You must learn: sampling critical hip hop pedagogy in communication education spaces

Abstract

ABSTRACT Critical communication pedagogies in universities are important because they teach students how communication processes produce social difference and social justice activism. To keep these pedagogical aims relevant to younger generations and promote open instructional practices, the pedagogies can benefit from an injection of culturally responsive approaches that engage college students today. This article reflects on the fusion of ‘critical hip hop pedagogy’ into my own communication teaching praxis through a course I developed, ‘Hip Hop Culture, Communication, and Social Change.’ I examine four core objectives that critical hip hop pedagogy fosters in educational spaces. These include challenging traditional white supremacist paradigms, grounding an intersectional analysis of identities and oppression, focusing on local capacity building and empowerment, and the use of trans-disciplinary scholarship and media. I conclude with ten teaching tenets that would strengthen the integration of critical hip hop pedagogy into communication education spaces.