Emily Dial-DriverReseñas

I'm a fan of fantasy -- and a HUGE fan of Buffy! -- and I'm looking forward to a more academic approach to these works. I also plan on suggesting this as a nonfiction for people also interested in fantasy.

I agree with the editors and authors of this book that fantasy and popular culture have a place in the classroom, alongside canonical works. I agree that promoting critical thinking is an important goal of the college classroom. And like the editors of this book, I'm a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as Alice in Wonderland, and have taken a scholarly approach to both.

I didn't feel as though I learned anything new from this book; the approaches and the texts were what I would have imagined. For someone thinking about these issues for the first time, this could be much more useful.

I received this book from the LibraryThing early reviewers program.

Like many academic collections, this volume contains essays that vary from the richly insightful to the earnestly redundant. As an instructor who already uses fantasy media -- Harry Potter in a Mythology course, for example -- I found some useful ideas here, as well as some recommendations for the day when I've used my current selections too much. There were also sections, however, that focused on more basic arguments (and those basic arguments came up a lot throughout). For teachers and others who have not tried genre fiction, film, or comics in connection with more traditional content, the discussion on its value/significance/possibility may resonate. Those who are already on board may find it all to be too much preaching to the choir, especially since the overabundance of justification really shouldn't be necessary anymore. Several essays would be excellent to present to those who do not value the "marginalized" genres, though.

Overall, I found this to be a good resource for academics and an accessible read in general. While I was hoping for a few more practical pedagogical ideas for my level, I suspect that the target audience is made up of folks who haven't tried this stuff yet -- and for them I think this will be a great book.

This was a fascinating read. I am familiar with about 80% of the fantasy media highlighted in these essays which made the connections and ideas easy for me to follow and applaud. There are very accessible and very unique approaches to teaching here.. in other words, something for everyone!
I am neither a teacher nor student but this book makes me wish I was. I do have a school age son however who will benefit from the ideas put forth in this great resource.

Excellent collection of essays for high school and college faculty interested in ways to incorporate fantasy media into their teaching. I found the chapter on gaming to be most insightful, even though I went into it quite skeptical of the idea. My only quibble is that the authors often sound overly defensive of their use of fantasy media in the classroom. This collection demonstrates that there should be no need for facutly to feel that way.

Where were these teachers when I was in school? I had to practically beg my college lit teachers to accept Tolkein (yes, I'm THAT old). Maybe it's this time of year (end of summer), but this book really makes we want to be back in school with the excitement of new classes. What a great way to ignite a lifetime passion for reading. Each one of these essays shows creative ways to work fantasy themes into "normal" teaching. Although I think I'm too old to appreciate video games as format, I'm sure today's kids almost require the different media forms to stay interested. Hooray for good teachers!

Free LibraryThing Early Reviewer book. As it says on the label; the book is divided depending on whether the author teaches a fantasy- (or occasionally sf-) specific course or integrates fantasy into a more traditional curriculum, Harry Potter alongside Shakespeare. Some essays focus on textual analysis—why John Scalzi’s novels could be used to teach something about political theory—and others more on teaching practice. Of interest for thinking about fandom, Jesse Stallings writes: “I was surprised to note that most of my students took everything in a novel (or movie, song, television show, graphic work) at face value, never considering why a particular event took place, why a character acted the way he or she did, or why an author describes a particular moment in such detail…. [Scott McCloud’s Making Comics helps add] the new question ‘What if this were like this, or removed completely?’ … to their tools of analysis.” Having taken apart works of fiction in their journals, they were prepared to put them back together in various ways, including their own graphic novels, mock movie posters, and so on. Another thing I learned from the book: composition teachers are apparently really into Philip Zimbardo and the Stanford Prison Experiment. I don’t know why, but I guess it’s pedagogically valuable?

Learning begins with motivation. There is no learning unless students are engaged with the subject matter. This is part of the rationale for using popular fantasy media in high school and college courses. Using contemporary works of interest to students also illustrates how skills practiced in the classroom are relevant to everyday life.

"Fantasy Media in the Classroom" is a book of essays written by teachers using fantasy texts, films, and video games to enhance student learning. These are serious practitioners who provide detailed descriptions of how they integrate fantasy media into courses. These are not frivolous attempts to gain popularity among students and gain points on course evaluations. These teachers are after increasing student learning while maintaining academic rigor. Their essays provide in-depth explanations of the rationale for using fantasy, how to incorporate popular works into course designs, and successes and pitfalls for both the teacher and the student in this approach to learning.

Reading the book as a whole will provide instructors with ways to integrate classic and contemporary works; how best to use and present movies; detailed interpretations of popular novels, films, and games; discussion, assignment, and essay test questions; and resources for further reference. There are case studies of using fantasy media to teach interdisciplinary courses, philosophy, political science, and, of course, English literature and composition. However, the techniques used in the examples presented can easily be applied to other disciplines such as religion, history, business, art, science, or whatever subject is being taught. The book is also useful for self-directed learners.

This is a helpful resource for any teacher who is searching for ways to make course material more relevant for students. Parents reading the book may be reassured that their children’s minds are not being destroyed by an interest in fantasy. Homeschoolers will discover ways to channel their children’s interest in popular media to increase interest in academic subjects. If nothing else, reading this book will likely spark curiosity in exploring the many books, films, and games referenced. This book does a thorough job in illustrating how fantasy can make learning fantastic.

This is a useful book for teachers both at the secondary and university level who want to use fantasy and science fiction books and films in the classroom, or teach about fantasy, science fiction, or fairy stories. It includes analysis of popular fantasy/horror books and films, discussion of how such material has been used in the classroom, and analysis of key ideas and tropes. I was particularly struck by one essay relating fantasy to political theory and wish that theme had been pursued at greater length.

Fantasy Media in the Classroom is a collection of essays which describe why fantasy media and popular culture are useful in the classroom. For instance students can learn the same techniques using popular fiction as they can with an old-school class, but they feel more confident in their analyses because they already feel like they are experts on popular culture. These lessons and confidence can then be extrapolated on to classical literature. Fantasy Media in the Classroom also gives examples of how popular culture can be used to design lessons. This book was written mostly from the perspective of teaching college students, but a few essays talk about high school students. It's possible these lessons could also be changed a bit and used for younger students, as well. I think this book would be useful to teachers, even if they don't plan on fully incorporating popular culture in their classrooms, because it may help them to see the benefit of popular culture references their students make during class...and how such references could be embraced as an interesting interpretation rather than brushed off. I am not a teacher, but I found this book interesting because it helped me to better understand what fantasy media says about psychology/sociology/politics.