Antonia Darder
Encyclopedia
Antonia Darder, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized scholar, artist, poet, activist, and public intellectual. Dr. Darder holds the Leavey Presidential Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Leadership in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University
. She also is Professor Emerita of Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
.
where she earned a degree in nursing. She later attended Cal State Los Angeles for her bachelor's in Rehabilitation Counseling and received a master's degree from Pacific Oaks College
in Human Development
. In 1989, she received her doctorate in Education from Claremont Graduate University
.
post-war migration when more than 500,000 Puerto Ricans emigrated
to the United States between 1949-1959.
Raised in poverty in East Los Angeles
, she was a young mother with three children, when she began her studies at Pasadena City College
in 1972. While at PCC, Darder began exploring the realm of cultural differences in U.S. society, as a bilingual peer counselor. Upon completing nursing school, she worked as a pediatric nurse in a hospital and then for the Head Start Program. Her work included developing programs for parents, and providing health education for children and their families. She attended California State University Los Angeles and then Pacific Oaks College
, where she earned a master’s degree in Human Development
with a specialization in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling.
While earning her degree, Darder worked in a variety of settings as a therapist and clinical supervisor for child abuse and domestic violence programs. During this time, she was active working with the Chicano/Latino movement
, focusing on issues of mental health and education in Spanish speaking communities.
From 1982 - 1986, Darder began teaching college seminars that focused on sociopolitical issues and questions of culture, human development, and parenting. In 1986, she joined the faculty at Pacific Oaks where she developed a graduate program in Bicultural Development that was discussed in her first book, Culture and Power in the Classroom.
In the late 80's and early 90’s, Darder studied and worked with renowned Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire
, whose ideas profoundly influenced the direction of her life's work. Her book Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love
focused on Freire’s important contributions to education, particularly from the standpoint of oppressed communities.
From 1993-1996, as a recipient of a Kellogg Foundation
fellowship and participant in the Kellogg International Leadership Program, her research took her to Peru
where she studied the education and culture of indigenous children in the Andes
.
, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, and was recognized as a Distinguished Professor at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
. In 2005, working with graduate students and community members, she established the Liberacion! Radio Collective a public affairs radio program, on WEFT 90.1 Champaign
that examines politics, art, and struggle through the nexus of local/global connections.
In 2011, Dr. Darder was recognized as Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois, where she taught in the Department of Educational Policy Studies from 2003-2011. Today she serves as Presidential Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Leadership in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University.
Dr. Darder's work focuses on comparative studies of racism, political economy, education, and society. Her teaching and research examine issues of inequalities and the politics of social exclusions, as these relate to racism, class inequalities, and gendered relations of power. Her work also explores popular culture and the politics of public pedagogy with respect to critical democratic participation. Her most recent research examines the pervasiveness of oppression within the university, as well as issues directly tied to the body, pedagogy, and inequality.
Fellowship, she has also received the Social Justice in Education Award from the University of New Mexico
, an Outstanding Book of the Year honor from the American Educational Research Association
, and recognition for Outstanding Service to the Latino Community from El Centro de Acción Social, among others.
Although somewhat unorthodox, she often includes poetry in her academic speeches and texts.
. During her visit, Darder experienced such inspiration from her daily afternoon sojourns to the Blue House, that she began painting immediately after returning home from Mexico City. Since then, she has exhibited her work in a variety of venues including Self-Help Graphics and Plaza De La Raza in Los Angeles and continues to create new works.
and Puerto Rican activists, whose music carried a revolutionary message. Later she began learning to play the guitar and with Guido Nuñez del Prado, a Peruvian folk musician, with whom she co-edited an anthology of articles on music of the Andes
, Seminario de Musica de la Region. Writing and performing in English and Spanish, Darder has penned over 20 folksongs of love, struggle, and freedom.
in 1992, as "a significant tool for democratic schooling in the 20th century."As a scholar of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute she authored The Policies and the Promise: The Public Schooling of Latino Children (1993).
