Book review: Henry A. Giroux, Race, Politics, and Pandemic Pedagogy: Education in a Time of Crisis

Abstract

Although at different intensities and urgencies in different places, the world is currently navigating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As millions of people have contracted the virus and lost their lives to it, our societal discourse has changed. The way we interact (or not) with others has changed. Where, how, and if we work and go to school has changed. I was surprised in reading Henry A. Giroux’s Race, Politics, and Pandemic Pedagogy: Education in a Time of Crisis. In the bigger picture, Giroux suggests that societal foundations have not really changed, but they need to. Despite being written in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and having a focus on education, this book is not about education in relation to the ongoing battle with the virus per se. Rather, Giroux uses COVID-19 as a jumping-off point, a phenomenon that highlights societal inequalities and violence fostered by the entrenched systemic pandemic of neoliberalism. He prefaces his detailed discussion by stating that ‘the pandemic crisis [. . .] is much more than a medical crisis. At its core, it is both a political and ideological crisis’ (p. xvi). He argues that neoliberalism perpetuates capitalist exploitation and racism under the guise of creating opportunities for people to climb the socioeconomic ladder. More specifically for the American context that Giroux focuses on, he suggests that former US President Trump embodied in his political role the rise of fascist neoliberalism. To put it mildly, Giroux is not a Trump fan. He recalls a great many of Trump’s harmful statements and actions, and shows them as permitted within and even representative of the American political context. These recollections are meant to exemplify how neoliberalism is enacted, and it is an effective tactic but runs the risk of enabling non-American readers to view the highlighted racism, poverty, and sexism as only American problems happening over there. Thankfully, beyond railing against Trump, Giroux shares important messages applicable to global audiences about the ways modern state governments maintain neoliberalism through what he calls ‘pandemic pedagogy’. 1029755 TRE0010.1177/14778785211029755Theory and Research in EducationBook reviews book-review2021