ERIC Number: EJ1092165
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1935-7869
EISSN: N/A
Student Engagement and Teacher Practices: Using Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign for Learning Purposes
Gruber, Sibylle
Journal of Effective Teaching, v11 n1 p45-61 2011
In this article, I reflect on the pedagogical decisions I made when I taught a course on gendered literacies during the 2008/2009 presidential campaign. I specifically focus on what I term the "Hillary" phenomenon, the media's often negative and unflattering portrayal of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. I start with a brief exploration of my goals for teaching current events; I then discuss student perceptions of Hillary Clinton's role in politics, and I show the importance of paying attention to students' social influences that, in Arizona, are often marked by "fear and trepidation" when it comes to political change. I show the importance of using examples from Clinton's writing, and I point toward pedagogical reasons for engaging students in discussions that address our positionalities in a variety of discourse communities. I conclude by pointing out that we need to encourage students to think critically about their own roles in perpetuating current value systems by challenging their assumptions about gender roles, race relations, sexual orientation, or class systems.
Descriptors: Political Campaigns, Presidents, Teaching Methods, Critical Thinking, Sex Role, Sexual Orientation, Racial Relations, Social Class, Mass Media Effects, Current Events, Student Attitudes, College Students, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Social Influences, Writing (Composition), Role, Politics, Fear
Journal of Effective Teaching. Center for Teaching Excellence, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403. Tel: 910-962-3034; Fax: 910-962-3427; e-mail: jet@uncw.edu; Web site: http://www.uncw.edu/cte/et
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A