This article explores the impact of the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and White rage on critical consciousness-raising. It argues for a reimagining of our democracy as a practice for collective liberation. This article then outlines a framework for social justice that moves beyond liberalism to self-interrogation, centering historically minoritized…

In this chapter, we provide a snapshot of critical theories with salience for adult education to illuminate their enduring efficacy within the discipline, including critical feminism, queer theory, and race-based critical theories. Critical theories seek to make individual change while dismantling the structures that suppress freedom and…

This article uses a critical analysis of liberal democracy and its ties to a re-emergent fascism to call for a Marxist feminist pedagogy of anti-fascism.

In this chapter, the editor reflects on the contributions of each chapter envisioning what social justice adult education, grounded in critical frameworks for democratic social change and social movement learning, could look like.

In this article, we define and provide some history of "critical media literacy" (CML) in education. We then place critical media literacy in context of our current "post-truth" era. Next, we describe some of the consequences of adults' addiction to two decades of expanding, omnipresent new media to explain why we, like…

In this article, I examine how forms of new media, or social and digital media (SDM), can serve as conduits of participatory democracy while, at the same time, perpetuate the cannibalization of a cornerstone of democracy: public schools. I discuss how this new era of unprecedented access to content creation and dissemination has opened spaces and…

In this article, I discuss the academic field of adult education as it relates to critical media literacy, critical public pedagogy, social and civic activism, and higher education in this era many have labeled "post-truth." I ask readers to reconsider the traditional university tenure process and the academic publishing industry as…

Critical pedagogy as an instructional approach to teaching and learning focuses on democracy, freedom, and the opportunity to challenge oppressive power structures founded upon hegemonic ideologies. This article presents a critical pedagogy approach to support the instruction of adult English language learners. Such an approach should adopt the…

The adult education and civic education movements are not synonymous, but the two were intertwined during the early years of adult education's formation as a field in the United States. This chapter traces the development of adult civic education in the United States, focusing on the 1920s through the 1950s. First, the roots of civic education…

Adult education programs should turn to the deliberative democracy movement in order to help their communities better address the "wicked problems" they face. The authors contend that due to the "wicked" nature of problems in the diverse democracies, communities must develop and sustain their capacity for deliberative democracy and collaborative…

Theme 1 of the "Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning" boldly proclaimed that active citizenship and full participation of all citizens was the necessary foundation for "the creation of a learning society committed to social justice and general well-being" (UNESCO, 1997, p. 4). The "Declaration" advocated that future…

Civic engagement, or the practice of democratic deliberation in adult education and learning, asks that adults use their experiences to cooperatively build solutions to the difficult social, economic, and political problems that affect their lives and communities now and into the future. The articles presented in this issue look at the…

In the United States there is such incredible complacency about both the meaning of democracy and America's position as the great democratic nation that there is very little, if any, public debate on what is meant by democracy and what responsibilities Americans bear as a democratic nation. In response to the editors' growing recognition of the…

Grassroots organizations emerge when groups of people decide to work collectively to form an organization as a way to initiate change. Rather than seeking leadership from established government or corporate organizations or departments, the purpose of the organization, the framework for decision making, and the individuals involved in leadership…

This chapter explores how Mexican immigrants in a small central Texas town understand their roles and/or responsibilities as citizens in a democratic society regardless of their immigration status in the country. The author interviewed two men and four women about what they thought it meant to be civically engaged, and what--if any--they thought…