Wu-Tang for the Children: Swarming Elsewhere for Reimaginings of Community, Theory, and Praxis

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: The Hip-Hop Cypher: Collective Voices for Systemic Change (Table 5)

Abstract

The 2022 Super Bowl half-time performance showcased hip-hop. The event encouraged us to discuss the possibility/potential of other hip-hop groups performing at such an event, and the productions of knowledge/understanding that might arise while making connections to our educational spaces. Relying on fugitivity and Critical Race Theory, we use the music of the Wu-Tang Clan to examine spatial differences while disarming master narratives. The song “Can It Be So Simple” reflects and offers new ways of thinking about educational structures. The Wu-Tang Clan aesthetic contributes to new avenues of addressing white supremacy, systemic racism, and the orthodoxy of education while challenging our understandings of hip-hop in our attempts to focus on systemic racism and inequalities in (teacher) education.

Authors

• Tommy Ender, Rhode Island College
  Presenting Author

• Bretton A. Varga, California State University - Chico
  Presenting Author