Pop Goes the Culture: Reimagining Childhoods in Digital Spaces

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Cultural revolutions rarely begin with conventional, curricular knowledge. In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, young people access ideas from the popular culture landscape. In response, how can educators and researchers leverage popular culture to analyze the experiences of young people, particularly those historically marginalized? How does this interrupt what constitutes knowledge and curriculum? Cultural criticism and knowledge-making are tools for understanding everyday life as told by everyday people. This panel explores the lived realities of children and adolescents as they mobilize popular culture tools for belonging and community. Highlighting the intellectual work and subversive power of young peoples’ meaning-making, we legitimize the aesthetic and playful practices of young people as they contribute to public life and social action.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Media, Culture, and Learning

Chair

• Haeny S. Yoon, Teachers College, Columbia University

Papers

• Tracing the Social, Textual, and Relational Circulation of Star Wars Play in Kindergarten - Haeny S. Yoon, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Finding the Sweet Spot: The Good Place as a Site of Intergenerational Television Fun - Oluwaseun Animashaun, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Gen Zers in Digital Worlds: Methodological Insights From Documenting Youth Experiences in Unofficial Learning Spaces - Catherine Yanan Cheng Stahl, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Dancing With Concentric Circles: A Framework for Integrating Pop Culture Into Digital Classrooms - Lum Fube, Teachers College, Columbia University; Catherine Yanan Cheng Stahl, Teachers College, Columbia University; Oluwaseun Animashaun, Teachers College, Columbia University

Discussant

• Tran Templeton, University of North Texas