Her follow-up book, Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love (Westview, 2001), was named one of the outstanding books in curriculum for 2001-2002 by the American Educational Research Association
. In 2011, A Dissident Voice, Essays on Culture, Pedagogy and Power was released by Peter Lang books. The book is a compilation of 21 of her essays published from 1991 - 2011, along with seven personal poems.
In addition to these books, Dr. Darder co-authored with Rodolfo Torres the book After Race: Racism After Multiculturalism, and was editor of Culture and Difference (Bergin & Garvey, 1995).
She also co-edited Latinos and Education (Routledge, 1996), The Latino Studies Reader: Culture, Economy and Society (Blackwell, 1997), and The Critical Pedagogy Reader (Routledge, 2002/2008). Continuing to provide ongoing perspective in the field, Dr. Darder also served as an Associate Editor and Advisory Board Member for the journal Latino Studies.
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
. She also is Professor Emerita of Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
.
Education
Antonia Darder attended Pasadena City CollegePasadena City College
Pasadena City College is a community college in Pasadena, California, USA, located on Colorado Boulevard. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. PCC was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior...
where she earned a degree in nursing. She later attended Cal State Los Angeles for her bachelor's in Rehabilitation Counseling and received a master's degree from Pacific Oaks College
Pacific Oaks College
Pacific Oaks College is located in Pasadena, California, United States. Pacific Oaks College is a higher education institution that has full & part-time undergraduate and graduate students throughout Pacific Oaks' California campuses as well as online...
in Human Development
Human development (biology)
Human development is the process of growing to maturity. In biological terms, this entails growth from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being.- Biological development:...
. In 1989, she received her doctorate in Education from Claremont Graduate University
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
.
Early life
At age three, her mother brought Darder to the mainland during the Operation BootstrapOperation Bootstrap
For other uses, see Bootstrapping and Bootstrapping .Operation Bootstrap is the name given to the ambitious projects which industrialized Puerto Rico in the mid-20th century.-History:...
post-war migration when more than 500,000 Puerto Ricans emigrated
to the United States between 1949-1959.
Raised in poverty in East Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, she was a young mother with three children, when she began her studies at Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College is a community college in Pasadena, California, USA, located on Colorado Boulevard. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. PCC was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior...
in 1972. While at PCC, Darder began exploring the realm of cultural differences in U.S. society, as a bilingual peer counselor. Upon completing nursing school, she worked as a pediatric nurse in a hospital and then for the Head Start Program. Her work included developing programs for parents, and providing health education for children and their families. She attended California State University Los Angeles and then Pacific Oaks College
Pacific Oaks College
Pacific Oaks College is located in Pasadena, California, United States. Pacific Oaks College is a higher education institution that has full & part-time undergraduate and graduate students throughout Pacific Oaks' California campuses as well as online...
, where she earned a master’s degree in Human Development
Human development (biology)
Human development is the process of growing to maturity. In biological terms, this entails growth from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being.- Biological development:...
with a specialization in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling.
While earning her degree, Darder worked in a variety of settings as a therapist and clinical supervisor for child abuse and domestic violence programs. During this time, she was active working with the Chicano/Latino movement
Chicano Movement
The Chicano Movement of the 1960s, also called the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, also known as El Movimiento, is an extension of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement which began in the 1940s with the stated goal of achieving Mexican American empowerment.-Origins:The Chicano Movement...
, focusing on issues of mental health and education in Spanish speaking communities.
From 1982 - 1986, Darder began teaching college seminars that focused on sociopolitical issues and questions of culture, human development, and parenting. In 1986, she joined the faculty at Pacific Oaks where she developed a graduate program in Bicultural Development that was discussed in her first book, Culture and Power in the Classroom.
In the late 80's and early 90’s, Darder studied and worked with renowned Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
, whose ideas profoundly influenced the direction of her life's work. Her book Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love
focused on Freire’s important contributions to education, particularly from the standpoint of oppressed communities.
From 1993-1996, as a recipient of a Kellogg Foundation
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was founded in June 1930 as the W.K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg. In 1934, Kellogg donated more than $66 million in Kellogg Company stock and other investments to the W.K. Kellogg Trust...
fellowship and participant in the Kellogg International Leadership Program, her research took her to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
where she studied the education and culture of indigenous children in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
.
