The Selected Works of Antonia Darder

The Selected Works of Antonia Darder: On Theory, Politics, and Struggle is a luminous testament to one of the most influential critical pedagogues of our time. With uncompromising brilliance, humility, clarity and fierce compassion, this collection spans four decades of Darder’s revolutionary praxis—linking Freirean pedagogy, biculturalism, decolonial thought, and radical love. Each essay pulses with a commitment to liberation, offering educators, activists, and students not just a vision of justice, but a methodology for achieving it. This is a book that does not simply inform—it awakens, transforms, and dares us to begin again in dark times. -- Henry Giroux, Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University, Canada and author of "The Burden of Conscience", "Teachers as Intellectuals" and "Theory and Resistance In Education"
Antonia Darder must be considered one of the most important scholars in the sometimes excessively masculine core of critical thinkers and educators. For her, being a critical educator has always meant combining, within this movement, a feminist approach, but also, and much more importantly, a tremendous anti-colonial sensibility. As a woman and Puerto Rican by birth, Antonia, like no other before her, has approached Latin American thought and critique of social injustice, marginalization, and exploitation through the thought of one of its greatest representatives: Paulo Freire. Paraphrasing J. Derrida, for her, thinking has always meant saying no, because as the urban group Calle 13 reminded us, "she always says what she thinks, she has always said what she thinks." Her "power of no," as G. Agamben called it, lies in her capacity for criticism and analysis based on her Latin American identity, because for Antonia Darder—quoting the Calle 13 group again—"you can't buy my life. My land is not for sale." In a verse by Julia de Burgos, a distinguished Puerto Rican poet, it is said, "Where am I going? To the point where the soul releases its light into infinity." From there, to infinity, we will always accompany Antonia Darder, and while with Calle 13 once again, "walking, we draw the path." -- José Félix Angulo Rasco, Professor, University of Cádiz, Spain and Member of the UNESCO Chair in Democracy, Global Citizenship, and Transformative Education
This long-awaited resource is indispensable for present and future generations of intellectuals including organic intellectuals involved in praxis to change the world. A true revolutionary offering, caringly curated by Darder’s former students – a labor of love. The collection will prove to be invaluable for all committed to the vision of a more just world, especially in these terrible times. -- Salim Vally, Professor and Research Chair in Community, Adult and Worker Education, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
This book is a must-read to critical educators unwaveringly committed to social justice, cultural democracy, and economic equity. Antonia Darder's courageous intellectual legacy inspires us, at times of rampant capitalism, extreme right impulses, and blatant genocides, to (continue to) struggle and advocate for a more humane humanity. -- Maria Alfredo Moreira, Associate Professor at the Institute of Education, University of Minho, Portugal