Representing "U"
ASHE Higher Education Report, 40:4
J–B ASHE Higher Education Report Series (AEHE) Series

From the magazines and newspapers of the mid–1800s to movies and apps of the twenty–first century, popular culture and media in the United States provide prolific representations of higher education. This report positions artifacts of popular culture as pedagogic texts able to (mis)educate viewers and consumers regarding the purpose, values, and people of higher education. It:

• Discusses scholarly literature across disciplines
• Examines a diverse array of cross–media artifacts
• Reveals pedagogical messages embedded in popular culture texts to prompt thinking about the multiple ways higher education isrepresented to society through the media.

Informative and engaging, higher education professionals can use the findings to intentionally challenge the (mis)educating messages about higher education through programs, policies, and perspectives.

This is the 4th issue of the 40th volume of the Jossey–Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Executive Summary vii

Foreword xi

Representing "U": Popular Higher Education 1

Introduction 1

Framing Higher Education in Popular Culture 2

Examining Popular Culture 6

(Mis)educating "U" 10

Once Upon a "U": A Brief Historical Examination of Popular Higher Education 13

Introduction 13

Popular and Prolific "U": Examining Popular Culture 13

Concluding Thoughts 19

Being "U": The Setting of Higher Education 21

Introduction 21

Being an Institution of Higher Education: Thematic Discourses 22

Being an Institution of Higher Education Too: The Salience of Type 32

Concluding Thoughts 42

Running "U": Administrators in Popular Culture 43

Introduction 43

Being a Higher Education Administrator: Types and Presence 44

Being a Higher Education Administrator: Thematic Discourses 46

(Mis)running "U"? 50

Professing "U": Faculty in Popular Culture 53

Introduction 53

Categorizing Popular Culture Professors 54

Trusting the Professoriate 58

White, Straight, and Male: The Professorial Status Quo and Alternative Narratives 64

The Pop Culture Ceiling: Gendered Challenges to the Status Quo 71

Concluding Thoughts 79

Learning From "U": College Students in Popular Culture 81

Introduction 81

Shaping Popular Culture College Students Through Institutional Status 82

Popularity and Privilege in College Student Popular Culture 90

Concluding Thoughts 107

(Re)educating "U": Learning From Popular Culture 109

Introduction 109

Opportunities for (Re)education 111

Future Popular Culture Research 122

Conclusion 124

Notes 125

References 127

Name Index 137

Subject Index 141

About the Author 145