Teaching philosophy, popular culture, and student experience

Abstract

In this article I focus on novel approaches open to teachers of philosophy (and, more generally, of the human sciences) who face the task of engaging students' interest in philosophy in the context of an overwhelmingly ‘audiovisual’ culture. Is it true that, as some cultural pessimists have argued, the prospects of a literary/philosophical education are bleak beyond redemption? Or are there alternative ways of giving students access to important philosophical issues, utilizing the very cultural products that they value? The argument put forward is that it is possible to use the artifacts and practices of popular culture (in the form of rock music and film, for instance) to raise such issues, and ultimately to interest students in written texts as well. In a nutshell: the teaching of philosophy is surprisingly successful if teachers engage students on home ground with a view to identifying and elaborating on important philosophical questions.