On a June, summer day at Albion College, Byron Stokes and Dudleigh Vernor, two undergraduate members of the local chapter of Sigma Chi fraternity, sat down at the college organ in Dickie Hall and coined the most famous song in fraternity history, "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" ("The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi," n.d.a). The tune…

Despite the prevailing vulgarity of its most notorious programming, television today has moved toward more traditional values. As a result of market realities, TV programming has become more diverse politically and thematically in recent years, and that has opened the door for traditional values to return to the nation's TV screens and even…

Neuropsychologists have demonstrated the effect music has on the human brain, and that a peak "musical memory age" occurs around 14, when normal bodily maturation is in progress. A group of 114 college students between the ages of 19 and 25 was exposed to short clips of the top 20 songs from each of the 11 years during their youth;…

Instructors of large, general education lecture courses face a number of student engagement and learning challenges. In this article, we develop and assess an interactive lecture that introduces a theoretical perspective and three related concepts to two introductory sociology general education classrooms (n = 433). This interactive lecture…

Illustrates the use of popular culture in business education by examining cartel behavior of contestants in the television show "Survivor." Examples depict incentives to form cartels and to cheat on cartel decisions. Ways to integrate the material into business courses are described. (SK)

Finds that popular music videos of the early 1990s continued to underrepresent women, with men outnumbering women in lead roles by almost a 5 to 1 margin, and presenting women in a much narrower range of lead roles. Finds also that popular music videos portrayed women in a manor that emphasized physical appearance rather than musical ability. (SR)

This booklet presents a variety of materials concerning Neil Simon's play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." After a brief introduction to the play, the booklet presents a profile of the playwright, several lists of his accomplishments, information on his work for television, a quiz about plays, biographical information on the producer,…

Examines popular culture in terms of its position in social structures of power, looking at the Ivoirien music made popular by state television in Cote d'Ivoire. Focuses on Cote d'Ivoire's international singing star, Alpha Blondy, and how this singer and others negotiate the relationship between state television and the Ivoirien popular singer.…

Recommends Margaret Houlihan as a one-character case study illustrating the evolution of female characters on primetime television as well as the change and social status of women in America. Argues that the changes in the Houlihan character reflect an archetypal model of an evolving feminist consciousness. (KEH)

Provides a rationale for the use of popular television in the classroom. Offers examples and applications from the syndicated television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation." (SR)

An introduction to popular culture materials in the Michigan State University Libraries, this combination library guide and bibliography presents finding tools for popular fiction, comic materials, popular music, movies, and television programming. It provides instruction on the use of the card catalog, suggested subject heading search terms, and…

The study of mass media and popular culture in a composition class allows students and teachers together to develop a critical awareness of television and advertising. Jerzy Kosinski's book, "Being There," a novel about the impact of television, is a beginning point for the study of television. Using that book as if it were a collection of events,…

Television situation comedies have been criticized for their portrayal of dysfunctional family behavior. An exploratory content analysis study assessed the extent of relationship-enhancing communication skills in family-oriented, prime-time situation comedies, a genre frequently targeted for both scorn and praise. Three episodes each of five shows…

This issue of Focus on Law Studies contains the following articles: "T.V. Law: Image versus Reality" (Suzanne Frentz); "Teaching about Civil Rights in the 1990's" (Cynthia Hamilton); "A Social History of Black Lawyers in Popular Culture" (Ric Sheffield); "Will the Real Lawyers Please Stand Up!" (Susan Adair Dwyer-Shick); "Equality, 'Political…

Discusses how television programs can be used to teach courses in gender and communication. Provides examples of how instructors can use specific programs to provide illustrative models of sex-role orientations and to illustrate the changing social standards of desirable or acceptable traits and behaviors for females and males. (KEH)