Pop Culture in the Classroom

American Idol , Karl Marx, and Alexis de Tocqueville

Bibliographic Data

ID12378843
AuthorsM Centellas (0000-0002-7264-7044)
Year2010
Volume43
Issue3
Pages561-565
Publication date2010-06-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePS Political Science & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-0965 • E-ISSN: 1537-5935
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1049096510000818
OpenAlexW2059675278
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited2

This article discusses the use of pop culture in the classroom as a means to teach foundational political science authors and concepts. I focus on my experience using American Idol as a point of reference to discuss Marx and Engel's The Communist Manifesto and Tocqueville's Democracy in America in undergraduate comparative politics courses. Students are asked to construct a written argument projecting Marx or Tocqueville's perceptions of American Idol , based on their readings. My experiences demonstrate that asking students to reflect on their own contemporary experience through the prism of these two works helps them in three ways: (1) to better understand the ideas of Marx and Tocqueville, as well as their differences; (2) to develop an appreciation for the continued relevance of works in the discipline's canon; and (3) to sharpen and develop critical thinking and analytical skills

Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis · Communism · Construct (python library · Democracy · Epistemology · Manifesto · Political science · Politics · Relevance (law · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Political Science Research and Education · Political Theory and Influence · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory

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