Immigrant Youth, hip-hop, and Feminist Pedagogy: Outlines of an Alternative Integration Policy in Vienna, Austria

Abstract

This article describes a local social work project currently operating in the Viennese suburbs of Austria with second-generation migrant teenagers (who come mostly from working class guestworker families of Turkish and Yugoslav origin). This project which applies feminist pedagogy is successfully providing a platform for underprivileged teens to express themselves through Rap music and hip-hop (by enabling access to the Internet and music studios), thereby offering an alternative to violence and drug use. The project promotes equal access opportunities for young women to articulate their adolescent feelings and angst in creative and often remarkable ways. This study raises the importance of feminist perspectives in applied local politics and the effectiveness of art practices as a powerful tool for transforming integration conflicts. Despite national xenophobic policies, some urban, often small-scale alternative integration programs empower immigrant youth through creative projects and the caring relationships that develop between teenagers and their mentors.