographical details
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgdVCnTTqXAHenry Giroux's brief interview on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
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