Scribner Seminar Program
2006-2007 Titles
Images of Education in Popular Culture

Instructor(s): Lenora de la Luna, Education

Description: What stories do the movies we watch, the songs we sing, and the stories we read tell us about the educational system in our society? We can learn a great deal about our society's beliefs and expectations about education by looking at the portrayal of the American educational system in popular culture. The primary texts for this course will be American films, television shows, books, comic strips and songs. Through critical analysis, we will learn how schools, teachers, and students are portrayed in the popular media. By watching and reading, analyzing, discussing, and writing about these portrayals, we will come to understand how popular culture has shaped public images of the American educational system both past and present. As a result, students will learn how to read media as culture texts that help us better understand our society and ourselves. Some of the materials we read and view will contain foul language, sexually-explicit material, and violence. If for whatever reason(s), you feel you cannot deal with this kind of material in an academic manner, then please choose not to take this course.