POPULAR EDUCATION AND RESISTANCE – A GRAMSCIAN REREADING TO BUILD EMANCIPATORY KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

When studying the writings of Antonio Gramsci, it is perceived that his reflection on popular education establishes a direct relationship with the needs of the less favored classes. Its educational conception is not limited to ideological use by the dominant classes but also provides theoretical subsidies so that the subaltern classes can rethink and reconfigure their paths toward emancipation. In this sense, the history of popular education, as the object of this research, can be analyzed from the challenges and tensions between the subaltern and dominant classes. Thus, we question: how can popular education act as an instrument of resistance and emancipation of the subaltern classes in the face of the hegemony imposed by the dominant classes? To conduct this analysis, we based ourselves on the works of Antônio Gramsci (1980; 1981; 1982; 2001) and his interlocutors such as Brandão (2009), Del Roio (2006), Fonseca (2017), Freire (1979; 1980; 1987; 2011) and Schlesener (2016). From the methodological point of view, we adopted a qualitative approach, according to Minayo (2016), combined with the bibliographic research proposed by Gil (1999) and the interpretative understanding based on the perspective of Weber (2009). The results of the research show that popular education acts as an instrument of resistance and emancipation of the subaltern classes by promoting the active participation of popular subjects in the educational process. The dialogical and critical approach allows students to recognize their conditions of subordination and develop strategies to transform them. In addition, popular education strengthens social movements and community organizations, creating spaces for autonomy and struggle against the hegemony imposed by the dominant classes.