Border Pedagogy for Democratic Practice

Bolt's book combines cultural studies and critical pedagogy at the intersections of history, power, and culture. In her discussion of "border pedagogy," she elaborates on the need to uncover embedded discourses about democracy and what it means in a world of conceptual contradictions. Chief among these is that, as the economic and cultural well-being of the world requires increasing global cooperation, national borders have hardened in the face of perceived cultural and political threats. A prime example is the US, where authorities are constructing a 1000-mile fence along its southern border. Another contradiction is that the world has "flattened" out, requiring widespread cooperation even among nations that are historical enemies. In the context of education and public discourse, Bolt identifies outmoded values of individual capitalism, which she calls the "freedom paradox," where one person's pursuit of happiness seems always to be at the expense of another. Bolt's book asks us to consider whether that is the kind of world in which we want to live and educate our children. She also poses alternatives for thought and action.