Necessary Contradictions: Critical Pedagogy and Kenneth Burke's Pentad

Abstract

Critical pedagogy, a teaching philosophy that encourages critical reflection in students so that they may expose and change oppressive societal structures, has been plagued by criticisms from a variety of sources. Critics charge that critical pedagogy is marred by irreconcilable contradictions such as its inappropriateness for non-oppressed students, its neglect of students' needs, and its unsuitability for most instructors privileged by the dominant ideology. Examining the internal consistency of Kenneth Burke's pentadic ratios can be a useful tool for analyzing these contradictions, specifically those related to scene-act, agent-purpose, and act-agent. However, these contradictions, inherent in the very nature of critical pedagogy, seem to defy Burke's pentad. Without inconsistencies between critical pedagogy, its purpose, its agents, and the broader scene in which it operates, the impetus for the enactment of critical pedagogy would not be present. Therefore, instead of seeking to deny or eradicate contradiction, critical theorists and educators need to make use of it in their own philosophies and practices. Because both critical educators and their students should confront and grapple with these contradictions in critical practice, the apparent flaws in critical pedagogy can actually encourage the critical consciousness that is the goal of the enterprise.