Reality Show Syllabus
Challenging the general assumption that reality television is dumbing us down, colleges across the country are using it as a teaching tool. Is Richard Hatch replacing Hegel?
FOX
Dr. Marilyn Easter, a professor at San Jose State University, uses the talent show's judges to teach different forms of communication: Simon Cowell's style is "direct negative news message," Paula Abdul's was "indirect negative news and good news message," and Randy Jackson's was "mixed message."
FOX
Dr. Easter shows students The Apprentice to explain how to create business plans and bring ideas to fruition. Survivor demonstrates strategies in communication and building relationships.
NBC; CBS
Dr. Amy Aldridge Sanford, an assistant professor of communication studies at Northeastern State University in Talaqua, Oklahoma, wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on Big Brother. She now teaches courses about reality shows, and they've become so popular the number of students had to be capped.
CBS
Dr. Sanford's asks her students to focus on the people who are marginalized-such as the women on The Bachelor. "Women are portrayed as much more desperate than men on the show," she says. "They're shown bawling their eyes out, saying, 'This is the love of my life' about a guy they met 10 minutes before."
ABC / Getty Images
The evolution of The Real World is a topic Sanford explores, as are the racial and ethnic stereotypes on display on Jersey Shore and Flavor of Love. Discussing those stereotypes is super important in a school located in a state like Oklahoma, where most of the white students have had very little interaction with people of color.
MTV; VH1; MTV
SYTYCD is a favorite of Dr. Stephen Swanson, an instructor in the English department at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. He screens the show for freshmen composition students who need to figure out how to approach college when they've been coddled in high school. Swanson compares running a kitchen in Kitchen Nightmares to writing a research project. And The Biggest Loser? That teaches realism.
FOX (2); NBC
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.