Call for Applications
The Popular Media for Social Change Research Excellence Cluster is excited to announce the launch of the Pop Pedagogies Award Program for the 2024-2025 academic year. This program will provide $1,500 CAD to support UBC community members in the development of innovative lesson plans, modules, or units that meaningfully integrate popular media (imagined broadly) into teaching and learning. Six recipients will be awarded in each of the next two years, with the expectation that award recipients contribute their materials to the Pop Pedagogies Lesson Plan Archive and present their work at the 2026 Pop Pedagogies Symposium at UBC.
Deadline: Applications will reopen in November 2025
Value: $1,500 CAD
Program Overview
Popular culture is one of the most powerful and pervasive forms of cultural production, reflecting and driving social and political change. However, it often remains on the fringes of academic inquiry. The Popular Media for Social Change Research Excellence Cluster aims to bring popular culture into the center of scholarly and pedagogical work, exploring its potential to illuminate and catalyze social transformation. Pop Pedagogies Award Program is designed to support the creation of educational resources that engage with popular media in innovative ways, helping to foster student learning, critical thinking, and cultural literacy. Pedagogy projects funded by the Award Program should explore how popular media can be used as a tool to address discourses of decolonization, social justice, and political change. Projects must involve the creation of a new lesson plan, module, or unit that integrates popular media.
Expectations/Requirements
Applicants should demonstrate a clear connection between their project and the goals of the Popular Media for Social Change Research Cluster, which explores how popular culture reflects and instigates social and political change and turns to popular media in teaching these issues.
Upon completion of the project, grant recipients must complete the following:
- Submission of Materials: Award recipients are required to submit their lesson plan, module, or unit to the Pop Pedagogies Lesson Plan Archive, which will be housed indefinitely on the Pop Culture Cluster website. Recipients must therefore consent to the open-access availability and copyright-free distribution of their teaching materials.
- Pop Pedagogies Symposium/Lightning Talks Participation: Recipients will be invited to present their project at the upcoming Pop Pedagogies Symposium (scheduled for the 2025-2026 academic year), contributing to discussions on innovative pedagogy and popular media. Recipients may be invited to present their project at other events hosted by the Pop Culture Cluster, including Lightning Talks and in-person, hybrid and virtual events on teaching and popular media.
- Final Report: Recipients will be asked to provide a brief final report outlining the outcomes of their project and reflecting on its potential impact on student learning and engagement.
- Recipients must consent to their project’s inclusion in the Pop Culture Cluster’s promotional materials, future grant applications to establish further funding, and annual reports.
Eligibility
The application is open to UBC community members, with priority given to contingent faculty, junior faculty, and graduate students. We also welcome applications from the Vancouver community for execution in K-12 education and the non-profit sector. Applicants may apply with a co-applicant for co-taught courses/units. Please note, graduate students will need their supervisor to sign off on the proposal to authorize fund dispersal to their supervisor’s account.
Eligible Expenses
Funds may be used for: research assistance, media resources or subscriptions, educational materials and tools, software or technology needed for developing or implementing the lesson plan, honoraria for guest speakers, and other pedagogical resources that directly support the creation of the proposed project.
Evaluation Criteria
We particularly encourage proposals that are creative, collaborative, and/or interdisciplinary. Applications will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary committee and ranked on the following criteria:
- Relevance to popular media and social change: How does the proposed project meaningfully integrate popular media into teaching?
- Innovation: Does the project demonstrate a novel pedagogical approach?
- Impact on student learning: Will the project foster critical thinking, cultural literacy, or engagement with social justice issues?
- Feasibility: Can the project be completed within the timeline and under the proposed budget?
How to Apply
Please compile all of the following documents into a single PDF and upload to the application form where indicated:
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- Project Proposal (2 pages): Considering the evaluation criteria, provide a detailed description of your proposed lesson plan, module, or unit, including:
- The specific media and pedagogical methods you plan to use.
- The learning outcomes you aim to achieve.
- How the project aligns with the goals of the Popular Media for Social Change Research Cluster, which seeks to identify the role of popular culture in illuminating and catalyzing social and political change and foster discourse on popular media through academic and public-facing programming and community-engaged, arts-based research.
- A timeline for completing the project.
- Budget (1 page): If applicable, a simple numeric budget, including a brief justification for how the funds will be used. Note: the incurrence of expenses are not a necessary element of this application. Individuals may apply for the award without any listed expenses. However, preference may be given to applicants who would otherwise incur expenses for their proposed projects.
- CV(s): A brief curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages per applicant).
- Project Proposal (2 pages): Considering the evaluation criteria, provide a detailed description of your proposed lesson plan, module, or unit, including:
Submission
Please submit your application when the call reopens in November 2025. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Contact
For questions or further information, please email: pop.culture@ubc.ca.