Prof contributes to book on politics and pop culture

Thu, September 4, 2008 |

The overwhelming volume of commercials for political candidates this fall may have many television viewers wishing for an early arrival of the new season of "American Idol" or looking for reruns of "The Chappelle Show." Yet those popular television shows provide some important insights into the political system, says a Valparaiso University professor who has contributed to a new book connecting American politics and popular culture.

Dr. Jennifer Hora, an assistant professor of political science, has penned a chapter in the new book Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics Through Popular Culture. Her chapter, "The President as Hero: Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Bartlet," discusses how NBC's "The West Wing" presented its fictional President Bartlet as a hero and how that portrayal compares to actual presidents.

Dr. Hora became involved in the book when Joseph J. Foy, a friend and colleague of hers, met her at a conference while he was in the midst of editing the book.

"He mentioned the need for someone with expertise in the presidency to do a chapter on 'The West Wing'," Dr. Hora said. "As a fan of the show and a presidency scholar, it was a wonderful opportunity."

Dr. Hora says she frequently makes references to pop culture while teaching her political science classes as a way to start conversation and illustrate how government and the political system work. In a course on "U.S. National Government," for example, her students spend one day learning about election models and how various political systems use different methods of selecting representatives.

"In my introduction to the topic, we discuss 'American Idol,' 'Survivor,' 'Big Brother' and other TV shows, how they use different 'election' or decision-making models and how the outcomes vary because of that," Dr. Hora said. "Making references to pop culture gives students a starting point, even if it is only to point out how different real-life politics can be from TV."

In the case of "The West Wing," she notes that President Bartlet is often portrayed as being solely responsible for decisions that are made in the White House.

"In the chapter I wrote, I detail some stories of when a president has actually behaved in this way, but focus on how, in reality, presidents rely heavily on their staffs and rarely have a 'go-it-alone' mentality," Dr. Hora said. "I encourage my students to apply political science theories to every day events and contributing to this book was a chance for me to systematically apply political science theories to a popular television show."

The essays in Homer Simpson Goes to Washington address common assumptions about government and explain fundamental concepts about democracy, ethics, civil rights, the influence of interest groups and other issues.

Dr. Hora said the book was written to appeal to both students of American politics as well as readers with an interest in current events or popular culture.

Dr. Hora teaches courses in American politics, public policy, public administration and state and local government. She has conducted research analyzing the persuasive communications found in the tape-recorded conversations of Presidents Nixon and Johnson, as well as relations between the executive and legislative branches of government.