Teaching

Courses Taught

Teaching Toolkits and Resources

Syllabus

1. Game Studies (undergraduate)

   • “Games as Social Technology—A Syllabus.” Pop Junctions. https://henryjenkins.org/blog/2022/12/11/games-as-social-technologya-syllabus

Discussion, Teaching Prompt, In-class Activity, Media Literacy

1. AI and Pedagogy

   • "REFLECTION-AI: Artificial Intelligence or Algorithmic Instruction Problem? Empowering Students through Situated Knowledges-based Reflexivity". Frontiers in Communication, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1598082

     • Abstract: This article argues for a socio-technical rethinking of the contexts of teaching and assessing with artificial intelligence (AI), whether viewed as a threat or an opportunity. Drawing on technology studies and critical reflection on student experiences with English academic writing assignments in pre-AI era Korea, I reposition the “AI problem” as a cultural problem, namely an “algorithmic instruction” problem concerning structural prioritization of formulaic student work and pedagogical standardization, not a novel technology or individual moral(e) problem. Therefore, cultural, structural solutions are desirable. As potential breakthroughs, critical feminist epistemology of situated knowledges and qualitative methodological practice of reflexivity are discussed. Four practical mottos inspired from the concepts are introduced: 1. Building from positionality and reflexivity; 2. Memorization to (aided) storytelling; 3. “I” to “beyond-I” scaffolding; and 4. Evaluation to celebration. Examples from personal teaching experiences and implications for AI integration are discussed. Sustainable (re-)imaginations of AI in pedagogy are recommended. [Keywords: artificial intelligence, algorithmic culture, algorithmic instruction, situated knowledges, reflexivity, pedagogy]

       • Part of Frontiers in Communication's Research Topic "Teaching and Assessing with AI: Teaching Ideas, Research, and Reflectionsˆ (eds. D. Girardelli, A. W. Ou & K. Merrill Jr.): "By the end of 2022, generative AI technologies based on large language models had become easily accessible and increasingly widespread. As disruptive technologies, their full impact and range of applications are still unfolding. Education is one of the six key application areas for generative AI identified by Chiarello et al. (2024)....Specifically, educators are called to tackle, among other things, the changing dynamics of teacher-student communication, the shifting nature of their role, ethical concerns in assessment, and the impact of generative AI on intercultural understanding in increasingly diverse education settings."; "The aim of this Research Topic is to offer a platform for researchers and educators to reflect on the impact of these technological shifts on classroom culture and to share innovative pedagogical experiments that enhance teaching and assessing practices. "

2. Virtual Influencer, AI, Robot, Authenticity, Future

   • “Artificial Not Welcome, Real Is Better? Sus Virtual Beings Among Us.” In Media Res. MediaCommons. https://mediacommons.org/imr/content/artificial-not-welcome-real-better-sus-virtual-beings-among-us-2

     • Teaching prompt and discussion on artificial beings. Video advertisement.

     • About In Media Res: "The longest-running feature of MediaCommons is In Media Res, which focuses on up-to-the minute discussion of brief excerpts from media texts in weekly thematic clusters." (In Media Res)

3. Super Bowl Advertisement, Civic Imagination, Popular Culture, Identity, Social Values

   • “What Super Bowl Advertisements Can Teach Us About the Civic Imagination.” (In collaboration with Henry Jenkins, Maximilian Brichta, Paulina Lanz, Amanda Lee, Steven Proudfoot, Sangita Shresthova, Isabel DeLano, Molly Frizzell, Alfonso Hegde, Azeb Madebo, Ioana Mischie, Christopher Persaud, Becky Pham, Marley Randazzo, Khaliah Reed, Daisy Reid, Ingvild Kvale Sørenssen, Jessica Steel, Mythily Nair, Essence Wilson) The Journal of Media Literacy, Returning to Normalcy: Exchanges and Interchanges International Media Literacy Research Symposium '22 Issue. https://ic4ml.org/journal-article/what-super-bowl-advertisements-can-teach-us-about-the-civic-imagination/

     • Abstract: This article explores how Super Bowl advertisements can be used to understand and apply the authors’ concept of the “civic imagination,” which was developed in their recent books, Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination (2020) and Practicing Futures (2020). They offer an analysis of selected 2022 Super Bowl ads with the goal to provide a map for educators who may be interested in exploring these, and similar media artifacts and themes with their students. They begin by laying down a foundation for civic imagination, then explore the themes that emerged through a contextual exploration of all the ads included in the 2022 lineup before diving into a close reading of two specific ads. Some surprising, yet insightful, disconnects were discovered through the process highlighting the nuanced and layered nature of the civic imagination(s). [Keyword(s): Civic Imagination, Popular Culture, Identity, Social Values, SuperBowl Ad]

     • About The Journal of Media Literacy: "Our goal is to make JML, The Journal of Media Literacy a more accessible resource for our readership: K-12 teachers, teacher educators, professors, community activists, media professionals, and students from around the world interested in growing the field of media literacy. We want to be a bridge which connects the professional to the lay person across the various disciplines, pedagogies, and approaches that encompass today’s literacies." (International Council for Media Literacy)

4. Media and Popular Culture, Critical Media Literacy, Reflexive Writing

   • "The Joy Kill Club: On Squid Game (2021), a Roundtable-Monologue by a Korean Female Aca-fan." Confessions of an Aca-fan (now Pop Junctions: Reflections on Entertainment, Pop Culture, Activism, Media Literacy, Fandom and More). https://henryjenkins.org/blog/2021/10/30/squid-game-part-one

     • Exercise or writing assignment template.

     • About Pop Junctions: "Pop Junctions has evolved from Henry Jenkins’ blog Confessions of an Aca-Fan into a platform of diverse content generated by a collective editorial board."

Community Activity, Teaching Toolkit

2. Civic Imagination, Environment, Plant, Community

   • “Watering the Civic Imagination” (developed in collaboration with Delano, I., Mischie, I., Persaud, C., & Quick, T.). Civic Imagination Project. https://www.civicimaginationproject.org/watering-civic-imagination

     • About the Civic Imagination Toolkits: "Designed to take around 20 minutes, each of the activities described here offers a constructive and informal way through which individuals and communities reflect, observe and imagine, placing plants, nature, stories and the civic imagination at the center of the conversation. Here, plants, and the stories they inspire, become portals for us to notice, reflect, create, connect, and chart collective paths forward." (Civic Imagination Project)