Poli Sci Fi An Introduction to Political Science through Science Fiction

Poli Sci Fi: An Introduction to Political Science through Science Fiction allows readers, students, and instructors to explore the multiple worlds of science fiction while gaining a firm grasp of core political science concepts. This carefully composed text is comprised of sixteen brief chapters, each of which takes a prominent science fiction film or television episode and uses it to explore fundamental components of political science. The book is designed to serve as a supplemental text for undergraduate political science courses, especially Introduction to Political Science. The structure and content of the volume is shaped around the organization and coverage of several leading texts in this area, and includes major parts devoted to theory and epistemology, political behavior, institutions, identity, states, and inter-state relations. Its emphasis on science fiction—and particularly on popular movies and television programs—speaks to the popularity of the genre as well as the growing understanding that popular culture can be an extraordinarily successful vehicle for communicating difficult yet foundational concepts, especially to introductory level college students.

Introduction: Science Fiction as a Tool of Political Science – Michael A. Allen and Justin S. Vaughn SECTION I: THEORY AND EPISTEMOLOGY 1. Improving Public Policy: Measurement & Prediction in Minority Report – Jennifer Kelkres Emery 2. Equilibrium: If Game Theorists Ruled the World? – Benjamin Farrer SECTION II: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR 3. Service Guarantees Citizenship: Starship Troopers and Democracy – Ted Henry Brown and Christie L. Maloyed 4. Idiocracy: Do you need to be informed to vote in a democracy? – Conor M. Dowling 5. One Choice Can Transform You: Political Ideology and Culture in Divergent – Jocelyn Evans SECTION III: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 6. Star Wars and the Executive Branch – Joseph E. Uscinski 7. Star Wars and Legislatures – Zachary Callen 8. Are You Divergent? Political Factions and Personal Identity – Steve B. Lem 9. Yes… Yes… All Your ‘Rights’ As Defined By the Cardassian Articles of Jurisprudence Will Be Protected: Civil Liberties in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Raymond V. Carman, Jr. 10. The Bureaucratic Mind of Hermes Conrad: Administrative Behavior in Futurama – Scott E. Robinson and Justin S. Vaughn SECTION IV: IDENTITY 11. The Politics of Gender in the World of the Twelve Colonies – Lilly J. Goren 12. "We Shall Overcome:" The Districts of Panem and Identity Politics in The Hunger Games – Jennifer Kelkres Emery and Jocelyn Evans SECTION V: STATES 13. Democratic Breakdown in V for Vendetta – Julie VanDusky-Allen 14. Understanding Civil War through Star Wars – Michael A. Allen SECTION VI: INTER-STATE RELATIONS 15. Buggers and Astronauts: Ethics and Security in Ender’s Game – Mary Elizabeth Sullivan 16. Battlestar Galactica and Foreign Policy – Michael E. Flynn

Michael A. Allen is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Boise State University. Justin Vaughn is Associate Professor of Political Science at Boise State University.