EngageIt! 2008 : Politics and ...

Try this: Turn off the campaign ads and tune out the campaign stump speeches. Try to forget the debates and the mudslinging. Is politics any fun?

Well, of course it is! There is sex and scandal and the nagging question of just how could a person actually believe that other guy? We dedicate our second annual EngageIt! day to the fun side of it all.

Session One: The History of Sex, Scandal and Politics (9:00-10:15) looks up from the political underbelly. Even the most brilliant of our Founding Fathers left a legacy of juicy stories. We want to remember the duels between congressmen, senators and even a vice-president; the steamy sex scandals that brought down some of the very highest in the land, the shameful and shameless family values; and the nastiest of political campaigning -- then maybe we’ll talk too about the 1800s, 1900s and beyond. The Powerpoint presentation is now available online. You can also download the pdf version of America's Top 53 Political Sex Scandals.

Session Two: Your Brain on Politics (10:30-11:45) looks at it inside your head. Of course, we LIKE to think we look at all the info and make reasonable decisions on how we will vote, but do we really? Could our brains actually be wired for liberal or conservative? And why do some of us so totally get off on politics? Is it our drug of choice? We asked the Psychology Department's Brenda Fonseca to unravel our neurons and help us understand some of the why of our preferences.

Session Three: Politics at the Movies (Noon-1:15) looks at it up on a silver screen. Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson have all taken turns as movie presidents, but they didn't have to work to get there. But campaigns are where all the really good drama is. And for that we turn to John Travolta, Robert Redford, Sean Penn and Chris Rock (?!) For this one, we will sample some of the best (and the worst) American political movies. We even provide the popcorn.

Session Four: Politics and Popular Music (1:30-2:45) actually listens to it. From the days of Yankee Doodle, American politics has been embodied in, used, was influenced by and abused popular music. We will present songs written for the revolution, political campaigns, abolitionists, the labor movement, anti-war protests, the Civil Rights struggle, and more. We have punk, folk, rock, and country, angry songs and rally songs -- recordings that stretch over almost 100 years.

Four sessions, gigabytes of multimedia, and a willingness to suspend our party affiliation for the simple joy of analyzing our great American legacy. We want you. And your classes.

Thursday, 10/30 | LB 145, Paul Elsner Library