Educating through Popular Culture: You're Not Cool Just Because You Teach with Comics

364 Pages·2017·1.904 MB·English

by  Edward Janak, Ludovic A. Sourdot

Educating through Popular Culture

Educating through Popular Culture
You’re Not Cool Just Because
You Teach with Comics
Edited by
Edward Janak and Ludovic A. Sourdot
LEXINGTONBOOKS
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passagesinareview.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataAvailable
ISBN978-1-4985-4917-2(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN978-1-4985-4918-9(electronic)
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DedicationandAcknowledgments
LudovicdedicatesthisbooktoMichaelC.Chapman,inlovingmemory.
Edwarddedicatesthisbooktothemanywonderfulpeoplewhohave
presentedinhisareaatthePopularCultureAssociation/American
CultureAssociation’snationalconference.
TheeditorswishtoacknowledgetheeffortsofLindseyPoramboat
LexingtonPress;herpatienceandguidancehaveproveninvaluable.

Table of Contents
Introduction:EducatingthroughPopularCulture:“You’reNotCool
JustBecauseYouTeachwithComics” ix
LudovicA.SourdotandEdwardJanak
PartI:LookingBehind 1
1 ReclaimedIdentityinTakToyoshima’sSecretAsianManand
GeneLuenYang’sAmericanBornChinese 3
TammyL.MielkeandEmilyL.Brandon
2 History,Literacy,andPopularCulture:UsingGraphicNovelsto
TeachtheStruggleforRacialJustice 21
RichardHughes,MeghanHawkins,andKatieLopez
3 KarmainComics:DiscoveringHiddenSuperPowersthrough
Creating 41
ToniaA.Dousay
PartII:LookingAround 61
4 MakingAcademiaCool:SeriousStudyofSequentialArtatthe
University 63
PearlChaozonBauerandMarcWolterbeek
5 Meditation:MediatingtheWritingProcess 79
JillianL.Wenburg
6 ExploringMigrationthroughPopularMediaandFieldwork 105
CadeyKorsonandWeronikaKusek
vii
viii TableofContents
PartIII:LookingGlobally 125
7 AQuestionofRelevance:TeachingwithSci-FiandFantasy
FilminaSaudiUniversity 127
MahaAl-Saati
8 TeachingLittleProfessors:AutismSpectrumonTVandinthe
Classroom 145
KimberleyMcMahon-Coleman
PartIV:LookingAhead 161
9 PokingItwithaShtick:HumorasHermeneuticinthePre-
ServiceTeacherEducationClassroom 163
SarahHunt-BarronandRichardHartsell
10 OrangeIstheNewBlackboard:LessonsforTeacherand
StudentAdvocacy 189
HaleyM.G.FordandMeredithJ.Tolson
11 ThinkingPhilosophically:ThePowerofPopCulturein
DevelopingaPersonalPhilosophyofEducation 221
ChadWilliamTimm
PartV:LookingTheoretically 241
12 UsingMultimodalLiteracytoTeachGenderHistorythrough
ComicBooks,or,How“TheWonderWomenofHistory”
Became“MarriageàLaMode” 243
AndrewGrunzke
13 ExploringtheIntersectionsofSocialIdentity,PopularCulture,
andMeninEarlyChildhoodEducation 265
KenyaWolff,MelissaChapman,andJoshThompson
14 LoyalOpposition:ConservativeStudentResistancetoJazz
Cultureinthe1920s 287
JacobHardesty
Conclusion:ButIDon’tWanttoReadaGraphicNovel:Truthand
NuanceaboutPopCultureinEducation 301
PaulA.CrutcherandAutumnM.Dodge
Index 321
AbouttheContributors 335
Introduction
Educating through Popular Culture:
“You’re Not Cool Just Because You Teach with Comics”
Ludovic A. Sourdot and Edward Janak
Each year the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association
hosts both regional and national conferences. As one of the national area
chairs was faculty in the local college of education, a group of high school
historyteacherswithwhomtheareachairworkedwerestronglyencouraged
to attendthenational 2015meeting in NewOrleans. Initially, theirresponse
was very positive; after each of the first two days, they were enthused and
excited to meet a group of like-minded people. Typifying their experience
wasonenight’sconversationafterthesessionshadended.Oneoftheteach-
erswasmakingreferencetoafilm,thencaughthimself:“Youwouldn’thave
seenit,”heexplained.“Tryus,”wasthereply.Whenhefoundouttheentire
table had, indeed, seen Bubba Ho-Tep and enjoyed it greatly he got a
shockedlookonhisfaceandsaid,“Thathasneverhappenedtomebeforein
mylife!”
Soitwasverysurprisingwhentheareachairhadaverydifferentencoun-
ter with that same teacher the following day. After attending a session, the
teacher walked up to the area chair looking dejected. When asked what was
wrong,theteacherfumbledforwordsforamomentortwo,thenfinallysaid,
“Just because you teach using comic books does NOT make you a cool
teacher!AnditDEFINITELYdoesn’tmeanyouknowwhattodowiththose
comics.”
The frustration voiced by the teacher in this instance is similar to that
voiced nationwide when theory meets practice and there is a lack of praxis.
Thepurposeofthiseditedvolumeistoaddress,inpart,thefrustrationvoiced
ix