Critical Praxis and the Social Imaginary for Sustainable Food Systems

Dr. Max O. Stephenson, Jr.
Professor, Public and International Affairs and
Director, Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
Virginia Tech

This article serves as the introduction and overview for a 14-article special issue of the academic journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems entitled “Critical Praxis and the Social Imaginary for Sustainable Food Systems.” According to the authors, Freire’s (1972) concept of critical praxis offers an illuminating frame to reconsider and reframe the epistemological and ontological assumptions and thinking that shape the current food system. His conceptual framework offers analysts a way to approach processes and practices dynamically; that is, in a fashion in which they are not only enacted, but also continuously theorized, evaluated, and reimagined as they evolve. The iterative character of that process highlights the importance of understanding the active operation of power and its implications for individual and collective agency. More importantly, it moves scholars beyond efforts to capture “what is happening” and toward identifying generative ways that interested stakeholders may participate actively in the creation of more just and sustainable food systems.

In the author’s view, this special issue of Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems resulted in a fruitful set of responses to this overarching challenge. As a group, these articles critically engage with various relevant onto-epistemic questions and frameworks. These include, among others, agroecology, regenerative agriculture, Black agrarianism, radical pragmatism, decolonizing strategies, and urban ecology. Collectively, these analyses question the dominant thinking in which today’s food systems are entrenched and highlight perspectives that can help to disrupt the dominant meta-narrative that is today driven foremost by efficiency and technology claims, and to explore policy interventions, justice centered strategies, community-engaged collaborative efforts, and the deep reflexivity that can reveal alternate ways of thinking. The analyses collected here call on food system scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to work actively toward realizing a future in which such structures and processes are ecologically and socially sustainable and equitable for all.

Dr. Max O. Stephenson, Jr. serves as a professor in the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). With a distinguished career in public policy, civil society studies and public administration, he also serves as the Director of the Institute for Policy and Governance in Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Government and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Dr. Stephenson’s research interests include civil society, democratic governance and political agency, and social equity and social change, reflected in his extensive publication record and numerous academic contributions. He is recognized for his interdisciplinary approach, integrating constructs from political science, public administration, and community development to address complex social challenges.