Using Satire to Teach Introduction to Political Science

Posted: 11 Feb 2012 Last revised: 13 Feb 2012

See all articles by Rebecca A. Glazier

Rebecca A. Glazier

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

Political satire in popular culture has become increasingly prominent in recent years, especially through programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Some political science professors have responded by employing more satire in their courses. The motivation is clear: students enjoy and are entertained by satire, research shows that they may actually be informed by it, and satire can make teaching a more enjoyable experience. Yet recent work suggests that political satire may encourage cynicism and decrease political efficacy among students—a finding likely to give instructors pause. Using classroom experiments, I systematically explore the effects of satire, focusing in particular on political efficacy. The results offer suggestive evidence refuting the earlier warning, indicating that satire does not decrease political efficacy; in fact, it may even increase it. Additionally, both qualitative and quantitative evidence presented here indicates that students enjoy satire and recommend that it be used to teach future courses. Although the results are certainly not conclusive, they may offer enough evidence to justify including an article from The Onion on the reading list or showing a clip from Saturday Night Live in class. For instructors that are so inclined, the appendix contains a catalogued sample of satirical articles, video clips, and cartoons that can be used to teach specific political science concepts.

Keywords: satire, teaching, political efficacy

Suggested Citation

Glazier, Rebecca A., Using Satire to Teach Introduction to Political Science (2012). APSA 2012 Teaching & Learning Conference Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1997608

Rebecca A. Glazier (Contact Author)

University of Arkansas at Little Rock ( email )

Little Rock, AR 72201
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
1,059
PlumX Metrics