The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear [Paperback]

Henry A. Giroux (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403965366 | ISBN-13: 978-1403965363 | Publication Date: May 7, 2004 | Edition: 1st

Henry Giroux argues that the US is at war with young people. No longer seen as the future of a democratic society, youth are now derided by politicians looking for quick-fix solutions to crime and demonized by the popular media. This perception of fear and disdain is being translated into social policy. Instead of providing a decent education to young people, we offer them the increasing potential of being incarcerated. Instead of guaranteeing them decent health care, we serve them more standardized tests. There's a war on in the US these days, and Giroux sees our youth as the target.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this critique of the American political and economic systems' influence on the lives of the country's youth, Penn State education professor Giroux argues for his long-standing, leftist social agenda within the context of the current political climate. He berates President Bush for his "war on terrorism," which he argues diverts funding and the public's attention from more basic concerns. "Security also means healthy, educated, and safe children," he writes, "and terrorism also includes what can be called the 'terrorism of everyday life,'... the suffering and hardships experienced by millions of adults and children who lack adequate food, health care, jobs, child care, retirement funds, and basic living quarters." Furthermore, the antiterrorist campaign "depoliticizes politics itself," harming the very democracy by which this country defines itself. After the opening chapters, the author loses his timely post-September 11 hook and digresses about the privatization of public schools and the commodification of higher education, and their downside for the country's youths. His writing is strongest when he stays close to the facts, offering statistics and monetary figures to back his critique of the government. Contrarily, it's reductive and ineffective when he devotes entire chapters to dissecting single Hollywood movies (e.g., Ghost World and Baby Boy) for insight into American culture. Though Giroux supports his opinions with quotes from the Children's Defense Fund and philosopher Jacques Derrida, his tone is often heavy-handed and too academic. The book may appeal only to those already in the same political camp.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A marvelous hard-driving book that digs deep and rips away a lot of bunk and pretense...it has the power of a moral and sophisticated manifesto."--Jonathan Kozol

"The Abandoned Generation is a landmark text that offers critique and compassion in equally edifying measure."--Michael Eric Dyson

"...should not be missed by anyone who works with children as a teacher, parent, or social worker."--Michael Payne, The Sunbury Item

"In his bold new book Henry Giroux confronts the terror and culture of fear that shapes life in a post 9/11 era. Giroux imagines a utopian project, a progressive vision of hope in an age of violence and terror, radical dreams of care and concern for an abandoned generation. A radical, performative American cultural studies come of age with this work." -- Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (May 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403965366
• ISBN-13: 978-1403965363
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Youth, Politics, and Justice in an Age of Fear, September 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear (Hardcover)

In The Abandoned Generation, Giroux goes beyond asking those who are already in the same political camp to agree with his study. Giroux asks everyone to reflect on what has been central to America's beliefs about democracy, question those features in our current society that undermine those beliefs, and envision how we can build on the democratic legacy that made our country great in the first place. Unfortunately, all three of these objectives often require time, deliberation, and explanation beyond the 10-second soundbytes that we get as pre-regurgitated pablum on the daily news and thus might require someone, such as Giroux, to devote his/her time to engaging citizens in thoughts and sentence structures more complex (and interesting) than those we would find in a Jane and Dick book. Time, deliberation, and explanation are, indeed, difficult in our age of quick fixes, and using them is often traded for the ease with which we would rather lay blankets of blame on the most vulnerable parts of the population, as opposed to lifting the reactionary quilts that try to cover the causes of our crisis.

With theoretical rigor, practical examples, such as in the use of Hollywood movies, and a desire for a better world that is steeped in the democratic tradition of thinkers like Jefferson and Dewey, Giroux takes on issues ranging from the continued assault on public schools that is partially backed by Bush's No Child Left Behind testing/choice schemes and the incredibly shrinking democratic functions of higher education to the utter disregard for children and youth, in particular, and public life in general. Further, Giroux uses front-line insights from various fields of study, not just like-minded left-wingers, who are either heavy-handed, academic, or dogmatic. In the least, Giroux offers hope and a map with which we can begin to work ourselves out of the current crisis in our country, and he also demonstrates that it is important that "academics" take on public issues, and that by doing so, "academic" issues can be seen rightfully as matters of public concern and the vitality of our democracy. The Abandoned Generation is a must read for citizens concerned about the safety and well-being of the U.S.-and its children-in this time of economic turmoil and global crisis.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibilities for a better future, August 12, 2003

By 

D. morris "ortzaak" (new mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear (Hardcover)

Henry Giroux writes with a level of compassion, insight, and clarity that informs, astonishes and inspires. In these times of despair, deceit, cynicism, and war, Giroux provides probing and thoughtful analysis, sobering and searing revelations, and, perhaps most importantly, always a sense of hope in and for humanity. His latest work "Abandoned Generation" should be required reading for teachers at all levels, and educators in all domains, as well as every citizen who cares about the future of our youth, the future of education, and the possibilities for a more meaningful, engaged, caring and participatory democracy.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abandoned in the name of justice, August 11, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear (Hardcover)

Once again, Henry Giroux stands up to be counted. In his insightful analysis of post 9/11 America, Giroux is unafraid to
challenge the anti-democratic policies of the Bush Administration. He does NOT buy into the belief of the Bushies
that if you repeat the lies often enough, people will begin to
believe them. He rightly suggests that the policies and priorities of the "War on Terror" have had both a chilling effect on the public discourse regarding what it means to live in a democratic society as well as dramatic real-world effects on the lives of many less-fortunate Americans.
Further, he uses popular culture to demonstrate the pernicious
effects the ideology of entertainment can have on the public imagination. Giroux's call for investment in the future security of America by building human capital (via education, health care, and other social services) is one that is not heard often enough. Perhaps if we have enough brave souls like Giroux willing to stand up and state the truth again and again, the public will be better able to distinguish between the truth and the oft-repeated pronouncements of the Bush Administration.

Michael J. Ludwig, Hofstra University