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…

In this paper, six adult allies (comprised of four academic scholars, one in-service teacher, and one community-based teaching artist) reflect on what it meant for them to learn from the wisdom of eight years of intergenerational inquiry led by youth. The authors examine how youth researcher-activists make meaning of their realities within this…

In 1963--a racially-charged time in the United States--James Baldwin delivered "A Talk to Teachers," urging educators to engage youth in difficult conversations about current events. We concur with Giroux (2011, 2019) that political forces influence our educational spaces and that classrooms should not be viewed as apolitical, but…

In an era of "colorblind racism," in which race and racism are often suppressed as topics of discussion in classrooms, this article explores how students used comics to invent workarounds for "colormuteness" in their school. Knowing comics are not generally taken seriously, students employed the medium to subversive ends.

Once man understands the social environment which surrounds him, it will determine the ground on which he walks. It is in how we judge others that we perceive our own identities. It is from how we judge others that a level of structure is made. From an organizational climate, permeates a class structure, which may then develop into a community. It…

The English language day by day is becoming ever increasingly important in the world. Music in foreign language education can be seen as a helpful method that spontaneously livens the learning atmosphere. In this paper, we are arguing for (the use of) songs that stir and inspire "social change" and that are an "authentic" part…

Numerous popular figures currently espouse the importance of spirituality. Some prominent voices, such as Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, and Eckhart Tolle, advocate a more spiritual existence, warning that the earth and humanity are engaged in a seismic change. The shift of spiritual leaders from fringe to fairly mainline attention is…

To demonstrate the significance of cultural crossings in Texas and how cultural exchanges can inform teachers and students in the areas of history, fine arts, geography, and social studies, the author constructed a Summer 2013 teacher workshop for Texas K-12 teachers through the Smithsonian Affiliated Institute of Texan Cultures. The author…

The purpose of this essay is to ameliorate the virulent discursive and material attack against today's "border" youth launched by large-scale corporations and Western politicians. Specifically, the authors problematize the dominant tropes of youth being mindless, obedient objects who passively accept the stark social reality they…

The purpose of this article is to show how the rappers' talk about hip-hop and its connection to pedagogy and social activism parallel the Scandinavian tradition of folkbildning. Scandinavian folkbildning can be seen as a movement to provide voluntary education for the general population. It can also be the name of the process of learning in which…

Critical media literacy art education teaches students to: (1) appreciate the aesthetic qualities of media; (2) critically negotiate meanings and analyze media culture as products of social struggle; and (3) use media technologies as instruments of creative expression and social activism. In concert with art education practices oriented toward…

Black college students are increasingly embracing the message of rap music and challenging the status quo. While not all students share the view, students advocating self-determination and emphasizing their African roots have become a vocal majority among Blacks on many campuses. (MSE)

Despite more representations of transgender people in popular culture today than ten or twenty years ago, the dominant image of a transgender individual continues to be a middle-aged "guy in a dress." Perhaps that "guy" is now perceived to be in a more stylish dress than in the past and to look more feminine, but the image remains one of a male…

This paper presents an elaboration of the relationship between politics and music video, to discern if the political climate impacts upon the cultural landscape. The paper analyzes in detail Don Henley's "The End of Innocence" because Henley is a prominent political activist and views music as a vehicle for change. The paper also makes…

Explores the exercise of institutional and ideological power over rap music and fans, how artists and fans respond to that context, and the complex relationships between rap's political economy and the sociologically based crime discourse that frames it. Rap's poetic voice is a political expression of the Black experience. (JB)