Functions of Stereotypes in Mass Culture in the Context of Critical Multiculturalism

The article offers a project-based lesson of English with university students, which is aimed at studying the way 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 mass 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 analyzed the functioning of stereotypes in various samples of mass culture, including commercials and memes, and then presented the results of their research in class. With the help of their teacher the students managed to reveal the following functions of stereotypes in mass culture: cognitive, persuasive, integrative, reflexive, entertaining (including sarcastic), therapeutic function, and the function of compression. Further research may continue this list and describe the hierarchical relations between the functions.