The critical turn in education: The emergence of Marxist thought and the rise of an academic left from the 1960s to the 1980s

This dissertation is a historical study of the turn to the critical Marxist tradition within the field of education in the United States from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. As indicated by the ubiquitous use of the word 'critical' to describe educational projects, this 'critical turn' continues to frame much radical work in the field. The intent of the dissertation is to help foster a deeper understanding of the intellectual and political traditions that underpin this turn and the various critical educational projects, such as critical pedagogy, that emerged in its wake. In particular, the dissertation situates the production and reception of the work of Paulo Freire, Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Michael Apple, and Henry Giroux in the context of the rise of Marxian social and political analysis that occurred within the American left and humanities and social science research in the academy during the 1960s and 70s.