Featured Collaboration

From March 1 through March 4th, the Associate Dean for Research (ADR) office hosted Drs. Carlos and Ana Torres on campus to spark dialogue and collaborations on critical consciousness and global citizenship. The School of Social Work partnered with the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Education, the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies to sponsor a Luncheon Dialogue where Dr. Carlos Torres provided an overview of Global Citizenship and Drs. Ana Torres and Linda Herrera offered examples of global citizenship research in Brazil and Egypt. Drs. Carlos and Ana Torres also met with faculty and students at the College of Education and at the School of Social Work to reflect on their career trajectory and engage in dialogue about Paulo Freire’s legacy and critical consciousness theory.

Dr. Carlos Torres is Distinguished Professor at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a political sociologist of education. He is the Founding Director of the Paulo Freire Institute in São Paulo, Brazil with Paulo Freire; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and UCLA. Dr. Torres has 65 published books, over 250 articles, and he is the UNESCO chair on Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education.

Dr. Ana Torres is an International Research Associate at the Paulo Freire Institute at UCLA and her research focuses on sexuality and family, sexuality and school, early childhood education, education, school and gender.

Linda Herrera is a social anthropologist with expertise in the Middle East and North Africa and a Professor of Education at UIUC. She is an expert in education and power, youth citizenship, international development, and critical democracy.

The event resulted in fruitful collaborations between Freirian scholars in California, Illinois Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. The group is currently working on developing a new research center to foster human flourishing and environmental sustainability through critical consciousness and global citizenship.

Stay tuned for future updates on this exciting project!