I know I am weighing in late, but I found the thread about Crash, that subsequently turned into a discussion about the benefits and drawback of popular media, fascinating.
A colleague and I actually wrote a paper last year about a similar subject. Drawing from research in education psychology, we show that the integration of popular media is an effective teaching tool, but that clips are better than full-length presentations. After detailing psychological reasons for both of these findings, we offer ideas for how to effectively integrate clips into sociology classes. The paper was recently bounced from Teaching Sociology and we're looking for a new outlet. Yet, following this discussion, it clearly seems like something that would be of interest to sociologists. Does anyone know of another outlet we could send it to? Thanks, Jessica Jessica L. Collett, M.A. Department of Sociology University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721-0027 http://www.members.cox.net/~jessica.collett -- "Creativity is to intellectual life what speed is to sport. You can't teach or train it. You can only try to stay out of its way." ~ Henry A. Walker
