This is the third installment in my “Big Idea Syllabus” series inspired by Dr. Michael Wesch’s “Big Idea” Syllabus for Anthropology. My “Big Idea” Syllabus for History can be found here, for Writing here. The “Big Idea” Syllabus for Gender… Read More ›
culture
Notes on Flawed Characters vs. Flawed Scripts
I often aspire to help my students realize the difference between flawed characters and flawed scripts, but recently realized I had sometimes neglected to apply this notion to my own cultural criticism. My thoughts about How To Get Away With… Read More ›
What’s Happening at NBC Entertainment?
NBC Entertainment currently has a number of high-quality, status-quo-challenging programs. As previously written, in its twenty-first season now, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit brings attention to the systemic problem that is sexual violence. In contrast to rhetoric spoken and… Read More ›
7th Annual 4th of July Reflection [Video]
Chase Holfelder’s minor key rendition of “America the Beautiful,” with its eerie vibe and with its–by my reading–announcement of the United States’s hypocrisy, inspired my video. Holfelder’s song plays in the background, while a slideshow of images from the internet… Read More ›
Yes, you should have free speech on Facebook.
Please read and then share my latest publication: “Yes, you should have free speech on Facebook“ found on History News Network. Thanks! Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda
Alex Trebek. Aunt Becky. Not Your Friends.
Parasocial relationships form easily. Carefully-scripted and highly-rehearsed, people see fictional characters people on their screens from the comfort of their homes and almost naturally come to believe they really know and very much like them. People are not able to internalize that… Read More ›
Banning “Traditional” – Hidden Power of Words Series, #32
As words, “traditional” and “tradition” conceal far more than they can ever reveal. Their connotations often center around static historical, narrow, privileged worldviews. While an outright ban would probably lack productivity, these words are used in such divergent ways, often… Read More ›
How To Get Away With Murder as Propaganda
I have previously written about ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder here and here. With the current season, I am growing more and more frustrated because of the constant twists (within twists, within twists, within yet more twists), the very… Read More ›