Draft version
Teaching Political Science at the Movies
Claudiu Craciun
PhD Student
Political Science Department
National School of Political Studies and Administration
Bucharest, Romania
Email: clcraciun@yahoo.com
PAPER TO BE PRESENTED IN THE EPSNET PLENARY CONFERENCE 2004, CHARLES
UNIVERSITY, PRAGUE
POLITICAL SCIENCE AFTER THE EU ENLARGEMENT: CHALLENGES TO THE DISCIPLINE
epsNet accepts no responsiblity for the views expressed in this paper, which are the author's alone
Claudiu Craciun Teaching Political Science at the Movies
Doing social science nowadays is rather a complicate matter yet not
because of the usual challenge of bridging theory to data, concepts to
reality and research with action. Social sciences might loose their
appeal on their usual ‘clients’, students being one of the most
important categories. Mirroring good social science in popular
culture and the other way around can bring a much needed reality
check into a discipline that finds its virtues in the ability to
accommodate a complex political and intellectual agenda. The aim
of this paper is to evaluate the didactic potential of film in Political
Science teaching/learning, using practical cases build by scholars
worldwide. Firstly, I will asses some of the advantages and
drawbacks of film based Political Science teaching and then continue
with brief overviews of core Political Science fields and the way
they are linked with film production, either fiction or documentary.
Next, a more practical section is presented as to identify typical
challenges arising in developing this specific study format.
Keywords: Film, Political Science teaching, political theory,
international relations,
Argument
Teaching political science through visual material can launch a bet that, if won, can plainly
reward faculty effort. The bet challenges political science as to become apt and willing to
reinsert itself functionally in