• DOI:10.1017/S1049096510000818
• Corpus ID: 147269124

Pop Culture in the Classroom: American Idol, Karl Marx, and Alexis de Tocqueville

@article{Tocqueville2010PopCI,
  title={Pop Culture in the Classroom: American Idol, Karl Marx, and Alexis de Tocqueville},
  author={Alexis de Tocqueville},
  journal={PS: Political Science \& Politics},
  year={2010},
  volume={43},
  pages={561 - 565}
}

• A. Tocqueville
• Published 30 June 2010
• Sociology
• PS: Political Science & Politics

Abstract 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.