Resources
McKeachie's Teaching Tips provides helpful strategies for dealing with both the everyday problems of university teaching and those that arise in trying to maximize learning for every student. The strategies suggested in the text are adaptable to specific classroom situations. The book does not suggest a "set of recipes" to be followed mechanically; it gives instructors the tools they need to deal with the ever-changing dynamics of teaching and learning. (From the Publisher)
Is there such a thing as too much historical context? Flesher and Torry, both academics, make an important point at the start of these loosely confederated essays about the religious themes of American major-release films since World War II: that it is crucial to understand films in the historical context in which they were written and released. Fair enough, but the execution can be clunky and obvious: historical overviews about religion in America could be more seamlessly integrated into the much better discussions of various films, ranging from the overtly religious (The Last Temptation of Christ; The Ten Commandments; Little Buddha) to the prophetically spiritual (Field of Dreams; Close Encounters of the Third Kind). The book is worth it for the film discussions, because whether they are analyzing supernatural horror flicks like The Exorcist and The Omen or dissecting the surprising Hindu themes latent in The Legend of Bagger Vance, Flesher and Torry often have valuable and incisive observations about the ways films both reflect and shape religious culture. Though of use primarily for the college classroom (and with a teacher's preface to this end), serious students of film and religion will discover interpretive nuggets. (June) (From the Publisher)
Speaking the Lower Frequencies demonstrates how students can be critical consumers of media while retaining the pleasure they derive from it. In Walter R. Jacobs's classes on media and society, students use the instructor's experiences as a model for investigating their own histories. By creating new social contexts and meanings, the students learn to "speak the lower frequencies. Jacobs looks at the students' reception and critique of pop culture texts like the movie I Like It Like That and the television show The XFiles to provide evidence for the effects of alternative pedagogy on critical literacy. He shows that when students are encouraged to be more than just passive receptors of the media they learn to develop active, critical voices that they use both inside and outside the classroom. Jacobs also explains how students can become more aware and active in attempts to create democratic possibilities for themselves and others. (From the Publisher)
Wabash Center Staff Contact
Sarah Farmer, Ph.D
Associate Director
Wabash Center
farmers@wabash.edu