This summer was not just about experiencing unpredictable weather, it also included many pop culture moments that became monumental trends. From Love Island’s viral “I pick Clark” moment to the release of the new Superman movie, the name Clark seemed to be everywhere, making Clark the accidental mascot of summer television and film.
Of the many people who saw the new Superman movie, Dr. Dwain Pruitt, chief equity officer and vice president for community initiatives, saw an opportunity to do pop culture programming at Wofford. As a comic historian, Pruitt thought the timing of the Superman movie was ideal to talk about superheroes in the context of human experiences.
“Comic books are uniquely American mythology and they draw very heavily on the experience of second generation Jewish Americans, who were trying to become heroes in the rise of Hollywood,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt explained that Superman, created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, both sons of Jewish immigrants, became a symbol of the immigrant experience itself: navigating two identities while searching for acceptance in a larger community.
Beyond the colorful panels, comics can serve as academic material. Pruitt has taught eight classes on superheroes as topics at Wofford.
“Everything can be studied historically. It’s like the world that created it, and the moment in which certain characters are created,” Pruitt said. “You can use that character to talk about historical changes.”
Pruitt’s perspective highlights why comics are more than just books filled with drawings; they allow the reader to connect with the struggles, hopes and victories of the characters that feel personal and comforting.
“Superheroes are a very intimate part of the American imagination, and so they tell us a lot about ourselves,” Pruitt said.
Building on these ideas, Pruitt invited Danny Fingeroth, an esteemed comic book writer and editor, to Wofford on Sept. 15 to discuss his book, Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero. The talk explored how superheroes, like Superman, reflect cultural identity, social change and the experiences of Jewish creators in shaping some of America’s most iconic characters.
When asked about the importance of connecting to pop culture as students, Pruitt expressed that comics are a form of history books that should be consumed carefully.
“We consume media uncritically. We see things and don’t ask ourselves the very basic questions about the values that inform us about this time period,” Pruitt said. “I think we all have to learn to consume media critically.”
By inviting Danny Fingeroth to campus, Pruitt hoped to spark conversations about identity, representation and the role superheroes play in shaping collective imagination. At Wofford, this event reminded students that pop culture is not just about entertainment, but a lens for understanding history, society and even ourselves.
