Punk Pedagogies
Mansions of the Future, Lincoln, 4-5th July 2019
The Punk Pedagogies symposium ran from 4th-5th July 2019 at Mansions of the Future in Lincoln (UK). Since the publication of ‘Never Mind the Tagmemics, Where’s the Sex Pistols’ (CCC 48.1 pp.9-29) in 1997, there has been an increasing interest in the way in which the ethics, attitudes and people of punk rock can inform, shape, critique and revolutionise teaching pedagogies. In part this is due to the rising number of punkademics and punk teachers, but it is so much more than that. It is also because of the value for education in approaches that centre on philosophies such as Do-it-Yourself, creativity and resistance; a framework of enquiry and a toolkit that potentially helps take cynicism to critique. In short, punk can offer pedagogical tools for interrogating the world around us. However it is a two way street, and punk can learn much from newly emerging pedagogical ideas and approaches within secondary, further and higher education.
This two-day symposium aimed to provide a space to explore, in a supportive environment, those interactions and lessons. It sought to ask questions such as what can be gained from using punk tools and approaches as a pedagogical approach within ‘the classroom’? What can experiences and innovations in ‘the classroom’ offer to the continuing development and learning of punks and the subculture of punk rock? A range of papers featured across the two day event with Russ Bestley opening the symposium with a keynote on the theme of design education, creative reasoning and critical living.
A selection of the papers presented have since been developed into a collection which is currently being finalised for publication with the PSN imprint with Intellect Books.
