Popular Culture and Democratic Practice

Abstract

In this introduction to the study of popular culture in education, Nadine Dolby offers an insightful review of the literature informing this work. Her essay sets the tone and theme for this Special Issue, and begins to address why educators and educational researchers should pay particular attention to popular culture. Discussing the relevant literature and introducing readers to historical debates in the field, Dolby distinguishes between various understandings of popular culture and approaches to studying its relationship to education. Ultimately, Dolby argues, the importance of popular culture and its connection to education lies in the role it plays as a site for engaging in the process of democratic practice. She encourages educators to engage young people in a deep exploration of the multiple dimensions of popular culture and the public sphere, and highlights examples of this kind of engagement.

Toward Common Ground: The Uses of Educational Anthropology in Multicultural Education

“…Ramesh Srinivasan (2006) observes that the challenge today is for all youth to have a chance to become a part of an information society that "accommodates multiple epistemologies, contexts, and cultural realities" (p. 364). Similarly, Dolby (2003) holds that the relevance of popular culture for education is in the potential role it can play as a site for engaging all youth in processes of democratic practice. relevant teaching, teacher autobiography, funds of knowledge research, and youth participatory action research.…”

impact of popular culture on the social identity of young adults: Harry Potter and the search for belonging

“…Popular culture is also a social process, a lived experience that is always unfinished and in development and dialogue (Dolby, 2003;Fiske, 1989a;P. Smith, 1989).…”

“…Whether book, film, video, or song, all popular culture artifacts can be and are referred to as text for the purposes of this study and other research (Brennen, 2013;Brummett, 2006;Dolby, 2003;Duffett, 2013). These texts can both reflect and affect the societal environment of their consumers (Hermes, 2005;Rushing & Frentz, 1978).…”

“…Despite this consolidation of power, which leaves traditional pedagogy in the domain of classroom educators, popular culture has been appropriated by students as a primary source of knowledge for their personal development (Dolby, 2003;Giroux & Simon, 1989b). Cultural pedagogy is the recognition that pedagogy is an active tool that occurs in interdisciplinary spaces in addition to the classroom environment (Ellsworth, 2005;Giroux & McLaren, 1992;Steinberg & Kincheloe, 1997).…”

“…This research refers to all PCAs can with the singular term, "text" (Brennen, 2013;Brummett, 2006;Dolby, 2003, Duffett, 2013.…”