HIP-HOP IS MY PASSPORT! USING HIP-HOP AND DIGITAL LITERACIES TO UNDERSTAND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION By Akesha Monique Horton A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy – Doctor of Philosophy 2013 ABSTRACT HIP-HOP IS MY PASSPORT! USING HIP-HOP AND DIGITAL LITERACIES TO UNDERSTAND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION By Akesha Monique Horton Hip-hop has exploded around the world among youth. It is not simply an American source of entertainment; it is a global cultural movement that provides a voice for youth worldwide who have not been able to express their “cultural world” through mainstream media. The emerging field of critical hip-hop pedagogy has produced little empirical research on how youth understand global citizenship. In this increasingly globalized world, this gap in the research is a serious lacuna. My research examines the intersection of hip-hop, global citizenship education and digital literacies in an effort to increase our understanding of how urban youth from two very different urban areas, (Detroit, Michigan, United States and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) make sense of and construct identities as global citizens. This study is based on the view that engaging urban and marginalized youth with hip-hop and digital literacies is a way to help them develop the practices of critical global citizenship. Using principled assemblage of qualitative methods, I analyze interviews and classroom observations - as well as digital artifacts produced in workshops - to determine how youth define global citizenship, and how socially conscious, global hip-hop contributes to their definition Copyright by AKESHA MONIQUE HORTON 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely grateful for the wisdom and diligence of my dissertation committee: Michigan State University Drs. Dorothea Anagnostopoulos, Janine Certo, Christopher Dunbar, and Rand Spiro. Dr. Anagnostopolos, I cannot express how much I appreciate your mentoring, guidance, patience, and support. It began on my first day at Michigan State and fortified me as I completed this work. I also appreciate the tutelage and support of Drs. Sonya Gunnings, Douglas Hartman, Robert Hitchcock, Reitumetse Mabokela, Laura McNeal, and David Wiley. Dr. McNeal, your mentorship has been priceless. I extend a special thank you to the Australian Fulbright Commission, United StatesFulbright Commission, mtvUniversity, MTV Australia, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the Transforming Cultures Centre at UTS, Drs. Alastair Pennycook & Tony Mitchell, Mr. Keith Heggart, Mrs Cassandra Mitchell, Delise Kerehona, the entire staff of the Information and Cultural Exchange, with a special mention to Leeanne Torpey, Street University, Toni Blackman, Maya Jupiter, Mirrah Parker, Thelma “MC Trey” Thomas, Morgan “Morganics” Lewis, Sukhdeep “L-Fresh the Lion” Bhogal, Matthew “Mistery” Peet, Charles Lomu, Krosswerds, Chiara Minestrelli, Alicia Trotman , Yisu Zhou, Fumiko, Isabel Montemayor , Joe Namy, Violeta Bucuresti, Kamila Rosolva and Darus Ward. Without your support, this data for this dissertation may not have been obtained. Most importantly my immediate family, including my parents, Mr & Mrs. Eddie and Vannessa Davis, my sisters, Jessica and Rachel Davis, my grandparents, Mr & Mrs. John & Rebecca Wright, and my aunts Johnetta Hill and Rose Wright. Your unyielding dedication and support has sustained me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 3 Key Terms and Interactions ........................................................................................................ 4 Critically Conscious Global Citizenship ................................................................................................................. 4 Critically Conscious Global Citizenship Education and Socially Conscious Hip-Hop ........................ 9 Critically Conscious Global Citizenship and Digital Literacies ................................................................. 13 Socially Conscious Hip-Hop and Digital Literacies ........................................................................................ 18 Bringing it All Together ............................................................................................................ 20 The Global Hip Hop Course ..................................................................................................... 21 Organization of Study ............................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER 2: METHODS AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 29 Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 29 Locations and Subjects ............................................................................................................. 29 Rationale for Methods ............................................................................................................... 30 Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................................... 32 Data Types ................................................................................................................................ 33 Interviews ........................................................................................................................................................................ 33 ArtiFacts ............................................................................................................................................................................ 35 Polls and Surveys ......................................................................................................................................................... 36 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 36 Trustworthiness ......................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 3: CHALLENGES ..................................................................................................... 40 The Case for Hip-Hop Pedagogy in Australia and the United States ....................................... 41 Settings ...................................................................................................................................... 43 Challenges Faced in Delivering the Global Hip-Hop Course ................................................... 47 Intellectual Property Rights .................................................................................................................................... 48 Time ................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Cost ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Authenticity .................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Authenticity oF Global Citizenship Education .................................................................................................. 60 Street-Cred ...................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Organizational Constraints ...................................................................................................................................... 65 Technology ...................................................................................................................................................................... 67 Equipment ....................................................................................................................................................................... 68 Access ................................................................................................................................................................................ 71 Skill Level ......................................................................................................................................................................... 71 Attendance and Participation ................................................................................................................................. 73 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 75 v CHAPTER 4: MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY ..........................................................................