Homer Simpson helped spread federally required teachings about the Constitution across campus Monday.
Political science Prof. Jerry Goldman held a lecture titled “D’oh! What Popular Culture Can Teach Us About the U.S. Constitution,” combining history with visual aids such as video clips of “The Simpsons,” “South Park” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” The hour-long lecture was delivered twice, once in the morning in Fisk Hall and again in the afternoon in the Technological Institute,
“Until this summer, I’ve been not much of a fan of ‘The Simpsons,'” Goldman said at the beginning of the lecture. “So this took a lot of work. I had three assistants help me.”
Goldman began his lecture with a brief history of Constitution Day itself. Although Constitution Day is not a federal holiday, Congress mandated last year that all schools receiving federal funding hold an educational program pertaining to the Constitution on Sept. 17, the anniversary of the document’s signing. Because Sept. 17 fell on a Saturday, many schools, including NU, held events on alternate days.
The mandate was slipped into a Senate appropriations bill last December and included no funding for the programs or specifics about what should be included in them.
Thousands of institutions nationwide held events as a result of the new law, including cosmetology schools.
Universities across the country found creative ways to fulfill the requirement. The University of Southern California in Los Angeles worked references to the Constitution into a political conference called “Engage L.A.: National Campaign for Civic and Political Participation.”
The University of Washington in Seattle created a Web site that links to the document, controversial issues surrounding the Constitution and a list of suggested readings.
The morning lecture at NU attracted nearly 60 people, about half of whom were freshmen. It was an event planned for New Student Week.
“I didn’t really want to sit in my dorm room all day, and it was in my New Student Week packet,” said Medill freshman Blanca Mendez. “It had its moments. It was pretty funny at times.”
Goldman used his video clips to aid specific points in his lecture. To define Constitutional amendments, he showed a parody from “The Simpsons” of a “School House Rock” song.
To help define the Founding Fathers, he showed part of a “South Park” episode with characters talking about the Founding Fathers during an anti-war rally.
Goldman is known for using technology to aid students’ understanding of government and law. He leads the Oyez Project, an online multimedia United States Supreme Court database.
He has received several software awards from the American Political Science Association, including the 2005 Best Instructional Web Site award for his work with another professor.
“It was good and very informative and interesting,” said Yeh-Chun Lee, a first-year graduate student in Medill. “He integrated sound and visual effects into something (otherwise) really hard for students to digest.”
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