Recent work
Dr. Darder has taught at California Polytechnic UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, and was recognized as a Distinguished Professor at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
. In 2005, working with graduate students and community members, she established the Liberacion! Radio Collective a public affairs radio program, on WEFT 90.1 Champaign
WEFT
WEFT Champaign 90.1FM is a community radio station in Champaign, Illinois, founded in 1981 and owned by Prairie Air, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation. It has a wide range of programming, including music from nearly every genre, public affairs discussion, theater and arts, and more...
that examines politics, art, and struggle through the nexus of local/global connections.
In 2011, Dr. Darder was recognized as Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois, where she taught in the Department of Educational Policy Studies from 2003-2011. Today she serves as Presidential Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Leadership in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University.
Dr. Darder's work focuses on comparative studies of racism, political economy, education, and society. Her teaching and research examine issues of inequalities and the politics of social exclusions, as these relate to racism, class inequalities, and gendered relations of power. Her work also explores popular culture and the politics of public pedagogy with respect to critical democratic participation. Her most recent research examines the pervasiveness of oppression within the university, as well as issues directly tied to the body, pedagogy, and inequality.
Honors and awards
In addition to her recognition as a distinguished professor, Dr. Darder has received several awards and honors for her community and professional work. Along with a national Kellogg FoundationW. K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was founded in June 1930 as the W.K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg. In 1934, Kellogg donated more than $66 million in Kellogg Company stock and other investments to the W.K. Kellogg Trust...
Fellowship, she has also received the Social Justice in Education Award from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, an Outstanding Book of the Year honor from the American Educational Research Association
American Educational Research Association
The American Educational Research Association, or AERA, was founded in 1916 as a professional organization representing educational researchers in the United States and around the world....
, and recognition for Outstanding Service to the Latino Community from El Centro de Acción Social, among others.
Artistic Endeavors
Poet
In 1983, Darder's first book of poetry, Each Day I Feel More Free was published. For the next 6 years, she frequently presented her poetry at different cultural events. Over the years, her poetry has been published in a variety of venues, including the Boston Journal of Education.Although somewhat unorthodox, she often includes poetry in her academic speeches and texts.
Visual Artist
In 1984, Darder traveled to visit a friend in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City and there discovered the museum La Casa Azul (the Blue House) which was the residence of renown painters Frieda Kahlo and Diego RiveraDiego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
. During her visit, Darder experienced such inspiration from her daily afternoon sojourns to the Blue House, that she began painting immediately after returning home from Mexico City. Since then, she has exhibited her work in a variety of venues including Self-Help Graphics and Plaza De La Raza in Los Angeles and continues to create new works.
Songwriter
Darder first performed and wrote songs in the mid-1980s for Canto Jibaro, a Los Angeles community musical ensemble of ChicanoChicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
and Puerto Rican activists, whose music carried a revolutionary message. Later she began learning to play the guitar and with Guido Nuñez del Prado, a Peruvian folk musician, with whom she co-edited an anthology of articles on music of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, Seminario de Musica de la Region. Writing and performing in English and Spanish, Darder has penned over 20 folksongs of love, struggle, and freedom.
Books
Dr. Darder's first book Culture and Power in the Classroom (Bergin & Garvey) was released in 1991. The book was recognized by The NationThe Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
in 1992, as "a significant tool for democratic schooling in the 20th century."As a scholar of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute she authored The Policies and the Promise: The Public Schooling of Latino Children (1993).
Her follow-up book, Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love (Westview, 2001), was named one of the outstanding books in curriculum for 2001-2002 by the American Educational Research Association
American Educational Research Association
The American Educational Research Association, or AERA, was founded in 1916 as a professional organization representing educational researchers in the United States and around the world....
. In 2011, A Dissident Voice, Essays on Culture, Pedagogy and Power was released by Peter Lang books. The book is a compilation of 21 of her essays published from 1991 - 2011, along with seven personal poems.
In addition to these books, Dr. Darder co-authored with Rodolfo Torres the book After Race: Racism After Multiculturalism, and was editor of Culture and Difference (Bergin & Garvey, 1995).
