Popular culture and entertainment media create an environment that has an enormous influence on all of us. We are constantly bombarded with messages that affect how we think, consciously and unconsciously, about ourselves, others, and the wider world. This environment has far more power to educate--or miseducate--than all adult education programs combined, simply because virtually everyone is immersed in it. Scholars and practitioners have paid relatively little attention to the role of popular culture in the field of adult education, even though many educators of adults use it in their work to teach critical media literacy, to discuss diversity and equity issues, and to explore many aspects of adult development and learning. In this volume, several practitioners illustrate and explain the ways in which they use popular culture in various adult education settings. This is the 113th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.

Author Biography

Elizabeth J. Tisdell is associate professor and coordinator of the Adult Education Doctoral Program at the Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg. Patricia M. Thompson is a doctoral student in adult education at the Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, and currently works as the editorial associate for the Adult Education Quarterly.