Detroit as a Marker for Divorcing Place-Based Education and Orthodox History from Oppressive Pedagogy Practices

In this essay, place-based education is discussed within a social theoretical context. In particular, place-based education in social studies is advanced as a panacea for the depoliticization of the U.S. populace at "the end of history." The argument is twofold. First, it suggests politicizing potential in place-based social studies education as students explicitly contextualize their lives and experiences within history. Second, it suggests the radical potential for the social imaginary, as classroom spaces are reconstituted for knowledge production that defies positivist orthodoxy. Finally, the author's experiences as a place-based educator in Detroit are offered as inspiration and as a curriculum prototype for prospective place-based educators at large.