What is Punk? What is Pedagogy

Punk

Punk is notoriously difficult to define. It didn’t die in 1979, but many think so. It easy to identify, but it also doesn’t look the way it used to. Except when it does. I tend to think of it less as a sound or a style and more as a commitment to a particular set of ideas and ideals called punk. But there is not much agreement about what that is. Punk is an inspiring example of what a dedicated community can accomplish by working together in a do-it-yourself spirit, creating culture that is not defined by profit. Punk has been disappointingly defined by unexamined white and male privilege. Punk is associated with radical ideas and anarchism. Punk is queer. Punk is a label used to sell records. Punk is never just one thing. The term has been adopted by so many in so many different ways.

So, a little bit of magical thinking may be required to say anything at all about punk, given all of its different meanings. Somehow the term punk makes sense, despite all of its variation, especially to those who identify with it even if none of us are entirely certain what we are endorsing and what aspects we are refusing. For me, punk is underground. It is a community. It is about a DIY ethic. Like any community, it is imperfect. It aspires to a world that is not defined by dehumanization and profit. It believes in the power of music and culture. And the principles that have always defined punk more than any others are the willingness of punks to critique the faults and failures of punk and the unfailing desire to create an alternative to a dehumanizing and commercial world. That is punk, for me.

Pedagogy

Pedagogy refers to the practice of how one teaches another. It can name a set of techniques employed by a teacher, or be understood more broadly to refer to the educational nature of many of the things we do. Culture is pedagogical in the sense that we learn particular habits and ideas from culture, even if there is not an individual teaching them to us. Culture teaches us what it means to be a man or a woman, for example. Or, culture teaches us not to expect much from kids. Culture teaches us to understand value in economic terms, first and foremost Culture teaches all sorts of ideals and norms. But it can also help us to unlearn past ways of thinking and existing in the world and embrace new ways of being.

So, what does it mean to speak about punk pedagogy?

First, it means recognizing that punk involves a set of activities. Punk is not just middle fingers raised to the man or belligerent screams. It is more than loud style. Punks do things. They build community. They start bands, release and distribute records, book tours and host shows, start zines, advocate for animal welfare and devise vegan cookbooks, create art, and establish global networks. By investigating how these activities are learned, shared, and given to future generations, one can better appreciate how individuals are creating their own culture.

Second, punk pedagogy is an attempt to understand how punk engages in discrete acts of learning new activities as well as unlearning existing habits and ideas that may be harmful. Punks have a long history being inspired by radical history and politics and they teach many of the lessons from these histories of ideas to one another in ways that are compelling and appropriate to an audience of punks.

Third, punk pedagogy changes how we understand what punk’s most revolutionary accomplishments may be. As a progressive social movement that is fascinated by revolution, punk is sometimes seen as a failure to realize its own ambitions. If achieving a social and economic revolution is the only measurement of success, most are going to fall short. Perhaps punk is better understood as a subculture with sometimes lofty ambitions that accomplishments many more discrete effects. To teach someone about animal rights and welfare and then also empower them to cook a vegan diet for themselves is and example of punk pedagogy. To be encouraged to host concerts is one thing; to teach kids how to create these opportunities is something else. Punk does not appoint some to be teachers and others to be students. Just like concerts without stages, there are no necessary hierarchies in punk. Everyone can teach; everyone can learn. The empowering effects of the lessons learned under the guidance of DIY punk rock can last a lifetime because individuals are not only encouraged to try, they are taught how to succeed by their peers.

Fourth and finally, punk pedagogy offers a way of understanding some of the failures and deficiencies of punk rock. Some lessons are poorly taught. Some ideas are misguided. Sometimes the wrong people are teaching. And sometimes people aren’t listening. If we understand that punk involves teaching and learning efforts, then it becomes easier to appreciate how punk fails to achieve some of its radical promise. Punk can internalize assumptions of white supremacy or male privilege and make this a norm. But it can also challenge itself to unlearn these norms and punk has borne witness to both of these pedagogies.