Content area
Abstract
This dissertation identifies a pedagogy of revolution, or "education for revolutionary activity" (Lenin [1902] 1988: 76) by analyzing the development of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers (hereafter referred to as LRBW). The LRBW grew out of confrontations within the Detroit auto plants in the late 1960s and remained an organized force until the early 1970s before breaking apart and moving in various political directions. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the historical trajectory of one of those sections, the workers. This is accomplished by identifying the objective conditions that led to the political struggle of the LRBW and their understanding of theory and practice, i.e. pedagogy of revolution. This study uses a historical time frame as a means to delineate and focus the research. Brief attention is applied to a prelude leading up to their organization in 1968; however, the main focus is on their work from 1968 to 1973.
This study conducts content analysis of archival data (books, journals, and original sources) and media materials such as interviews with working class members of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers using the theoretical lens of historical materialism. The research questions examine the process by which the members of the LRBW were themselves taught revolutionary practices, tactics, and strategies, and how they, in turn, developed a pedagogy of revolution specific to their material conditions. The research questions focus on three categorical themes: the intellectual process (theoretical development), the organizational process (practical development), and the politically process (strategic and tactical development).
