Popular culture has been seen as a tool for making information literacy more relatable to students. However, when thinking about what popular culture items to bring into the classroom, instructors must take a critical look at the item beyond “is it funny,” or, “does it relate to my lesson.” Instead, instructors must ask themselves whose popular culture is being represented in these works, question their assumptions of universalism in humor, and critically look at whether pop culture actually helps further learning on a particular topic.

Speakers on this panel will take a discerning look at pop culture used in information literacy classrooms, discussing its usefulness, pitfalls, and engagement with undergraduate students. The first project will discuss satirical news stories in the information literacy classroom. The second project looks at implementing memes and gaming as a way of making research more understandable and relatable to students.