Publication |
2010.
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Summary/Abstract |
This article is constructed as three narratives that are situated within the distinct and separate spatio-temporal contexts of social activism and research of the three contributors. Each contributor's role and position within this context has inflected his/her discursive approach, ranging from a polemical stance to one of empiricism and reflexivity. The article thus presents multiple modes of writing, analysis, and engagement, drawing on participant-observation to oral history documentation, activist experience, and field survey. The trajectory of each contribution is linked and we aim to provide a cohesive account in three voices, offering imbricated views of a pedagogical context in an extremely poor, Muslim slum in Howrah, West Bengal, India. This article-cum-photo essay is also an illustration of how collaborative writing - inclusive of activist experience and academic research - can address the issues of poverty and hope as it examines the role of education in such a context.
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