Popular culture as pedagogy in the political theory classroom: reflections from higher education

Jester, Natalie ORCID: 0000-0002-7995-3028 (2021) Popular culture as pedagogy in the political theory classroom: reflections from higher education. European Political Science, 20 (4). pp. 685-697. doi:10.1057/s41304-020-00287-6

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Abstract

Political theory, with its abstract reasoning and unfamiliar vocabulary, is a subject that students are often apprehensive about. Whilst popular culture has been employed extensively in the teaching of other areas of political science, such as international relations, I seek to draw attention to its comparative under-use in political theory and argue that it is a highly effective teaching tool for this subject. I use the autoethnographic method to make my case, drawing on my years-long experience in the university classroom, and take this position for three key reasons: the familiar nature of popular culture allows students to more easily acclimate to the political theory classroom, it renders abstract political theory concrete, and provides a useful arena in which to better test the logic of political theory arguments, enhancing student criticality.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Political theory; Popular culture; Teaching
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Research Priority Areas:	Culture, Continuity, and Transformation
Depositing User:	Nat Jester
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2020 11:10
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2023 08:24
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/9135

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