Book Summary

In this book, the author critically analyzes the ongoing and wide-ranging effects of colonialism and globalization on the poor, especially on those living in the “Third World.” The author’s overarching argument is that colonization was not merely about the conquest of foreign lands, but it was also about the ideological monitoring of the colonized’s mind, often maintained through western hegemonic texts and institutional apparatus, such as schools and churches. Analyzing and situating colonialism in the context of western neo-liberal policy of occupation and economic, political, and ideological dominations, the author thus demonstrates how, through schools and the mass corporate media, neocolonized and occupied subjects have been mis-educated to internalize and reproduce old western values, beliefs, and norms at the expense of their own.

   

Pierre Wilbert Orelus was born and grew up in Haiti. The son of a struggling carpenter father and a madan sara (woman who transports and sells merchandise) mother.  Pierre attended and received his first formal basic education in an old church building; when Pierre was 11 years old, he moved from the countryside to the capital, Port-au-Prince, with his older siblings to continue his education. Pierre completed high school at the age of 22 and attended college when he was almost 23 years old. Being the youngest child in his family, he is also the first one to have completed high school and the first one to attend college.

While in high school, he took part in numerous student movement protests that led to the overthrow of the principal and assistant principal of the school. This high school principal was notorious for attributing communist epithet to students who wanted to challenge the status quo and effect social change. As a college student in Haiti, Pierre continued to be politically active. He participated in many student protests against Haitian de facto regimes while he continued to lead a youth organization he founded and presided for two years. In 1997, Pierre completed his Bachelor’s degree in Human Services Advocacy from University of Massachusetts-Boston. In 2001, Pierre earned a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics with a focus on ESL (English as a Second Language) from the same university. A former high school teacher in the Boston Public Schools and currently a doctoral candidate in Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Pierre has been carrying out for the last four years qualitative and quantitative research in western Massachusetts that involve urban middle school teachers. In addition, he has taught writing and grammar courses to college students at various institutions in Boston and western Massachusetts. His research interest includes: colonial and neocolonial studies, critical literacy, critical pedagogy, and pedagogy for self-liberation and liberation of others. Pierre has spoken nationally and internationally on these issues.

In this book, the author critically analyzes the ongoing and wide-ranging effects of colonialism and globalization on the poor, especially on those living in the “Third World.” The author’s overarching argument is that colonization was not merely about the conquest of foreign lands, but it was also about the ideological monitoring of the colonized’s mind, often maintained through western hegemonic texts and institutional apparatus, such as schools and churches. Analyzing and situating colonialism in the context of western neo-liberal policy of occupation and economic, political, and ideological dominations, the author thus demonstrates how, through schools and the mass corporate media, neocolonized and occupied subjects have been mis-educated to internalize and reproduce old western values, beliefs, and norms at the expense of their own.

The voices of those brutalized by the twin iniquities of neocolonialism and imperialism have for too long been silenced. In this personal narrative, Pierre Orelus, a Haitian immigrant and educator, shares his reflections, hopes, and dreams for the future. It is time for a voice such as Pierre’s to be heard by teachers, teacher educators, and others concerned with social justice.

Sonia Nieto
Professor (Emeritus), University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Interweaving the perspectives of subject and critical observer, Pierre Orelus reveals multiple dimensions of the material and psychological devastation left in the wake of Western imperial conquest. His ruminations focus on his native Haiti, once the world’s richest colony, severely punished for daring to become the first free country of free men in the hemisphere, now its most deeply impoverished and brutalized society. But his thoughts and their implications reach well beyond, yielding valuable insight into the pain and suffering of the traditional victims, and their resilience and hope.

Noam Chomsky
Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), MIT

In this age of the corporate university where academic trends shift as fast as youth fashion, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a book like “Education Under Occupation – The Heavy Price of Living in a Neocolonized and Globalized World” that fearlessly grounds itself in a vast history of anti-colonial theory and research while expanding these horizons with a cutting critique of neoliberalism’s imperialist agenda. Orelus’ book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the dark side of globalization.

Pepi Leistyna
Associate Professor-Applied Linguistics Graduate Studies,
University of Massachusetts-Boston

This is a genuine and refreshing contribution to post-colonial and neo-colonial studies. Readers will receive a unique opportunity to rethink and rewrite history, where colonizers can pay much owned restitution and colonized can reclaim lost resources and overcome ideological domination.

Cesar Augusto Rossatto
The University of Texas at El Paso

In this book a daring and caring teacher conceptualizes and considers a problem that escapes many: how do schools become sites of occupation? Thinking of ways to explain this problem to the reader, the author slowly builds an argument that children can learn best in schools that are liberated from occupation, and suggestions are made about how this could be accomplished. Anyone who wants to help students grow will want to reflect on arguments set forth in this book.

Dr. Enoch Page
Associate Professor at the Anthropology Department
University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

      

Meet the author @ READINGS & BOOKSIGNINGS

DATE & PLACE: Sat. Oct. 6 @ The 19th HSAS (Haitian Studies Association) [Session 5–B: Crossing Borders and Representing Haiti]. Conference to be held in Boca Raton (Miami). Lynn University Boca Raton, Florida (3601 North Military Trail Boca Raton, Florida 33431)

DATE: Thursday, October 25, 2007 7:00 PM. PLACE: Food for Thought BOOKS – 106 North Pleasant St. Amherst, Massachusetts. Tel. (413) 253-5432]