THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY of EDUCATION in the BRAZILIAN LANDLESS WORKERS' MOVEMENT by DAVID DUNCAN MEEK
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MOVEMENTS IN EDUCATION: THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF EDUCATION IN THE BRAZILIAN LANDLESS WORKERS’ MOVEMENT by DAVID DUNCAN MEEK (Under the Direction of J. Peter Brosius and Julie Velásquez Runk) ABSTRACT What are the opportunities and constraints towards advancing agroecological education within Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement? In this dissertation, I advance a theoretical framework, which I term the political ecology of education, to help answer this question. The political ecology of education perspective incorporates insights from the political economy of education and political ecology into a holistic perspective. I first trace the intellectual genealogy of this perspective, and the reason agrarian movements mobilize around agroecology. I then apply the political ecology of education lens to illuminate how political and economic processes mediate the interrelations between an agrarian reform settlement of the Brazilian Landless Workers’ Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra or MST), known as the 17 de Abril, and a series of social movement and state-funded educational spaces in southeastern Pará, Brazil. I draw upon the political ecology of education perspective to answer three interrelated questions. First, why does the MST see agroecology as a valuable ideological and practical tool? Second, how do MST activists access political programs and financial resources to facilitate the evolution of agroecological education opportunities in southeastern Pará? Third, what are the opportunities and constraints towards disseminating agroecological education within the MST? Specifically, how does the larger cultural milieu influence efforts to disseminate agroecological education? I address these questions by drawing on 17 months of multi-sited fieldwork from 2009 to 2013, during which I conducted life histories, participant observation of agricultural and movement activities, and an analysis of archival aerial photography and multi-temporal satellite imagery. My analysis of these data reveals that activist professors serve as mediators between the state and MST. These professors are able to access, through every day struggle, the political and economic resources to provide institutionalized agroecological education opportunities. By collaborating with institutionalized education, the MST is able to develop its own autonomous radical educational spaces. However, I also identified various impediments to agroecological education, including the political participation of educators, and the histories of credit and agricultural extension. I advance scholars’ critical analysis of the relationships between politics, economy, ecology and education by developing a political ecology of education framework. INDEX WORDS: Political Ecology, political economy, political ecology of education, political economy of education, Landless Workers’ Movement, MST, critical place-based education, territoriality, Gramsci, politics of scale, educational politics of scale, critical pedagogy, institutional activists, place. MOVEMENTS IN EDUCATION: THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF EDUCATION IN THE BRAZILIAN LANDLESS WORKERS’ MOVEMENT by DAVID DUNCAN MEEK B.A., Bard College, 2004 M.Sc., Antioch University New England, 2007 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2014 © 2014 David Duncan Meek All Rights Reserved MOVEMENTS IN EDUCATION: THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF EDUCATION IN THE BRAZILIAN LANDLESS WORKERS’ MOVEMENT by DAVID DUNCAN MEEK Major Professor: J. Peter Brosius and Julie Velásquez Runk Committee: Ted Gragson Diane Napier Wendy Wolford Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2014 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to all the landless farmers in Brazil, and the marginalized communities throughout the world, who see alternative forms of agricultural knowledge and practice as resistance to environmental degradation. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the product of seven years of academic study, during which I have benefitted from the advice and tireless support of numerous individuals and institutions. First, I would like to thank my major advisers: J. Peter Brosius and Julie Velásquez Runk. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Georgia was the only doctoral program to which I applied. And I applied explicitly to work with Pete. I have never once regretted either decision. Pete’s enthusiasm has helped maintain my motivation since the first communication we had via email when I was considering applying. From my first year, in which I vacillated, on what seemed like a weekly basis, between working in India, Central Africa, New Zealand, Alaska, and ultimately Brazil, Pete was supremely patient and supportive as I honed in on my dissertation topic, through my qualifying exams, hiatus in India, funding negotiations, fieldwork, and writing. Julie’s support has equally been a constant throughout my time at UGA. Her attention to detail, constructive criticism, availability, and mentorship in all things academic has been one of the defining parts of my experience at UGA. Ted Gragson has always been supportive and encouraging, whether it is in feedback on grant applications, research design, fieldwork reports, or careful criticism concerning the mechanics of writing. Ted has an uncanny ability to cut through superfluous verbiage, and identify the weaknesses and merits of arguments. These abilities have unquestionably resulted in a much stronger dissertation. Diane Napier has played a central role in my academic development at UGA. Through education-related coursework with Diane, I focused on the MST as the subject of my research, and first began v exploring the literature that would form the backbone of the dissertation. Diane’s support throughout my time at UGA has been an unquestionable foundation to which I have turned again and again. Although an external committee member, Wendy Wolford has been a pivotal force in shaping both my research and this dissertation. Wendy has challenged me throughout my work to look at what really matters. I remember visiting her at Chapel Hill, where on a walk she pushed me to think critically about what constitutes political participation. This suggestion, and many others, have structured my research design, data collection, analytical framework and writing. I am grateful to Wendy for the time and effort she has devoted to ensuring that my research and writing are rigorous. In addition to my committee, I would also like to express my gratitude to Don Nelson, with whom I worked as a research assistant both at UGA and in Fortaleza, Brazil. The latter trip was pivotal for me, enabling a short visit to my field community, which provided continuity for my research. I’d also like to thank Tommy Jordan and Marguerite Madden for all of their instruction and guidance as I pursued training in GIS, aerial photography, and remote sensing. Their enthusiasm for training and mentorship defines interdisciplinarity, and is an example to which I aspire. Much of the success of this project is also attributed to the assistance and friendship of my colleagues at several institutions in Brazil. I would first like to recognize Bernardo Mançano Fernandes, who continues to be my principal academic mentor, an intellectual inspiration, and an exemplar of engaged scholarship. I would also like to thank Ligia Simonian Perez of NAEA at UFPA for her mentorship and institutional support over the years of this project. Whereas I could easily devote this entire acknowledgement section to the following two individuals, for brevity, and fairness, it must suffice to say that without the assistance of two particular individuals in Brazil, there is no chance this research would ever have gotten off the vi ground, much less been successful. Dan Baron Cohen and Manoela Souza are tireless activists in the region where I conducted my fieldwork, and were instrumental in facilitating my introduction to the 17 de Abril settlement. The ground-work they did before I arrived for my first stint of pilot research in 2009 ensured a smooth landing, and set the stage for a lifelong series of friendships. Over the years they have been intellectual and personal advisers, providing support on all matters personal and professional. I am forever indebted to their friendship, and magnanimity. This research has been made possible by generous funding and in-kind donations from numerous organizations. In chronological order, pilot research funding was supplied by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute’s Tinker Award, and the Janice Steingruber award through the Department of Anthropology. In-kind donations of satellite imagery were provided by both Digital Globe as part of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing’s GeoEye prize, as well as Digital Globe, as part of their 8-band challenge. Dissertation funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (BCS #1060888), the Fulbright Program, and the Social Science Research Council. Particular thanks go out to Deborah Wilson at NSF, Daniella Sarnoff at SSRC, and Jody Dudderar at Fulbright for their patience and commitment to my research during the funding negotiation process. Extra special thanks go out to Patricia Grijo for her administrative and personal support throughout my time in Brazil, particularly during the difficult times of my daughter’s illness while in the field. Last,