Satire, American politics to be discussed at April 9 Research Unplugged

Sophia McClennen, professor at the Penn State School of International Affairs and director of Penn State's Center for Global Studies, will give a talk titled “Is Satire Saving Our Nation? Mockery and American Politics” at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in Schlow Centre Region Library in State College as part of the ongoing Research Unplugged series.

Research Unplugged, now in its 11th year, brings together Penn State researchers and the State College community for lively public discussions.

McClennen has published eight books and has two in process. Her latest single-authored volume is "Colbert's America: Satire and Democracy" (2012), which studies the role of Stephen Colbert in shaping political discourse after Sept. 11. Her most recent book project, "Is Satire Saving our Nation? Mockery and American Politics" (Palgrave), is co-authored with Penn State communications undergraduate Remy Maisel.

McClennen will explore how today’s political satire can inspire, challenge and offend different segments of society.

Research Unplugged events are free and open to the public. A question-and-answer session is part of the program.

The Research Unplugged series is made possible with the support of the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of Strategic Communications as well as Schlow Centre Region Library. For additional information, contact series coordinator Melissa Beattie Moss at 814-865-2614 or mbmoss@psu.edu.