If there is one thing the world would likely agree on, it’s that social media has become a dominant part. of our society. It’s integral to our daily lives—whether it be trends, comedy, makeup routines, financial advice, travel recommendations, and so much more. Yet many people consider scrolling an act that eventually causes "brain rot"— a term defined as mental fog or decline from consuming too much low-quality, mindless content.
Tag: Pop Culture
From TikTok to Total Surplus: Using Pop Culture to Build Real-World Economic Thinking
Professor of Instruction and the Director of the Minor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Dirk Mateer, shares the three ways he makes economics fun, current, and meaningful for students by using pop-culture examples and interactive digital tools.
Making Film Personal: Selecting Engaging Movies for My Students
Whenever I’m teaching a film course at the beginning of a new semester, I am transported back to my own experience as a freshman taking my first film class at the University of Michigan, an introduction to cinema course taught by Hubert Cohen. Professor Cohen, who sadly passed away in March 2024 after teaching into his 90s, stood in front of a class of what must have been 250 people and told us, “My plan is to ruin your experience of going to the movies.” Of course, 18-year-old presumptuous me, thought “Who is this guy? And what’s he got to tell me I don’t already know about movies?”
Is It Poetry?: Engaging Students with Taylor Swift
When is the last time any of us saw that question in the popular press or animating everyday conversation? Lately, those words are on everyone’s lips because of the release of Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department.