The Emergence and Vitality of a Specific Critical Curriculum River

Abstract

The Emergence and Vitality of a Specific Curriculum River unveils and examines in detail the contribution and impact of a particular group of intellectuals in the struggle for a just and relevant curriculum. In doing so, the chapter draws on Vincent Harding’s metaphor “there is a river” to contextualized such a group of intellectuals within a vast and complex multifarious river that since the end of the nineteenth century have been committed to more just education, curriculum, and society. The chapter highlights the work of intellectuals such as Michael Apple, Henry Giroux, Stanley Aronowitz, Peter McLaren, and others, not only placing their matrixes within a broader complex of battles for social and economic justice but also explores their impact in the field and how they frame political economy as a powerful curriculum matrix and introduce a new language to unpack the educational phenomena.