Dr. Lauren Leigh Kelly

Teacher. researcher. speaker. consultant.

Upcoming Presentations

“Pretty Little Fears”: Social and Emotional Learning in Hip Hop Literature and Culture. Hip Hop in the Heartland Annual Educator Summer Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, July 2019.


Exploring History, Geography, and Culture through Hip Hop Lit Circles. Reimagining Education: Teaching and Learning in Racially Diverse Schools Summer Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, July 2019.




Selected Past Presentations

Workshops

  • "Holler If Ya Hear Me: Fostering Empathy and Equity Through Critical Listening and Counter Storytelling." NYC Special Education Collaborative Conference, Brooklyn, NY, June 2019. 


  • Exploring History, Geography, and Culture through Hip Hop Lit Circles, Hip Hop in the Heartland Educator Symposium, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, April 2019.


  • Developing Critical Hip Hop Pedagogies in Secondary Education, Equity Leadership Symposium, Rutgers Institute for Improving Student Achievement, New Brunswick, NJ, March 2019. 


  • You Don’t Have to Claim Her”: Developing Feminist Perspectives on Power and Sexuality through Critical Hip Hop Literacy, Women's History Month Workshop Series, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY March 2019. 


  • Embodied Storytelling: What are the stories that music tells?, Northern Marianas College, Saipan, CNMI, January 2019. 


  • Developing Social Justice Literacies in the ELA Classroom, 51st Annual  Reading and Writing Conference, Rutgers Center for Literacy Development, New Brunswick, NJ, October 2018. 


  • "Unbroken: Transforming Pedagogy Through Critical Hip Hop Literacies," NYC Special Education Collaborative, New York, NY, October 2018. 


  • "#decoded: Developing Critical Hip Hop Literacies as Transformative Pedagogy," the State of Delaware’s Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services Building Bridges Conference, Dover, DE, April 2018.


  • “What Are the Stories That Hip Hop Tells?" GRAMMY Museum's Jane Ortner Education Award Professional Development Workshop for Teachers, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, January 2018.


  • “'Who freed me? Lincoln or Cadillac?': Developing Critical Hip Hop Literacies in the Secondary Classroom,” Fieldwork Workshop Series, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, January 2017.


  • “Holler If Ya Hear Me: Fostering Empathy and Support Through Critical Listening,” 4th Annual Teaching With a Purpose Conference, Portland, OR, October 2016.


  • “It Was Written: Developing Critical Media Awareness and Media Literacy Through Popular Texts,” Hip Hop in the Heartland Educator Symposium, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, March 2016.


  • “Columbusing in the 21st Century: Using Media Texts to Foster Dialogue about Cultural Awareness and Cultural Appropriation," Urban Word NYC Preemptive Education Conference, New York University, New York, NY, September 2015.


  • “'I Am Not Jasmine, I Am Aladdin': Unpacking Power and Sexuality in Popular Texts" and "Dear Hip Hop: Open Letter Poetry as Social Action," Hip Hop in the Heartland 10th Annual Educator and Community Leader Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, July 2015.


  • "#Selfie: Teaching Social Responsibility in the Media Age," Urban Word NYC Preemptive Education Conference, New York University, New York, NY, September 2014.


  • “Blurred Lines: Unpacking Gender Representation in Popular Media,” Teaching With a Purpose Conference, Portland State University, Portland, OR, October 2013.


  • “Critical Literacy, Common Core, and the Cost of Wealth in Hip-hop Culture,” Urban Word NYC Preemptive Education Conference, New York University, New York, NY, September 2013.

Invited Talks

  • Developing Youth Leadership through Hip Hop Culture and Community, Rutgers Graduate School of Education Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, March 2019. 


  • “Developing Transformative Pedagogy Through Critical Hip Hop Literacies,” Shanxi Normal University Education Conference, Shanxi Province, China, June 2018. 


  • "Decolonizing Teacher Education: Learning from YPAR & Critical Literacies," Center for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development (CITED), Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, April 2018.


  • "Embodied Hip Hop Storytelling," Mount Vernon Elementary School Music Assembly, Irvington, NJ, June 2018.


  • “Working with Critical Hip Hop Pedagogies," Hip Hop Pedagogy Conference, LaGuardia Community College, Queens, NY, October 2017.


  • “Bridging the Gap: Hip Hop Literacy as Transformative Pedagogy in the Secondary Classroom," Teaching With Purpose Hip Hop Education Summit, Portland, OR, June 2017.


  • “Transformative Learning and Assessment Through Critical Hip Hop Literacy,” GRAMMY Museum Teacher Webinar Series, Los Angeles, CA, October 2016.


  • “We Gon’ Be Alright.” Keynote Speaker at Urban Word NYC 19th Annual Preemptive Education Conference, New York University, New York, NY, September 2016.


  • “Exploring Critical Hip Hop Literacies in English Education,” Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME) Colloquium Series, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, April 2014.

Conference Presentations

  • How Black Girls Develop Critical and Digital Literacy Practices as Resistance to Marginalization in School, AERA Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada, April 2019. 


  • Examining High School Students’ Sociopolitical Development Through Critical Classroom Practices, AERA Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada, April 2019. 


  • Hearts and Minds: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Researching Youth Civic Identity Development Across Formal, Informal, and Multimodal Learning Spaces, Ethnography in Education Research Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, February 2019. 


  • "If That Makes Me Radical, So Be It": Examining the Critical and Digital Practices of Black Girls in Predominantly White Schools, National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE Annual Convention, Houston, TX, November 2018. ​


  • "Twitter Changed My Life": A Case Study on How Black Girls in High School Develop Critical and Media Literacy Practices for Survival and Resistance, Literacy Research Association, LRA Annual Conference, Indian Wells, CA November 2018.


  • "Seeking Change Through Alternative Forms of Resistance," Literacy Research Association, LRA Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, November 2017.


  • "'Wait, Are You Studying Wokeness?' Developing Critical Consciousness and Literacies of Empowerment in the Secondary Classroom," National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE Annual Convention, St. Louis, MO, November 2017. ​​


  • “Gone ’Til November: Analyzing the Criminal Justice System Through Critical Hip Hop Literacy," Hiphop Literacies Conference, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, NY, March 2017.


  • "Cultivating Literacies of Empowerment in Urban Charter High Schools." National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research (NCTEAR) Midwinter Conference, San Francisco, CA, February 2017.


  • "You Ain’t Gotta Lie to Kick it: Exploring Teacher Identity in Hip-hop Education,” American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2016.


  • "Pathways to Critical Pedagogy: Engaging Literacy through Hip-Hop & Social Justice Education," National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE Annual Convention, Minneapolis, MN, November 2015.


  • "Hip-Hop Pedagogy and Racial Battle Fatigue: The Untold Stories of Critical Educators," American Educational Research Association, AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 2015.


  • "Room of/for Failures: Critical Pedagogy's Unglamorous Stories," National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE Annual Convention, Washington, DC.  Saturday, November 2014.


  • “Broken Glass Everywhere: Deconstructing Popular Media Through Critical Literacy,” National Council of Teachers of English, NCTE Annual Convention, Boston, MA, November 2013.