popping pop culture into the classroom

I will soon find myself in a sea of students' assignments from rhetorical analysis papers, to OAs, advocacy in action papers, advocacy in action presentations, and extra credit. It sounds very daunting. While part of me is tempted to overwhelmed by the amount of grading coming up, I'm trying to find the good at the root of the assignments. 

An assignment I currently have a love/hate relationship with is the rhetorical analysis paper. There are more reasons as to why I love it than "hate" it. The only reason I "hate" it is due to the mere fact that it'll be time-consuming to grade (definitely manageable though). I'm not looking forward to reading papers upon papers that will range from below average or average, but hopefully, I'll have some great above-average ones! A big reason why I'll love grading this assignment is because of its critical nature. I think students were really challenged with this assignment and asked to think outside their normal lens. As communication scholars, I'm sure we're all well aware of the fact that it can be easy for many individuals to mindlessly consume messages; with this, they fail to critically think about what the intent of these messages are and how they're being affected by them. This was a new concept for many of my students, as I'm sure many of y'all experienced as well. 

Another reason I love the rhetorical analysis papers is because it brought pop culture into the classroom. In preparing for the papers, we did small mock analyses that examined images and texts from popular culture such as political cartoons, ads, and of course, bumper stickers! Instead of just allowing students to say surface-level comments about these examples, the mock analyses challenged students to dig a litter deeper. By utilizing popular culture examples in class, students examined the messages around them and bring awareness to how/why they're consuming them. Using media from popular culture was not just about making class content relevant, it was also about having students question traditional narratives that come with artifacts. Benson and Click note "popular culture can function to provide alternative narratives for our lives and relationships, explore new choices, and expand our thinking about diversity" (p. 21). Media from pop culture, the rhetorical analysis paper, and our good friend critical communication pedagogy played key roles in challenging students to critically examine and question the messages they're consuming. 

Using pop culture in the classroom can open up many doors for students. According to Hammonds and Anderson-Lain, "pop culture is centered on understanding the collective experiences via cultural artifacts that connect us as humans and can allow us to see beneath the surface of our society" (p. 111). At first, this was a challenge. Many of my students were confused by the concept of "the intended message", meaning what was beneath the surface. I got a handful of comments saying, "it's just a picture" or "there's not a lot to it." Man, hearing those comments made me cringe. I didn't realize why my students were having trouble making sense out of these terms and concepts in the rhetorical analysis. But then it dawned on me- the majority of them have not been exposed to the notion of questioning and challenging traditional messages. Many individuals take meanings for granted and simply consume messages freely. I wanted my students to analyze artifacts and understand that there's more meaning to them. Using pop culture in this assignment challenged students to find the connection between artifacts and examine their position in the larger rhetorical context. 

While I may not be looking forward to the grading that is ahead of me, I'm thankful for the opportunities that come with each assignment. I know some of my students may also have a love/hate relationship with the rhetorical analysis paper, but I'm hoping they found the good in it like I did. I hope they appreciate the tools they're being given and remember that they can have the opportunity to challenge the norm. 

A big thanks to pop culture for teaching me to find the good in my current love/hate relationship with the rhetorical analysis paper.  

#andthatstheT