Public Pedagogy as Border-Crossing: How Canadian Fans Learn about Health Care from American TV

Abstract

This article discusses a research project about the pedagogical function of popular culture for adult audience members. We used the medical drama Grey's Anatomy to investigate how American cultural texts cross the national border with Canada to inform what is seen as a distinctly Canadian social policy framework. Using Grey's Anatomy as exemplar, we posed three policy-related questions that are raised in the show: Who is seen as the good or deserving patient? Which health care services are seen as desirable and viable? How is health care delivery structured or organized? In responding to these questions, we attend to how Canadian fans related the show's representations and messages to their experiences with and understandings of health care, both in Canada and in the United States. After confirming that Grey's Anatomy does function as a sort of teacher, we organize the remainder of our discussion into three sections focused on lessons: lessons about Canadian health care, lessons about American health care, and lessons about cross-border similarities.

The Use of a Bookclub to Enhance Science Literacy and Understanding of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

“…The role of the educator in supporting discussions that can evolve from fiction involves helping learners to engage in deeper forms of learning. As Jubas and colleagues have shown (Jubas et al 2017), fictions can stimulate reflection on public issues such as health and healthcare. A narrative theory of learning draws upon literary, psychological and critical social theories to consider how educators can expose learners to different perspectives and circumstances to broaden their viewpoints and gain insights into various social issues.…”