Sociologist brings to light unpublished writings by Raymond Williams.
A book by a professor at Unicamp discusses the work of the British thinker in adult education.
Sociologist brings to light unpublished writings by Raymond Williams.
A book by a professor at Unicamp discusses the work of the British thinker in adult education.
In the book Raymond Williams and Education , published by Editora da Unicamp, Alexandro Henrique Paixão reveals the contributions of the father of Cultural Studies to the field of education in pursuit of a more democratic society. The work highlights Williams's work at the Workers' Educational Association, a British institution where he taught working-class adults, a central experience in developing some of his ideas about democratic education. Part of this material was found by Paixão in lesson plans and courses, letters, and articles during research for his habilitation thesis.
Paixão holds a degree in Social Sciences from the São Paulo State University (Unesp), a master's degree and a doctorate in Sociology from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a post-doctorate in Literary Theory and History from Unicamp. He is currently a professor of Sociology in the Department of Social Sciences in Education at the Faculty of Education (FE) of Unicamp. In the following interview, the author discusses the motivations behind the work and shares some of the contributions of Williams's thought to the maintenance of democracy today.
Unicamp Journal – What were the main motivations for choosing the topics covered in the book?
Alexandro Passion – This book is the result of a habilitation thesis defended at the Faculty of Education of Unicamp in November 2023. It is the fruit of ten years of research, dedicated to the study of Raymond Williams' [1921–1988] unpublished writings on education, largely funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation [FAPESP]. One of my first achievements was finding this material in the Richard Burton Archives at Swansea University, Wales, in 2015. This motivated me to begin organizing, translating, and analyzing these primary sources, in order to present a part of Williams' intellectual production that is still unknown not only to the general public, but also to educators, sociologists, and critics.
Unicamp Journal – How does this work contribute to expanding studies on Williams's work and its relationship to education?
Alexandro Passion – Williams' relationship with education, especially adult education, remains a virtually unexplored topic in Portuguese. While there are other works on the subject in English and Spanish, in Portuguese we only had a few articles, without a book that systematized the topic. This means we are presenting an original work on education from the author's perspective. His pedagogical project consisted of equipping people with common meanings and the skills necessary to live and develop in society. According to him, the ignorance of any human being diminishes us, and the empowerment of all broadens our collective horizons.
Unicamp Journal – What is the importance of Williams' perspective for current debates on education and democracy?
Alexandro Passion The central theme of the book is the relationship between education and democracy, one of the great impasses of both Williams' time and our own. Although he doesn't address Brazil, since his context was different, his reflections on the need for a more educated and participatory society are crucial. For Williams, education is not training for employment, but a process of forming conscious, active, and useful citizens, as he deeply believed in democracy. A tutor in adult education and later a university professor at Cambridge, he advocated for popular education. For him, an effective democratic educational process is one that offers, first, immediate educational means – such as developed speaking, writing, and reading skills – and then a complete humanistic and specialized education.
Unicamp Journal – What is the role of education in our society, especially in the face of contemporary challenges such as social media and artificial intelligence?
Alexandro Passion – It is necessary to rethink the 21st-century curriculum, especially in light of new technologies. However, the critical pedagogical project remains the same: to offer a humanistic education for all. We are living through a time of great expansion of communication technologies and, at the same time, we are discovering their contradictions. In Williams' time, radio and television represented similar cultural challenges, as they were segregating communication institutions structured on private ownership. He advocated for state participation and understood communication not as a lucrative exchange of information, but as a process involving high-level human and technological instruction – after all, communication is education. Otherwise, it needs to be rethought.
Unicamp Journal – How can your book contribute to a better reception of Williams' work in Brazil?
Alexandro Passion – Williams' advocacy for popular education, his teaching method based on "discussion," and the themes he addressed in his classes—such as culture, society, art, cinema, technology, and ecology—served as the basis for the production of fundamental works, such as culture and society, The countryside and the city e Communications [This one, unpublished in Brazil]. This means that the reader will find, in the book, the references that support both Williams' intellectual project in cultural studies and his political project, called "the long democratic revolution." I believe it is no longer possible to read culture and society, his major work, without taking into account his writings on education.
TitleRaymond Williams and Education
AuthorAlexandro Henrique Paixão
ISBNs: 978-85-268-1797-5
Edition: 1th
Vintage: 2025
Pages: 160
Dimensions: 14 cm x 21 cm
