Abstract

This article offers a project-based English lesson with university students, which is aimed at studying the way that stereotypes function in mass culture. Critical multiculturalism is currently gaining more and more attention among researchers. Its rise is reflected in English language study books, which stands in stark contrast with the inexhaustible popularity of stereotypes in popular culture. Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that stereotypes are viewed not only as clichéd images of ethnic and socio-cultural groups, but they also participate in categorizing the flow of incoming information and thus act as an essential tool of cognition. During the preparation for the project-based lesson, students studied and analysed the functioning of stereotypes in various samples of popular culture, including commercials and memes, and then presented the results of their research in class. With the help of the teacher, the students identified the following functions of stereotypes in popular culture: cognitive, persuasive, integrative, reflexive, entertaining (including sarcastic), therapeutic, and the function of compression. Further research may continue this list and describe the hierarchical relations between the functions.

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