This talk argues that with the rise of market fundamentalism and the ensuing economic and financial meltdown, youth are facing a crisis unlike that of any other generation. Young people, especially poor minority youth, are no longer seen as a social investment but as a problem and, in some cases, disposable. Caught between the discourses of consumerism and a powerful crime-control-complex, young people are either viewed increasingly as commodities or are subjected to the dictates of an ever expanding criminal justice system.
Giroux explores the current conditions of young people and their everyday experiences within an emerging governing through crime complex, the neoliberal politics of disposability, and the ever present market-driven forces of privitization and commodification. Giroux questions the role that educators, in particular, might play in challenging the plight of young people while deepening and extending the promise of an aspiring democracy.
This event was presented by The Department of Educational Policy Studies and Research