Why the Magic Matters

Alexis Franzese is the Department Chair and an Associate Professor for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Elon University. Her research reflects her expertise in both sociology and psychology, and has been published in numerous journals that include International Journal of Scholarship on Teaching and Learning, Personality and Individual Differences, Sociology Compass, Aging and Mental Health, and others.Jill Peterfeso is the Eli Franklin Craven and Minnie Phipps Craven associate professor of religious studies at Guilford College. She is the author of Womanpriest: Tradition and Transgression in the Contemporary Roman Catholic Church.

• ForewordLen TestaIntroductionJill PeterfesoDisney Dialectic Pairs: Theoretical Framework and Book StructureThe EditorsSection I: Magic and StrategySection Introduction: Magic and StrategyJill PeterfesoChapter 1: Disney’s “Magical” Curriculum: Bibbity, Bobbity Boo!Gabriel Huddleston, Blake Lentz, Nicole WeinbergChapter 2: A Private Mouse for Public ArtCher Krause KnightChapter 3: To Infinity and Beyond: Understanding Data Science Through the Lens of Disney DataLucy D’Agostino McGowanChapter 4: Why and How Walt Disney World Makes You the Star of Its StoryGary KaskowitzSection II: Authenticity and SimulationSection Introduction: Authenticity and SimulationAlexis T. FranzeseChapter 5: From Magic to Memory: How the Physical Experiences of the Disney Parks Contribute to Historical Memory and Learning What it Means to Be an AmericanBethanee BemisChapter 6: True-Life Adventures: Walt Disney and the Modern Environmental MovementSarah NilsenChapter 7: Urban NDNs and the House of Mouse: A Journey of Education and Self-DiscoveryLucy BuckChapter 8: Asian Disneyland, Local Community Reactions, and the Role of Cultural SpacesJenny BanhSection III: Nostalgia and InnovationSection Introduction: Nostalgia and InnovationJill PeterfesoChapter 9: Only Correct: How Disney Revises, Rethinks and Re-edits Their Own CreationsBonnie RudnerChapter 10: Teaching Walt: Place-Based Learning and SHAPE-ing Walt’s LegacyChristopher W. TremblayChapter 11: Theme Park AmericaAlex HofmannChapter 12: Worldbuilding and Role-Playing Across Disney ProductionWilliam S. ChavezSection IV: Leisure and LaborSection Introduction: Leisure and LaborAlexis T. FranzeseChapter 13: Making “Happy” Happen: What Disney Teaches Us About the Hidden Costs and Labor of LeisureJacob Hayward and Alexis T. FranzeseChapter 14: Disneyland: The Happiest Classroom on EarthJeffrey A. BarnesChapter 15: Wheelchairs, Magic Carpets, and a Community of Tomorrow: Constructing Disabled Utopia in the Disney ParksMason J. Shrader, Benjamin Shrader, Carol Mason ShraderTakeawaysContributorsAcknowledgementsIndex

As documented by this esteemed panel of experts, education must go beyond instruction and provoke a response. Using Disney as a starting point can help educators create magical moments that transform apprehension into awe and delight.