Pedagogy of Pop

Edward A. Janak is associate professor of educational studies at the University of Wyoming.Denise Blum is assistant professor in social foundations at Oklahoma State University.

• DedicationContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Past as PrologueChapter One - Can We Win the Future by Living in the Past? An Exploration of Nostalgia in Education, Jennifer Edelman and Edward JanakChapter Two - Professional Paradox: Teachers in Film and Television, Sheila Delony and Mikee DelonyPart One: Theoretical Analyses of Pop CultureChapter Three - Making a Modern Man: Disney's Literacy and Health Education Campaigns in latin and South America during WWII, Julie PrietoChapter Four - Uncovering Images of Teaching: Towards a Teacher-Activist Ideal, Sylvia Mac and Denise BlumChapter Five - "The Words We Write for Ourselves:" Confronting the Myths of Race, Education, and American Genius in Finding Forrester, Joanna Davis-McElligatt and Forrest RothChapter Six - "If You Should Die Before You Wake..." Bart Simpson and the Genesis of Rebellion, Brian N. DuchaneyChapter Seven - From Desperate Housewives to The Real Housewives of New Jersey to Simply House: Views on Family and Gender in Popular Culture, Amy Neeman and David NewmanPart Two: Improving Instruction, The Pop of PedagogyChapter Eight - Editorial Cartoons as Education: Political Cartoons as Pathways to the Pedagogy of Popular Culture, Richard EllefritzChapter Nine- iClickers & Voice-Over PPT: Using Technology to Engage Millennials in Learning, Bob ReeseChapter Ten - Amending Eurocentric Narratives of African History in the U.S. Classroom: A Popular Culture Approach, Fred N. Waweru and Mwenda NtarangwiChapter Eleven - Popular Culture and Teacher Education in the 21st Century: The Pedagogical Possibilities of Aliens in America, Ludovic A. SourdotChapter Twelve - "How Does this Sound?" Using Language to Characterize Race in Middle-Earth, Jennifer CulverChapter Thirteen - "World Goin' One Way, People Another:" Using The Wire and Other Popular Culture Texts to Teach College Writing, Michelle ParkeConclusion: The Future as EpilogueChapter Fourteen - I Don't Get It and That's Okay: Teaching Experiential Film Interpretation, Jade Lynch-Greenberg and esteban garciaChapter Fifteen - My Conversations with Ben: What This Mother Learned from a Ghost Boy about Bullying, Yvette BenavidesAbout the ContributorsIndex

Editors Janak and Blum draw lessons from historical and contemporary instructional classroom practice. The first part of the book provides guidelines and theories focusing on the "why" of teaching rather than the "how." Part 2 examines a variety of strategies for incorporating pop culture, including technology, music, television, video programming, etc., into lesson planning. Chapters 8 through 13 focus on pop culture as a form of pedagogy that enhances discussion of race, class, and gender in today's classrooms from pre-K-12. In the concluding chapters, pop culture provides the impetus to discuss topics that students are reluctant to discuss in the classroom (e.g., bullying). A new subgenre, creative life writing, is explored in the last chapter. The editors' goal for this book is to expand teachers' views and expand their own practice in the broadest terms. The final case study uses Department of Justice reports and the writings of Kayla Webley to focus on the suicide of Phoebe Prince. The 15-year-old Irish immigrant's text message "I can't take much more" drives home the painful truth about bullying and the power of putting theory into practice. Summing Up: Highly recommended.