Political science, voting, candidates, humor, jokes,
February 18, 2019
The Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University is planning a program entitled “Political Humor and its Impact on American Life.” The program is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. It will be held in Banquet Room B of the Oakland Center on campus at Oakland University. It is free and open to the public.
Keynote speaker for the program is Jody C Baumgartner, Ph.D., the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of political science at East Carolina University. Dr. Baumgartner is an expert on political humor and satire and will share his take on where we stand with humor in American politics in 2019.
“Political humor and satire have played a role in U.S. politics and society since Benjamin Franklin, who is credited with offering the first political cartoon in 1754,” said OU political science professor David Dulio, director of the Center for Civic Engagement. “While the medium has changed over time political humor and satire has always been there. However, the advent of television shows like Saturday Night Live and then The Daily Show and The Colbert Report brought about a renewed focus in the American public. That has only continued in recent years with social media memes and other methods. This program will spark important conversations about political humor’s impact on American politics including whether Americans actually learn from consuming this information and whether there are any unintended consequences that come with it."
The event is sponsored by Pi Sigma Alpha, Oakland University’s Student Congress and the Center for Civic Engagement.
About the Center for Civic Engagement:
The Oakland University Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) takes important issues of public concern and public policy out of the classroom and actively engages many different stakeholders — includes students, faculty, policy makers and community members — in non-partisan, deliberative and productive dialogue. Indeed, democracy is better served through respectful discussions about important issues. In short, the Center for Civic Engagement acts as a “convener of conversations” on a variety of issues that impact the local, state and federal levels. These types of events are designed to lead to a more informed citizenry in our surrounding communities.
