Public Intellectuals, Radical Democracy and Social Movements. A Book of Interviews is the title of a new book by Dr Carmel Borg and Professor Peter Mayo of the Faculty of Education, University of Malta. It comprises interviews, carried out by Dr Borg and Prof. Mayo, with 17 public intellectuals from different parts of the world. These include American, Brazilian, Canadian, Egyptian, English, Italian, Maltese, Nicaraguan, Palestinian, Portuguese and Puerto Rican intellectuals and an intellectual from the Caribbean.

The great majority of these public intellectuals are connected with progressive social movements ranging from the trade union movement to the feminist and environmental movements. Among those interviewed are Frei Betto, Edoardo Martinelli (one of Don Lorenzo Milani’s pupils at the School of Barbiana and one of the eight authors of the classic text, Lettera a una Professoressa), Nita Freire (widow of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire), Egyptian human rights activist Magda Adly and Palestinian peace activist Nahla Abdo.

The book is available in paperback and has been published in New York by Peter Lang. It forms part of the Counterpoints series edited by Professors Shirley Steinberg and Joe Kincheloe of McGill University, Montreal Canada.

This is the third book which Dr Borg and Professor Mayo have produced together. Last year, they published their co-authored book, Learning and Social Difference: Challenges for Public Education and Critical Pedagogy (Paradigm Publishers, Boulder Colorado, 2006) while, five years ago, together with Professor Joseph Buttigieg of the University of Notre Dame, they co-edited Gramsci and Education (Rowman & Littlefield, Maryland, 2002).