The popular education and adult literacy movements in Chile have historically represented competing paths toward a literate society: one born and nurtured through bitter nineteenth-century labor struggles, the other a compensatory effort by the modern state to limit the political potential of literacy. Robert Austin's book explores the contest between the state and popular education in three paradigmatic Latin American regimes: that of Eduardo Frei Montalva (Christian Democrat, 1964-70), Salvador Allende (Socialist, 1970-73) and Augusto Pinochet (Dictator, 1973-90). Robert Austin's engaging narrative captures the relationship between the Chilean state, formal and non-formal literacy, and popular education, from the demise of liberal capitalism to the consolidation of neoliberalism. This remarkable investigation of the dynamic link between the historical process, literacy, and pedagogy celebrates popular education's victory in securing the inclusion, and subsequent empowerment, of women and ethnic minorities. The State, Literacy, and Popular Education in Chile, 1964-1990 will be of great interest to political scientists, cultural historians, and scholars of education.

"Robert Austin has produced a fascinating analysis of the development of education policies in a Third World nation, and how the problem of illiteracy was overcome and why. This remarkable investigative achievement will be of special interest to cultural historians, political scientists, and those interested in education policies in Latin America." - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies

"This substantial volume constitutes an enourmous challenge both to Latin Americanists and to those who seek points of comparision in the analysis of historical processes." - Hispanic American Historical Review

"The State, Literacy, and Popular Education in Chile, 1964-1990 is different and challenging, and as such will invigorate the study of the history of adult and popular education in Latin America." - From The Foreword