Pedagogical Futures: Learning, Agency, and the Classroom Outside the Classroom
Day and time: Friday (March 20) · 11:15–12:45
Location: Info Center
Format: Talk
From Exclusion to Inclusion? Grime’s Institutional Renaissance and its Pedagogical Counterspaces
Presented by: Beth Hayden
Grime is currently experiencing a ‘renaissance’ in the UK (Mak Ten, 2025). With Wiley back in the studio and grime events appearing in major cultural venues, the genre appears to be increasingly embraced by mainstream institutions – a significant departure from the sociopolitical exclusion that initially birthed and shaped it. Education has not escaped this trend: calls to teach grime in school settings are increasing (Abiola, 2025; Youth Music, 2019). These calls draw upon a body of US-based research demonstrating hip-hop’s therapeutic potential in culturally responsive teaching models (Dale, Burnard and Turner, 2023). Whilst rap music undeniably holds the potential to support the self-actualisation, development and education of young people, to bring an anti-establishment genre like grime into the classroom is to deny it its essence entirely. Rather than seek to legitimise schools – historical spaces of social (im)mobility – through studying grime in them, we should look at the ways it is already being learnt and legitimise these knowledge systems. This talk leads by example, presenting findings from a two-month ethnographic study of grime education in London public space. Against a backdrop of grime’s growing institutionalisation – framed within a rhetoric of diversity and inclusion – this talk finds grime’s alternative economies of practice to offer contemporary models for authenticity and anti-establishment principles which can support hip-hop futures more broadly.
Walou Diploma” in Political Education? Exploring the Role of German Street Rap in Civic Education for Migrantized youth
Presented by: Hoang Duc Vu
From the social media trend surrounding “Talahons” to the recent “Stadtbild” debate sparked by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, young immigrants have increasingly become the focus of public debates in Germany. While these discussions often center on this demographic, the representation of immigrant perspectives in societal controversies remains limited, especially in the context of direct political participation. This discrepancy highlights a persistent issue in societal debates regarding migration in Germany: Immigrants are often the centre of these debates; yet their voices are still underrepresented – regardless of their citizenship status or place of birth. In contrast, German rap has evolved into a space where migrantized people in Germany can express their realities both as artists and listeners. Thus, this project seeks to investigate why migrantized people are underrepresented in politics, while they thrive in German rap culture. By understanding why this discrepancy exists, this project explores the potential of using German street rap in political education for young migrantized Germans to address the underrepresentation of their voices in societal controversies.
Drill Rap Literacy
Presented by: Sylvia Sanders
In her earlier work, Sylvia Sanders examined the Dutch drill scene as a social, linguistic, and pedagogical phenomenon that is often unjustly criminalized due to its association with violence. She introduced the concept of drill rap literacy — a way of reading and understanding drill as cultural expression and social commentary, rather than as evidence of criminal behavior.
Based on a sociolinguistic analysis of lyrics and video clips from the Amsterdam-based collective 73 De Pijp, she identifies four interpretative perspectives: a “dark reading” of violent representations, a “vulnerability reading” that centers themes such as poverty and loss, a “protest reading” that exposes structural inequality, and a “micro-celebrity reading” that shows how young people create online recognition and economic space.
Inspired by Children First, Offenders Nowhere and Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, Sanders advocates for a decriminalizing approach that views drill as a form of learning, agency, and community building. Her research demonstrates how drill, as an artistic and linguistic practice, can serve as a pedagogical gateway into the lived experiences of youth, thereby contributing to a more just and inclusive youth policy.
Building on this foundation, Sanders adds new insights in this paper drawn from recent fieldwork conducted with young people and probation officers.
