This course will examine adult education in global contexts with specific focus on ''Third World'' societies. It will offer a critical review of the relationship between adult education, modes of production, and state. In this course we will draw on Marxist, feminist, anti-racist, and ecological theoretical debates. Applying critical comparative analysis, the course will examine the role of adult education in liberation movements and democratization of state and society. We will study the role of adult education in building a dynamic civil society and challenges we are facing towards creating a democratic civil society.