All the World’s a Stage... Even the Classroom!
As a Psychology professor, I learned long ago that connecting course material to fictional topics is a great way for students to really understand the concepts. One day I was listening to the soundtrack from Wicked in my car when I heard the lyric “Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” (Schwartz, 2003). Fortunately for my husband, I abruptly stopped singing along as I paused to ponder what was being asked… and recognized it as the core psychological question of whether nature or nurture are more important in development.
That moment in the car made me wonder what other psychological concepts could be found in our favorite Broadway musicals. I’ve always loved the theater, and am familiar with many of the classics. And yet, I’d never really paused to consider how I could combine my love for musical theater with my passion for teaching Psychology. An idea was born that day, which turned into a course called the Psychology of Musical Theater.
This class, which first ran in Fall 2023 (and is scheduled to run again in Spring 2025!), allowed students to explore shows such as West Side Story, Grease, Hairspray, and Rent while recognizing the concepts they’ve been learning in all their other classes. We speculated how Annie might have been a different story if she was a boy, discussed teenage risk taking in Grease, and explored race and weight discrimination in Hairspray. We recognized the power of class differences in The Greatest Showman and tackled parenting styles in The Sound of Music. Teaching this class was probably the most professional fun I’ve ever had, and the students reported loving the class and looking forward to coming each week. Their final papers blew me away with creativity and accurate application of psychological concepts.
Even if you don’t teach psychology, I encourage my fellow educators to consider ways to bring popular culture into the classroom. You’ll be surprised how much your students can learn… and how much fun you can have along the way!
If you want to learn more about ways to incorporate popular culture into psychology, check out my Psi Chi blog (and please encourage your students to submit any relevant class papers!).
