Each summer, UW-Madison’s Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) teams up with Urban Word, NYC to offer educators and community leaders a week-long program to learn the best practices in hip hop and spoken word pedagogy. The Institute brings together the leading educators, professors, and activists utilizing the media of spoken word ad hip hop as relevant, dynamic and necessary educational tools to engage students across multi-disciplinary curricula.
The co-instructors for the Institute are internationally renowned educators Gloria Ladson-Billings and Maisha Winn both Professors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in UW-Madison’s School of Education. It is curated by Michael Cirelli, Executive Director of Urban Word, NYC.
Hip Hop in the Heartland draws from educational theories such as socio-cultural theory, culturally relevant pedagogy, critical race theory, and hip hop and social justice pedagogies, to help educators and community leaders connect hip hop as both an art form and an instructional tool to improve the academic success of students who remain marginalized in our schools. Participants learn proven, hands-on techniques to develop lesson plans and strengthen their course study, as well as create a platform from which they understand the scope of hip hop history, culture and politics. Evening programming consists of an all-star cast who synthesize the day trainings with effective strategies and cutting-edge multicultural educational approaches.
Hip Hop in the Heartland is specifically designed for:
Classroom teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, school personnel, community educators, college educators, community leaders, education students, hip hop and spoken word educators and practitioners, and anyone committed to social justice and urban education. Hip Hop in the Heartland is presented by the UW-Madison Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, Urban Word, NYC, and the UW-Madison Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate, with sponsorship support from UW-Madison Continuing Studies, UW-Madison Education, Outreach, and Partnerships, Partner School Network and the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD).
For more information and to register, please visit the Hip Hop in the Heartland page.
