Are you tired of poor student evaluations of the textbook you adopted? Hate hearing their complaints about being assigned 30 pages of what they see as an arduous reading experience? What if we told you that a textbook could be funny and irreverent utilizing popular books, movies, music, and television shows to introduce political science concepts? This novel approach to explaining our need for government and the intrigue of politics is a reality. Van Belle and Mash do not compromise on the content you want and need, nor do they stint on real-world political examples throughout the book. The basics and the depth are all here. The added innovation?—to hook students through the popular culture they’re already plugged into.
Simply put, you will never hear complaints that this is a typical or boring textbook. From references to 1984 and Lord of the Flies to mentions of The Matrix and A Clockwork Orange you’ll be surprised by how the core concepts of political science—institutions, ideology, economics, elections, culture, national politics, and international relations—are interwoven with a highly entertaining discussion of popular culture.
“The theme of ideals clashing with reality makes fiction a useful tool for exploring the fundamentals of politics. In novels and films, it is both a common motive that drives the heroic characters and a frequent theme in the settings and contexts of interaction, the plots, and the story lines. In politics, the tension between the real and the ideal is prominent both in theory and in practice. Virtually all who engage in politics must balance the dreams they would like to accomplish if they could against the limitations imposed upon them by the real world.”
This bold, new book can help you integrate films and fiction in to your course—should you choose to—making it easier to assign a novel or two, or have students watch a few films, reinforcing themes and concepts, or creating the basis for a writing assignment. But regardless, the tie-in to popular culture will resonate with your students and get them reading—effortlessly.
The textbook stuff is here too—chapter summaries, bolded key terms, discussion questions, and annotated web resources. Plenty to arm students with mastery of the material and get them ready for the test.
On institutions…
“Federal systems work well in diverse countries, where variations in local conditions, economies, or cultures make it impractical or inefficient to try to impose a single system, or make it difficult to make decisions from a central location…. The Federation in Star Trek provides a perfect example. When Captain Kirk, and later his grandson or nephew or whatever Jean-Luc Picard was, puttered around the final frontier in the glorified intergalactic motor home they called the Enterprise, they talked a lot about the United Federation of Planets. … Within the bounds of the charter of the Federation, the individual planets ruled themselves.”
On economics…
“The battle between idealism and realism in the economics of life is very clearly depicted in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a film based on Betty Smith's novel of the same name. While it is something of a disservice to the complexities of its plot, context, and character to focus only on the economic aspects, it is also clear that the contrast between the idealist and realist perspectives on the world is a critical part of this story. Set early in the twentieth century, the story centers on Francie Nolan, the child of a family beset by poverty and alcoholism, and much of its power derives from the vivid portrayal of the harsh realities of an economic system that does little to ease the pain of the struggling poor.”
On the media…
“The basic plot of Capricorn One is that one of the biggest moments in history was a complete fiction. The United States never actually landed on Mars and may not have landed on the moon. Instead, the whole NASA program was faked on a soundstage. In addition to the really nifty 1970s haircuts, it raises the question, could the moon landings have been faked? Is all that stuff in the textbooks and at Cape Canaveral just part of an elaborate hoax?… Political reality is a mediated reality. It comes to use through channels of information flow, primarily through the news media, and understanding how information is selected, sorted, and presented to you through the news media is critical for developing your understanding of politics and government.”
On political culture…
“There is no denying that culture is real and it has a significant influence on politics. It is almost certain that the Swedish economic model would never work in Australia. It does not take much research to see that a heavily socialist economic model just does not fit with the rugged-individualist ideal of Australian culture. Crocodile Dundee and Steve Irwin may both be caricatures of Australian culture, but caricatures always have to reflect a fair bit of truth in order to work. However, that very same example also makes it clear that we must be very careful in what we attribute to culture.”
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A Novel Approach to Politics: Introducing Political Science through Books, Movies, and Popular Culture Table of Contents Every chapter concludes with a list of key terms, a chapter summary, study questions and exercises, and websites to explore. Testimonials “My general impression of A Novel Approach to Politics is WOW! It contains the elements, discussions, themes, novels, and films that I discuss during my class presentations. For many instructors, this approach is the missing link between a dry class environment and a rich vibrant one. The strength of the text is its capacity to illustrate political theories and the link between theory and practice-praxis. Students will love this book.” - Steven Majstorovic, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire“This textbook is well written, clever, and funny. By connecting popular culture and politics, it definitely makes introductory courses livelier and holds the attention of students. The authors are witty and write very well--they might even be fiction writers at heart. The book this volume most closely resembles is Jon Stewart’s America. Yes, students will enjoy reading this ... until the video comes out.” - John Orman, Fairfield University“A Novel Approach to Politics is a logical fit for introductory political science courses. This book is very readable--smooth, humorous, and peppered with pop culture references and examples, from Star Trek to Sponge Bob to Jerry Maguire, that students can relate to--and relevant in that it provides useful examples to illustrate and explain essential classic and contemporary political concepts. It covers a majority of the issues that introductory political science courses touch upon. It is an asset to undergraduate political science instructors searching for practical--yet innovative and effective--ways to engage students. By applying poems, fables, films, television shows, novels, and even cartoons to political theory, it provides pedagogical opportunities that strict adherence to a traditional text and lecture format does not. As such, I believe that it helps fill a crucial gap in the discipline.” - Kevan M. Yenerall, Clarion University“I am looking forward to using A Novel Approach to Politics in my classes! It is unique, funny, and engaging. I expect students will really enjoy the book. It fills a void in the textbook market--it is accessible to students and engages them in difficult subject matter. I am excited to start using this text with some of the novels and films mentioned in it; this will be an excellent way to spur class discussion and bring home some of the points the authors make.” - Robert Alexander, Ohio Northern UniversityBio(s)
Douglas A. Van Belle, Victoria University at Wellington Sent to Earth shortly before Krypton exploded, Doug VanBelle was raised by gorillas in Africa and then bitten by a radioactive spider while on a high school field trip. None of that helped much at all. He misspent his youth-and a bit more-trying to find a violent competitive sport that did not cause him serious harm, but the four times he broke his nose suggest that he is slow to learn. Somewhere in there, there was a bunch of degrees and some other learnin' stuff. He was awarded a full scholarship in Chemical Engineering, dropped out after the first year, went through seven other majors, failed a creative writing elective, took a semester off to work in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry and somehow still managed to graduate on time. He is now a political science professor who writes science fiction and teaches in the media studies programme at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the former president of both the Foreign Policy Analysis and International Communication research sections of the International Studies Association, the Editor in Chief of Foreign Policy Analysis, and he has written extensively on theories of political decision making and the role of news media in international relations. Kenneth M. Mash, East Stroudsburg University Spurred on by the blatant discrimination inherent in the statement "Trix are for Kids," at age 4 Ken Mash attempted to file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the rabbit and other animals similarly situated. After three errors in one inning squashed his dreams of playing for the Mets, his overactive justice complex led him to pursue a career as a lawyer and politician. While earning his B.A. in political science he discovered what those jobs were really like. Thus, Ken's next degree was in mixology. Eighteen months later, his fiancée informed him that she was leaving town to do graduate work and that she would go either with him or without him. A couple of degrees later, he is currently a political science professor at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he is co-director of the honors program and the pre-law advisor. He has delivered numerous papers and talks on American politics, constitutional law, and civil liberties, and he is very active in the faculty association. He currently resides in Nanticoke, PA, with his wife and four children where he is now content in knowing that his parents were mistaken when, as a child, they told him that he was wasting his time watching T.V. and movies. Ancillaries The Instructor’s Resources are novel too! |