Daren Graves

Professor

Dr. Daren Graves is a Professor of Education and Social Work at Simmons. Dr. Graves also serves on the Steering Committee of the Harvard Global Sports Initiative. His research lies at the intersection of racial identity development, critical consciousness, and education. Dr. Graves has reported on his work in a variety of publications including Schooling for Critical Consciousness: Engaging Black and Latinx Youth in Analyzing, Navigating, and Challenging Racial Injustice (Harvard Education Press, 2020) and in his co-edited volume, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hip Hop Pedagogy (Bloomsbury, 2024).
 

Education

  • EdD, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • EdM, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • BA, Yale University

Area of Expertise

  • Identity Development
  • Critical consciousness
  • Hip Hop Pedagogy
  • Teacher education
  • Social Work education

Courses

  • GEDUC 445 Educational Psychology
  • DEDU 653 Qualitative Research Methodology
  • Honors 101/LCIS 101 First Year Seminar- Honors Program
  • SW 409 Racism and Dynamics of Oppression
  • BOS 101 “From Pumpsie to Papi”: Race and Sports in the City of Champions

Community Engagement

Research/Special Projects

Publications/Presentations

Kelly, L. and Graves, D. (Eds). (2024) The Handbook of Hip Hop Pedagogy. Bloomsbury Academic; London

Graves, D., El-Amin, A., & Seider S. (2023) “Tools of Whiteness and Teaching for Critical Consciousness” in E. Godfrey and L. Rapa (Eds). Developing Critical Consciousness in Youth: Contexts and Settings; Cambridge University Press

Graves, D. (2021). “Authority must be on the side of freedom”: The relationship between teachers’ authority and Black and Latinx students’ political agency in challenging racism. Theory Into Practice, 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2021.1983329

Graves, D., Kelly, L., & McArthur, S. (Eds.). (2020). Special Issue: Teaching for Critical Consciousness: Critical Hip-Hop Pedagogy. The International Journal of Critical Media Literacy, 2(1). Brill Press

Seider, S., and Graves, D. (2020). Schooling for critical consciousness: Engaging Black and Latinx youth in analyzing, navigating, and challenging racial injustice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press

Graves, D. (2017). “Written all over my face” – The toll of a Black Man teaching White students about racism. In R. Kohli and B. Picower (Eds.), Confronting racism in teacher education: Counternarratives of critical practice (pp. 60-67). New York, NY: Routledge

Seider, S., and Graves, D. (2020). Schooling for critical consciousness: Engaging Black and Latinx youth in analyzing, navigating, and challenging racial injustice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press

Graves, D. (2017) "Written all over my face" – The toll of a Black Man teaching White students about racism. In R. Kohli and B. Picower (Eds.), Confronting racism in teacher education: Counternarratives of critical practice (pp. 60-67). New York, NY: Routledge

Seider, S., Graves, D., El-Amin, A., Soutter, M., Tamerat, J., Jennett, P., Clark, S., Johannsen, J., & Keene, A. (2014). Faculty of color teaching critical race theory at a PWI: An autoethnography. Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 3(2), 1-30.

Graves, D., Sweet, D.A., & McGowan, M. (2010). I feel like I can do it too: A paradigm shift in an urban library internship program. Urban Library Journal, 16(1), 1-18.

Graves, D., McGowan, M., & Sweet, D.A. (2010). Making a home: Critical pedagogy in a library internship program for high school students. In E. Drabinski, A. Kumbier, & M. Accardi (Eds.), Critical library instruction: Theories and methods (pp. 161-175). Los Angeles, CA: Library Juice Press

Awards

  • Simmons University Provost's Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching (2021)
  • Simmons College Dean's Award for Exceptional Undergraduate Teaching (2011)

Daren Graves in the News

B Boy executing a freeze, circa 2014, Wikimedia (public domain)

Professor of Education Daren Graves Co-Edits Forthcoming Book on Hip Hop Education

In January 2024, Bloomsbury Publishing (London) will release The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hip Hop Pedagogy, co-edited by Daren Graves, Professor of Education and Social Work at Simmons, and Dr. Lauren Leigh Kelly, an Associate Professor of Education at Rutgers University. This collection is “the first reference work to cover the theory, history, research methodologies, and practice of Hip Hop pedagogy.”


View of the cupola from the quad through trees

Twelve Simmons Faculty Members Receive Promotions, Tenure, and Emerita/us Status

Last month, the Simmons Board of Trustees finalized decisions concerning the promotion, tenure, and emerita/us status of select faculty members. We are pleased to congratulate the following faculty members for their outstanding accomplishments: Promotion to the rank of Professor Daren...


Autumn Allen & Daren Graves

Talking with Children about Race and Racism

In early November, writer, educator, and Children's Literature specialist Autumn Allen '18MA/MFA and Associate Professor of Education and Social Work Dr. Daren Graves offered a Zoom presentation to the Simmons community, "Talking with Children about Race and Racism: Using Children's...


Gary Bailey (left) and Darren Graves (right)

Juneteenth and the Art of Envisioning the Future

On June 16, Gary Bailey, Professor of Practice and Assistant Dean for Community Engagement and Social Justice at Simmons University, moderated a Colleges of the Fenway panel discussion, “Juneteenth, Then and Now: A Conversation on Being the Change Through Arts and Activism."


Shout-outs from Students and Alums

Gracyn Delaune ’24 poses with the coastline of Ireland in the background

A Multidisciplinary Education: Irish Immersion, State House Internship, and Reproductive Health Research

Sociology major Gracyn Delaune ’24 reflects on her time abroad, impactful internships and research opportunities, her favorite professors and what it is like to attend school in Boston.


Asiyah Herrera ’25

Ifill Scholar Asiyah Herrera ’25 Shares her Passion for Supporting Those in Need

“To me the Ifill scholarship is just that: the inception of an amazing legacy and the prospect of a radical future.” — Asiyah Herrera '25


Scott Lancaster, health professions education graduate

Simmons Helped Scott A. Lancaster '19PhD Become a Better Professor, Now His Health Professions Division Excels

Scott A. Lancaster '19PhD, Dean of Health Professions for Northern Essex Community College, credits the health professions education program for elevating his career and taking his paramedic expertise to the national level.