The Rhetoric of Ser and Estar in Paulo Freire’s Pedagogia do oprimido

Abstract

In this talk, I’ll discuss the influence that the 1970 Myra Bergman Ramos translation into English of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogia do oprimido has had in the anglophone academic world. Mostly, I’ll point out how this translation’s difficulty with finding semantic equivalents for Freire’s use of ser and estar has often led scholars to misrepresent Freire’s thinking. Drawing on the rhetorical place that the words ser and estar hold in 20^th century Latin American discourse of liberation, I’ll show how a better understanding of Freire’s own use of ser and estar is crucial for understanding Freire’s overall philosophy.

Speaker

Lucas Rossi Corcoran, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Writing Studies, San Diego State University

Field of Teaching and Research: Rhetoric, Latin American Studies

Recent Publications: Rossi Corcoran, Lucas. 2023 “Rethinking an ‘English Only’ Paulo Freire.” enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric Writing and Culture. 34.