Conscientization is crucial in Freire’s thought and in critical pedagogy. Understood as a process of developing a critical awareness of one’s social reality through reflection and action (Freire, 1970), it is gradual and incremental; the temporality of which is that of a continuous and homogenic time. The etymology of critique and criticality, however, point in another, possibly opposed direction – that of singular moments that do not belong strictly to a continuous temporality. Krisis in ancient Greek meant a point in time, in which judgement is passed and a decision is made by a medical doctor, a judge, or even by God himself (Koselleck, 2006). This unique moment in time can become a turning point in the “regular” chain of events, hence the tension I identify within the educational logic of critical pedagogy. Among the questions that will be asked in my presentation are: what happens educationally in the event of a crisis that introduces a rupture in homogenic continuous temporality? Furthermore, what happens to critical pedagogy in times when crisis becomes the new normalcy? And to add even further complication – how does critical pedagogy relate to various temporality regimes when in crisis, and especially to the conflict between the time of the oppressor and that of the oppressed? In my presentation, I will discuss this tension – etymological and otherwise – between continuity and rupture in critical pedagogy and in critique itself, and trace it in Freire’s work, and in the ways it is influenced by both Marx’ and Freud’s view of crisis. Building on Petruzzi’s conception of Kairotic rhetoric, De Lissovoy’s analysis of critical pedagogy’s historicity, and Eschenbacher and Fleming’s inquiry into the relationship between crisis, experience and transformation, I argue that Freire’s theory of change could benefit from a nuanced and more explicit approach to crisis, in which the concepts of Progress and progressive education are criticized and their relationship with emancipation is reconsidered.

De Lissovoy, N. 2007. History, Histories, or Historicity? The Time of Educational Liberation in the Age of Empire. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies. 29:5, pp 441-460. Koselleck, R. (2006) Crisis. Journal of the History of Ideas. Translated by Michaela W. Richter. 67:2, pp 357-400. Petruzzi, A. 2001. Kairotic Rhetoric in Freire's Liberatory Pedagogy. JAC 21:2. pp. 349-381. Eschenbacher, S. and Fleming T. 2021. Toward a critical pedagogy of crisis. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults. 12:3, pp. 295-309.