This article is a philosophical analysis of escapism as a pedagogical possibility, with a particular focus on TV series. Taking my own, as well as students, experience of escapism into TV series as a starting point, that is, their ability take us somewhere far away, something which has become more acute during the pandemic time since we remain…

While many college courses on "world religions" have as their foundation an assortment of institutionally-authoritative, primary sources selected from a canon of sacred texts, this paper argues for a critical reevaluation of such textually-based teaching methodologies in light of the religious literacy standards set by the American…

In the United States dance competition culture and commercial dance are both highly visible. Although connections between the two distinct dance worlds are implicitly present, they remain largely unexamined. To begin a conversation about how commercial dance and dance competition culture relate and their influence on dance education, this article…

Black consumers watch and stream television at a higher percentage than any other demographic. Research has shown that presence of Black teachers, administrators, and school officials has positively influenced Black students' academic success. Research on how Black students understand and connect to portrayals of Blackness is needed in order to…

As one of the public pedagogical sites, Television (TV) has been studied from different perspectives. The purpose of this study is to discuss how TV serves as a habitat for learning in the ecological learning system. The author argues that TV as a habitat provides an exciting, entertaining, dramatic, and social environment which stimulates…

This study aims to inform the discussion over the proposed merit of morally ambiguous dramas as a tool in moral education in the professional domain, by providing insight into student groups' moral evaluations of "Dexter." In-depth interviews (N = 61) were conducted among a diverse sample of law and (developmental) psychology students.…

Nigeria has high levels of alcohol consumption, and little or no regulation of the alcohol industry. There is a dearth of studies exploring young adults' drinking in a Nigerian context with only a few predominantly quantitative surveys. These do not explore the social meanings attached to drinking practices nor do they shed light on potential…

This qualitative dissertation study explores the ways television program content informs the participant's notions of academic and professional achievement and success. I argue that the undergraduate female students who participated in this study, whom I characterize as the post-feminist generation, are imagined as occupying a pivot point in…

Children's experiences and understandings are often marginalised in discussions of their own television viewing. Moreover, rarely is attention paid to the meaning children make "from" and "with" the ideas and images in media, much less in horror movies. This inquiry examines the horror media talk of a preschool girl in a poor…

Communicating physiology to the general public and popularizing science can be tremendously rewarding activities. Providing relevant and compelling points of linkage, however, between the scientific experiences and the interests of the general public can be challenging. One avenue for popularizing science is to link scientific concepts to images,…

Considering the role of popular cultural texts in shaping sociolinguistic reality, it makes sense to explore how children actually receive those texts and what conceptualisations of sociolinguistic diversity they form through those texts. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine Greek young children's views on sociolinguistic…

This article proceeds from three main premises. First, we assert that popular culture functions pedagogically and helps cultural consumers learn about work, even before they enter educational programs or workplaces. Second, we argue that exploring portrayals of internship is useful in understanding the "attributes of formality and informality"…

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…

Interest in the field of criminal justice continues to grow and attract students to this area of higher education. These students typically represent society in that their beliefs about the justice system are based on media depictions, not education or experience. This study surveyed Introduction to Criminal Justice students from two universities,…

Students love pop culture, which is often full of science and scientific concepts that may or may not be correctly presented. When teachers tie a science project to a movie, TV series, or song, they help guide students toward correct interpretations. And, more important, teachers stimulate their creativity by tapping into their culture. This…