Educating through Popular Culture

You're Not Cool Just Because You Teach with Comics

Contributions by Maha Al-Saati, Pearl Chaozon Bauer, Emily L. Brandon, Melissa Chapman, Paul A. Crutcher, Autumn M. Dodge, Tonia A. Dousay, Haley M. G. Ford, Andrew L. Grunzke, Jacob Hardesty, Richard Hartsell, Meghan Hawkins social studies teacher an, Richard Hughes, Sarah Hunt-Barron, Cadey Korson, Weronika Kusek, Katie Lopez, Kimberley McMahon-Coleman, Tammy L. Mielke, Josh Thompson, Chad William Timm, Meredith J. Tolson, Jillian L. Wenburg, Kenya Wolff, Marc Wolterbeek Edited by Edward Janak, Ludovic A. Sourdot

Publication date:

01 March 2017

Length of book:

364 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

240x157mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498549172

This edited volume serves as a place for teachers and scholars to begin seeking ways in which popular culture has been effectively tapped for research and teaching purposes around the country. The contents of the book came together in a way that allowed for a detailed examination of teaching with popular culture on many levels. The first part allows teachers in PreK-12 schools the opportunity to share their successful practices. The second part affords the same opportunity to teachers in community colleges and university settings. The third part shows the impact of US popular culture in classrooms around the world. The fourth part closes the loop, to some extent, showing how universities can prepare teachers to use popular culture with their future PreK-12 students. The final part of the book allows researchers to discuss the impact popular culture plays in their work. It also seeks to address a shortcoming in the field; while there are outlets to publish studies of popular culture, and outlets to publish pedagogical/practitioner pieces, there is no outlet to publish practitioner pieces on studying popular culture, in spite of the increased popularity and legitimacy of the field.
Each of the articles in this thought-provoking volume provides information and insights about using popular culture in the classroom. The many topics covered, from philosophy of education to immigration and racism to autism, not only cite useful examples but stimulate further thinking on the part of the reader. The chapter on teaching science fiction and fantasy film in a Saudi classroom challenges many preconceptions and offers fresh perspectives. The various authors recognize that there is a range of literacies. Teachers at every level of education and in each discipline need to move beyond the areas in which they were academically successful to see how students construct knowledge from all of the different media currently available. Integrating visual literacy into the more traditional, text-based literacy is one of the challenges examined. The sophistication of the discourse is evidenced by the awareness of what can and cannot be achieved by using the various media. The notes and the extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter will lead to further exploration on the part of the reader.



Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals.