Carlos Torres Lectures Begin Today, Book Launch Tomorrow

Carlos Alberto Torres, associate dean for global programs at the Graduate School of Education in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), director of the Paulo Freire Institute at UCLA and president of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies, will be delivering two lectures at AUC, in addition to launching his book, First Freire: Early Writings in Social Justice Education. His first lecture, titled “Citizenship Education: The Dialectics of the Global Local Dialogue for the 21st Century,” will discuss the competing approaches toward understanding globalization and the value of global citizenship education. It will take place on May 11 in Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Hall, room P071, from 4 to 6 pm. In his new book, First Freire: Early Writings in Social Justice Education, Torres analyzes Paulo Freire’s earlier writings from the 1960s and the 1970s, and offers an in-depth look into the formative thinking of Freire prior to his worldwide recognition following the release of his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The book launch will take place on May 12 in Moataz Al Alfi Hall from 4 to 6 pm. Torres's second lecture, titled “Neoliberalism: New Common Sense in Higher Education,” will focus primarily on the failure of neoliberalism as a viable mode of economic development, and the contradictory popularity of it as a "common sense" approach to shaping the role of governmental and educational institutions. It will take place on May 13, in Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Hall, room P071, from 4 to 6 pm. Torres completed his Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Universidad del Salvador in Argentina, then went on to earn two master's degrees, the first in political science from The Latin American School of Social Sciences in Mexico, and the second in international development education from Stanford University. Torres also pursued his PhD at Stanford, in the same field as master's. He then completed his postdoctoral studies in educational foundations from the University of Alberta in Canada. In addition to being the founding director of the Paulo Freire Institute –– which promotes programs and scholarship related to social justice education –– in Brazil (1991), Argentina (2003) and UCLA (2002), Torres was also the former director of the Latin American Center at UCLA and the past president of the Comparative International Education Society. He has served as a visiting professor in universities across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, and his research and teaching pursuits focus on the relationship between culture and power; the interrelationships of economic, political, and cultural spheres; as well as the contradictory power dynamics of social movements and the impact these dynamics have on education. Currently, he is also serving as president of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Torres is an avid author, having published and edited more than 65 books to date, and more than 250 research papers, book chapters and encyclopedia entries. His much-heralded book, co-authored with Raymond Morrow, Social Theory and Education (SUNY Press, 1995), resulted in the development of a political sociology of education. He is also considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Latin American studies. The lectures and book launch are part of the Education for Societal Transformation Forum lecture series, organized by the Graduate School of Education at AUC.