She also co-edited Latinos and Education (Routledge, 1996), The Latino Studies Reader: Culture, Economy and Society (Blackwell, 1997), and The Critical Pedagogy Reader (Routledge, 2002/2008). Continuing to provide ongoing perspective in the field, Dr. Darder also served as an Associate Editor and Advisory Board Member for the journal Latino Studies.
Film
In 2009, Dr. Darder's documentary, Breaking Silence: The Pervasiveness of Oppression, was awarded the second place prize at the Central Illinois Women’s Film Festival. The film was produced with a team of graduate students and community members involved in the Diversity and Technology for Engaging Communities research team, a study examining issues of power, privilege, and racism on the UIUC campus.News Editorials and Columns
- Darder, A. (2008) "1968/2008: Making Power for Change" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2008) "Pedagogy of the Oppressed Revisited" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2008) "Making Sense of the Iraq War with Boricua Eyes" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2007) "Vernon Bellecourt: A Life of Struggle for Indian Rights" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2007) "UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2007) "Imagining Justice: Politics, Love, and Dissent" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2007) "Elvira Arellano:Inspiring the Immigrant Rights Struggle" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (2006) "Colonized Wombs: Politics of Sterilization" Public I, Urbana, IL
- Darder, A. (1993) "Reflections on El Centro de Accion Social" Star News, Pasadena, CA
- Darder, A. (1987) "Hunger: A Legacy of Colonial System" Star News, Pasadena, CA
- Darder, A. (1987) "Schools Lag Behind People They Serve" Star News, Pasadena, CA
- Darder, A. (1987) "Looking Deep to Find the Roots of Racism" Star News, Pasadena, CA
- Darder, A. (1986) "Minorities and Family Planning" Star News, Pasadena, CA
- Darder, A. (1986) "When Drugs Entered in the Mainstream" Star News, Pasadena, CA.
- Darder, A. (1986) "Freeway Destruction to Minority Communities" Star News, Pasadena, CA.
- Darder, A. (1986) "Minority Leadership" Star News, Pasadena, California.
- Darder, A. (1986) "Bilingual Education: An Old Tradition" Star News, Pasadena, CA.
- Darder, A. (1983) "Fair Community Representation" Star News, Pasadena, CA.
Literary Publications
- Darder, A. (2008) "The Great Mother Wails" Public I (November)
- Darder, A. (2007) "Al Amanecer/At Dawn" Multicultural Education Journal (Spring)
- Darder, A. (1996) "Sobreviviendo: Notes on Poetry and Grief" Women Who Don’t Sell Out L. Fulani (ed.) New York: Carrillo International
- Darder, A. (1993) "rican-woman-madness is just another word for love" The California Sociologist: Culture and Conflict in the Academy G. Romero and L. Arguelles (eds.). Vol. 26.
- Darder, A. (1992) "desenterandote" Si Se Puede M. Baca, et al. (eds.) Special Edition: Dia de la Raza Santa Barbara, California, October
- Darder, A. (1991) "The unexpected reappearance of don quixote" Journal of Education: Crossing Borders, Building Bridges: Bilingualism in the 90’s D. Macedo (ed.). Boston U. Press
- Darder, A. (1991) "of struggle and reflection" Journal of Education, Crossing Borders, Bridging Worlds: Bilingualism in the 90’s (special issue). D. Macedo (ed.). Boston University Press
- Darder, A. (1991) "a bicultural riddle" Journal of Education, Crossing Borders, Bridging Worlds:Bilingualism in the 90’s (special issue), D. Macedo (ed.). Boston University Press
- Darder, A. (1989) "the woman with many hearts" Canto Jibaro Press
- Darder, A. (1985) "i want to feel good" The Southern California Anthology M. McLaughlin and C.Westphal (eds.). Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California
- Darder, A. (1984) "when she reads this i hope she feels the love" The Southern California Anthology J. Woetzel, et al. (eds.) Santa Barbara, CA: Ross-Erickson Publishers
- Darder, A. (1983) "you say you’ve got a program?" Chismearte M. Gamboa and L. Rodriguez (eds.) Los Angeles, CA: Concilio Arte Popular