Education and the production of space: Political pedagogy, geography, and urban revolution

Henri Lefebvre identified spatial practice as integral to the reproduction of capitalism, and thus as a central concern of revolutionary praxis. In this fresh and innovative book, educational theorist Derek R. Ford deepens and extends Lefebvre's insights by revealing the intimate relationship between education and the production of space. The first in depth synthesis of educational theory, marxist theory, and critical geography, the book enunciates a revolutionary political pedagogy, one that emerges as a break from within--and against--critical pedagogy. This pedagogy is anchored in struggles in and for the urban, or the city as use value. While capitalism has abstracted space and ordered it according to its own needs, resistance endlessly persists. Revolutionary political pedagogy is a way of harnessing onto and organizing this resistance educationally. To illustrate this complex theoretical arrangement, Ford turns to the 2015 Baltimore Rebellion, showing how processes of learning, studying, and teaching can help us produce space differently, in a manner aligned with our needs and desires. Education and the Production of Space generates ideas that teachers, academics, organizers, and activists will find indispensable for understanding and advancing the joyful struggle for a new world. "In Education and the Production of Space, Ford merges critical geography and critical educational theory to explore the role of education in disrupting capitalist relations through community struggle. Part of the new generation of Marxist educational scholars, Ford helps forge a revolutionary political pedagogy consistent for our tumultuous times." --Wayne Au, Associate Professor of Educational Studies, University of Washington Bothell, USA "This book offers a deliberate, provocative and accessible delineation of a revolutionary political pedagogy of space that takes the reader on an electrifying intellectual journey to thoughtfully contemplate the revolutionary discourses of Marxist theory and critical geography even while mapping the limits of critical pedagogy in contemporary educational thought. Rich in both historical and theoretical analyses, Ford deftly brings the reader to the present and to the heart of the revolution--the city of Baltimore--where he shows us how a revolutionary pedagogy of space operating through the triad of learning, teaching and studying offers promising possibilities in the struggle for the right to the city. This book is essential reading for all those invested in asking the seemingly simple question: What does a pedagogy oriented towards revolution demand?" --Nirmala Erevelles, Professor of Social and Cultural Studies in Education, The University of Alabama "With typical clarity and forcefulness, Derek Ford makes a compelling case that it is high time critical pedagogy be replaced by pointed, militant, revolutionary pedagogy. Revolutionary pedagogy, Ford convincingly argues, has to be pedagogy in, about, and especially for space. Drawing inspiration from radical geographers and reformulating what it means to learn, study, and teach, Ford makes the case that militant pedagogues must and will be on the front lines of the coming urban revolution. You won’t agree with all Ford writes in Education and the Production of Space--if you do, you’ve missed his point entirely about what studying is good for--but you will be impressed with how he weaves together a remade, radical pedagogic theory with spatial theory to show how both together are necessary weapons in the global class war." --Don Mitchell, Professor of Cultural Geography at Uppsala University, Sweden "Derek R. Ford, a bold an innovative voice in education and emerging social movements, charts new territory here in his announced break with the tradition of critical pedagogy and his exploration of ‘revolutionary political pedagogy.’ Ford's scholarly contribution jumps forward from the real spaces that serve as the front lines of intensifying class conflicts in the streets of urban centers in the very heartland of imperialism." - Brian Becker, National Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) "Education and the Production of Space is a courageous work by a promising young writer... Ford’s at once scholarly and iconoclastic book heralds a promising academic future." - Sue Middleton, Antipode