Music, Hope and Transformation through Higher Education

Blending scholarship and personal narrative with theory embedded in practice, Craig Hammond provides a forthright account of his educational journey from working-class, school-room failure to successful professional university educator. With his extensive knowledge of psychology, sociology, literary theory, cultural criticism, music, and and informed pedagogy, Hammond makes an impassioned call to embrace psychogeography and autoethnography as pedagogic strategies for authentic, meaningful, life-long learning. -- Robert DiYanni, Center for the Advancement of Teaching, New York University, USA
This deeply moving book traces a personal journey of escape from precarious working-class conditions and the difficult process of becoming someone else. Through autoethnographic reflection and theory-informed utopian imagination, it reveals the transformative power of higher education to foster disruption, liberation, and hope for a different and better future. -- Hannes Hautz, Assistant Professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria
This is an immensely courageous and creative book, weaving together autoethnography, social theory and academic experimentation. Hammond takes the reader on a timely, important and ultimately hopeful journey, where motorways, music and writing become inspirations for the potential transformation of universities into spaces for self-determined and liberatory learning. -- Anke Schwittay, University of Sussex, UK
A moving, profound manuscript on higher education that combines theory, memoir, and music. In these critical times when the arts and humanities are under attack, Craig Hammond's book reminds us why the university matters, and offers transformative possibilities. Beautifully written, offering intimate glimpses into the making of an educator and a scholar. Such a pleasurable and thought-provoking read. -- Yoke-Sum Wong, Professor of Critical and Creative Studies, Alberta University of the Arts, Canada
Craig Hammond's autoethnography richly mixes movements and music. Cutting across disciplines and combining social critique, memoir and psychogeography, the narrative is inspiring and often touching. -- James D Sidaway, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Lyrical and luminous, Music, Hope and Transformation Through Higher Education is a joyful, immersive read. Its accounts of, and reflections upon, the author’s various journeyings are at once unflinching and poetic. I find myself transported, the book’s stories and songs reverberating long after reading. -- Jonathan Wyatt, Centre for Creative-Relational Inquiry, The University of Edinburgh, UK