Homer Simpson Ponders Politics

It is often said that the poet Homer "educated" ancient Greece. Joseph J. Foy and Timothy M. Dale have assembled a team of notable scholars who argue, quite persuasively, that Homer Simpson and his ilk are educating America and offering insights into the social order and the human condition.

Following Homer Simpson Goes to Washington (winner of the John G. Cawelti Award for Best Textbook or Primer on American and Popular Culture) and Homer Simpson Marches on Washington, this exceptional volume reveals how books like J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, movies like Avatar and Star Wars, and television shows like The Office and Firefly define Americans' perceptions of society. The authors expand the discussion to explore the ways in which political theories play out in popular culture. Homer Simpson Ponders Politics includes a foreword by fantasy author Margaret Weis (coauthor/creator of the Dragonlance novels and game world) and is divided according to eras and themes in political thought: The first section explores civic virtue, applying the work of Plato and Aristotle to modern media. Part 2 draws on the philosophy of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Smith as a framework for understanding the role of the state. Part 3 explores the work of theorists such as Kant and Marx, and the final section investigates the ways in which movies and newer forms of electronic media either support or challenge the underlying assumptions of the democratic order. The result is an engaging read for undergraduate students as well as anyone interested in popular culture.

A Tale of Two Republics: Plato, Palpatine, and Politics
Aristotle's Politics and the Virtues of Springfield: Community, Education, and Friendship in The Simpsons
Keep Your Friends Close But Your Enemies Closer: Machiavelli and Michael Corleone
Social Contract: Rebellion and Dissent Aboard Serenity
Dwight Schrute and Servile Ambition: Rousseau, Tacitus, and the Politics of The Office
Who Watches the Watchmen?: Kant, Mill, and Political Morality in the Shadow of Manhattan
Avatar, Marx, and the Alienation of Labor
Tolkien's Tales and Political Philosophy in Liberal Democracy
Menschen and Übermenschen: Nietzschean Narratives of Human and Superhuman in Walt Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles
From John Wayne to John McClane: The Hollywood Action Hero and the Critique of the Liberal State
The Politics of Television's Complicated Relationship with Women: The More it Changes, The More it Stays The Same
Muggles, Magic, and Misfits: Michel Foucault at Harry Potter's Hogwarts
Just Give Them the Internet: Social Media and the Promise of Liberal Democracy