Michael Benitez Jr., Keynote speaker
Lecture/workshop
[b]Hip Hop as critical pedagogy for transforming consciousness and teaching about social justice and human rights issues in education

Hip Hop! Is it the people, the clothes, the dialect, artistic expression? Is it urban America, an industry, a culture? Is it a way of being- acting, thinking, living? What or who is Hip Hop? Why is it critical for today's educators to afford Hip Hop the same respect afforded to other generations defined by their historical and sociopolitical context? Hip Hop is a cultural movement: A continuous phenomenon and ever adapting form of being and expression that presently speaks to the psyche of many; but sourced in the historic struggle of oppressed people forgotten by a system that ignored conditions of racism and hardships of urban poverty. Rooted in the late 70's and early 80's as a form of resistance to oppressive conditions, Hip Hop has over the past 3 decades shaped and informed the values and ideas of many associated with and implicated in education. In many ways, Hip Hop culture has recently, more than before, managed to permeate and exert its way into the soul of academia and helped cultivate a collective of students and educators alike to conceptualize Hip Hop as a means for teaching, learning, and raising consciousness.

Giving the rise in interest and use of Hip Hop in education, my aim with this lecture/ workshop is to provide diverse perspectives on the intersections of hip hop culture, the academy and activism, and how hip hop can be effectively utilized as an educational pedagogy both in form and content. Inquiries addressed include; how are scholars and practitioners in education assigning meaning to and interpreting Hip Hop? How can we more deeply comprehend Hip Hop culture and the value it offers for teaching and learning about social justice and human rights issues? In what ways specifically could hip hop pedagogy inform educational praxis. The goal of this presentation is to engage the audience in critical dialogue through different interactive and heuristic activities, including spoken word and poetry, music, reflective exercise, and multimedia analysis to explore issues of oppression, privilege, equity, and knowledge representation, and demonstrate how one can utilize Hip Hop as a tool for examining social justice issues, engage activism, and cultivate a culture of consciousness in education.

To download the full list of suggested readings and other sources visit: MiamiOH.edu/cawc/special-events/human-rights-and-social-justice

About Michael Benitez:
http://speakoutnow.org/userdata_display.php?modin=50&uid=676
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9921524

PART OF THE ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM

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