Description/Abstract: Slam School: Learning through Conflict in the Hip-Hop and Spoken Word Classroom, with Bronwen Low, Tuesday, 10/25, 5-7pm


"I am not what you think as Hip-Hop. I am a white, Canadian woman, who at the time of this study had recently moved to the United States to take up an academic position at a private research-intensive college." In her preface to Slam School: Learning through Conflict in the Hip-Hop and Spoken Word Classroom (Stanford University Press, 2011), so writes Bronwen Low, who guides us through her responsive, innovative poetry course in an urban high school and argues the need for hip-hop in teaching. Rap music, combined with spoken word and slam poetry create a unique student-centered curriculum, and one that serves to break down barriers to teaching and learning. Low also makes the case that the course brought to the fore conflicts linked to social differences, including race, gender, and generation, and that these conflicts provided fertile spaces of learning for both teachers and students.

Bronwen Low is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. She has a PhD in Education from the Culture, Language, and Teaching program at York University. She researches the implications of popular culture for education, curriculum theory, and adolescent (multi)literacy practices. Areas of interest include hip-hop and spoken word culture; informal, arts-based and participatory education with youth; and community media and participatory video programs.

Dr. Low also served as a faculty member at the University of Rochester and collaborated with a language arts teacher and a teaching-artist to develop a performance poetry curriculum and program that now spans the district. She is currently on the board of the Maison des Jeunes in Cote des Neiges, and is developing SLAM MTL, a teen slam poetry network in the city. She is an associate of the CEETUM (Centre D'Etudes Ethniques des Universites Montrealaises). She is also the author of Reading Youth Writing: "New Literacies," Cultural Studies, and Education (Lang, 2008) with Michael Hoechsmann.

Critics are saying:

"Low brings hip-hop and spoken word culture to life, examining the complexities and power of creating a curriculum around youth culture. A must-read for educators seeking to bridge the gap between the coffee house and the school house."
--Maisha T. Winn, author of Writing in Rhythm and Black Literate Lives

"Low not only celebrates the potential of using hip-hop in thr classroom, but also examines the very real and difficult tensions that both inhibit and demand its use in schools."
--H. Samy Alim author of Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture

"A welcome and necessary addition to the current literature on hip-hop based education. Low's wide-ranging and reflexive analysis will be instructive to scholars, theorists, and practitioners alike."
--Marc Lamont Hill, author of Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity

This book talk is sponsored by the Social Issues Media Project, Office of the Provost, and Gottesman Libraries. Lalitha Vasudevan, Associate Professor of Technology and Education, will introduce Bronwen Low. From 12:30-1:30pm on October 25th is a brown bag luncheon sponsored by 3MinuteMedia and the Social Issues Media Project for advanced doctoral students.

Persons wishing to attend the evening book talk are encouraged to rsvp the library by Thursday, October 20th.

Where: 306 Russell