Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Popular Culture in Teaching, Scholarship, and Outreach: The Simpsons and Futurama

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mathematics Education

Part of the book series: Association for Women in Mathematics Series ((AWMS,volume 7))

Abstract

Subject to thoughtful analysis of the benefits and challenges, popular culture can be an ideal source of fun ways to connect students and the general public to mathematics. My colleague Andrew Nestler and I created, class-tested, and widely shared activities related to the Twentieth Century Fox television show The Simpsons. The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) provides us with an analytic framework to develop, improve, and share our activities. We designed the activities to introduce or review important mathematical concepts and engage students. Later I expanded my interest into Futurama, another Twentieth Century Fox television show. I will describe informal outreach activities connected to both programs, including our educational website Simpsonsmath.com and my interactive lecture that audiences have accessed worldwide from a Futurama DVD. I will summarize the reception of my work by departmental colleagues, the institution, and the mathematical community. I will reflect on how this work has affected students and general audiences. I will also consider the direct and indirect impacts on my career and the unique challenges and rewards of working with popular culture in teaching, scholarship, and outreach.

MSC Codes

00A09

00A66

97A40

97A80

97D40

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Appelbaum, P. (1995). Popular culture, educational discourse, and mathematics. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, D., Borwein, P., & Plouffe, S. (1997). On the rapid computation of various polylogarithmic constants. Mathematics of Computation, 66(218), 903–913.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, D. X., & Groening, M. (Executive Producers). (1999–2009). Futurama (television series). Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, D. X., Groening, M., & Keeler, K. (Executive Producers). (2007). Futurama: Bender’s big score (DVD). Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Entin, C. (2003). Math on The Simpsons. Scholastic Math, 23(9), cover, 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Georgoulias, T., Greenwald, S., & Wichterich, M. (2004). Futurama Ï€k: Mathematics in the year 3000. Math Horizons, 11(4), 12–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goff, C., & Greenwald, S. (2007). To boldly go: Current work and future directions in mathematics and popular culture. PRIMUS, XVII(1), 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, S. (2004). Futurama math: Mathematics in the year 3000. Retrieved May 10, 2016 from http://cs.appstate.edu/~sjg/futurama/.

  • Greenwald, S. (2007). Klein’s beer: Futurama comedy and writers in the classroom. PRIMUS, XVII(1), 52–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, S., & Nestler, A. (2001). Simpsonsmath.com. Retrieved May 10, 2016 from http://simpsonsmath.com.

  • Greenwald, S., & Nestler, A. (2004a). r dr r: Engaging students with significant mathematical content from The Simpsons. PRIMUS, XIV(1), 29–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, S., & Nestler, A. (2004b). Using popular culture in the mathematics and mathematics education classroom. PRIMUS, XIV(1), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groening, M., & Brooks, J. L. (Executive Producers). (1989-present). The Simpsons (television series). Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horsted, E. (Writer), & Haaland, B. (Director). (1999, April 6). I, Roommate (television series episode). In D. X. Cohen & M. Groening (Executive Producers), Futurama. Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, T. (Writer), & Kruse, N. (Director). (2010, October 10). MoneyBart (television series episode). In M. Groening & J. L. Brooks (Executive Producers), The Simpsons. Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, K. (2006). Attitudinal and structural factors contributing to challenges in the work of the scholarship of teaching and learning. New Directions for Institutional Research, 129, 37–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, K. (2012). Making a difference: Application of SoTL to enhance learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12(1), 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrell, E. (2002). Toward a critical pedagogy of popular culture: Literacy development among urban youth. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46(1), 72–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oakley, B., (Writer), Weinstein, J. (Writer), & Reardon, J. (Director). (1993, May 6). Marge in chains (television series episode). In M. Groening & J. L. Brooks (Executive Producers), The Simpsons. Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, M. (Writer), & Polcino, M. (Director). (2015, May 17). Mathlete’s feat (television series episode). In M. Groening & J. L. Brooks (Executive Producers), The Simpsons. Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schacht, S., & Stewart, B. (1990). What’s funny about statistics? A technique for reducing student anxiety. Teaching Sociology, 18(1), 52–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selman, M. (Writer), & Kruse, N. (Director). (2006, April 30). Girls just want to have sums (television series episode). In M. Groening & J. L. Brooks (Executive Producers), The Simpsons. Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. (2013). The Simpsons and their mathematical secrets. New York: Bloomsbury.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Summers, L. H. (2005). Remarks at NBER conference on diversifying the science & engineering workforce. Retrieved May 11, 2016 from http://www.harvard.edu/president/speeches/summers2005/nber.php.

  • Takahashi, M., Shimizu, H., Saito, S., & Tomoyori, H. (2006). One percent ability and ninety-nine percent perspiration: A study of a Japanese memorist. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32(5), 1195–1200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitti, J. (Writer), & Silverman, D. (Director). (1990, January 14). Bart the genius (television series episode). In M. Groening & J. L. Brooks (Executive Producers), The Simpsons. Boston, MA: Twentieth Century Fox.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Department of Cultural, Gender, and Global Studies, Appalachian State University, 121 Bodenheimer Drive, 326 Walker Hall, Boone, NC, 28608, USA

    Sarah J. Greenwald

Authors
  1. Sarah J. Greenwald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah J. Greenwald .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Jacqueline Dewar

  2. Independent, Columbia Falls, Maine, USA

    Pao-sheng Hsu

  3. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA

    Harriet Pollatsek

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Greenwald, S.J. (2016). Popular Culture in Teaching, Scholarship, and Outreach: The Simpsons and Futurama . In: Dewar, J., Hsu, Ps., Pollatsek, H. (eds) Mathematics Education. Association for Women in Mathematics Series, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44950-0_24

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation