Using Remember the Titans to Teach Theories of Conflict Reduction

Abstract

One of the benefits of using films in sociology class is the opportunity media representations give students to ‘‘experience’’ situations that are uncommon in their daily lives. In this note the authors outline research in education that demonstrates the role of imagery and experiential learning in fostering a deeper understanding of material for students. They then focus on the ability of one film (Remember the Titans) to transport students to a place they will never experience—racially charged 1971 Virginia—and to illustrate social psychological processes of conflict reduction (contact, superordinate goals, and shared identities) as well as the link between micro-interaction, social institutions, and larger patterns of social stratification. After elaborating how the authors have used the film in class, they present findings from their students that demonstrate the effectiveness of the film for enhancing student understanding.

Teaching Race and Ethnicity in the Age of Trump: Using Popular Culture in a Polarized Classroom

“…Art, including popular culture, offers a world that both mirrors and estranges life; for example, in the case of much popular culture, the mirror distorts through exaggeration or fantasy while nevertheless providing opportunities for reflecting and comparing perspectives on gender, race, social class, and more (Hall and Lucal 1999). Additionally, active learning exercises to teach race that use media and pop culture have grown in popularity because they allow students to become active seekers in a medium with which they are already familiar while demonstrating how versatile sociological theory can be outside of regular textual materials (Collet, Kelly, and Sobolewski 2010). Many scholars use media studies to teach race; for example, Khanna and Harris (2015) use prime-time television programs to help guide students in discussing the lack of minority representation, racial inequality, and white privilege.…”

Discovering Race in a “Post-Racial” World

“…Using media and pop culture is an effective way to supplement textual material as well as make sociological concepts more assessable and relevant to students. Recall of information is also greater with texts that create a personal connection between the text and the observer (Collett, Kelly, and Sobolewski 2010).…”

“…White middle-and upper-class students in particular often have little experience with racial others and have difficulty identifying racism and inequality (Bohmer and Briggs 1991). Indeed, research indicates that mass media examples are extremely effective in illustrating the complexities of racial dynamics and exposing students to the lives and experiences of racial groups with which they might have little familiarity (Collett et al 2010;King 2000).…”

Becoming Badass: Teaching Katz’s “Ways of the Badass” using theBreaking BadTelevision Series

“…Tipton and Tiemann (1993) demonstrated that students were able to apply sociological theories and concepts presented in a college course to several different scenarios observed in a variety of feature-length films. A similar instructional technique was used by Collett, Kelly, and Sobolewski (2010) who directed students how to apply several conflict resolution theories presented in their course to situations observed in the film, Remember the Titans. Scanlan and Feinberg (2000) also contributed to our knowledge of the pedagogical utility of feature length films with their use of the Simpsons animated television series to highlight a variety of core sociological themes including gender, race, deviance, socioeconomic status, and many others.…”