Pages | Sophia A. McClennen

About Sophia

Tuesday October 17, 2023

Sophia A. McClennen

Sophia A. McClennen works on the intersections between culture, politics and society. Her books focus on cultural responses to complex social change, such as satire and contemporary politics or the power of storytelling in advancing human rights. She is professor of international affairs and comparative literature at Penn State University and founding director of the Center for Global Studies. She also has a regular column with Salon.com.

Click here for her CV

The daughter of an Afghan economist and the granddaughter of an art historian, she was raised by a strong, sassy mother, who taught her children that “rules were made to be broken” and to question authority. She grew up experiencing the social transitions from the 70s to the 80s in an atmosphere of dinner table debates, community service, and exposure to the arts. These early influences likely shaped her interest in studying the ways that people respond to abuses of power through creative expression.

As a child she lived in Manhattan, Washington DC, and Fort Lauderdale—a mix that affected her fondness for cities and interest in the Spanish-speaking world. She studied philosophy at Harvard University, where she worked on The Harvard Lampoon, and did her graduate work in Latin American cultural studies at Duke University, where she developed a love for college basketball.

She is currently Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at Penn State University and founding director of the Center for Global Studies. Since founding the Center for Global Studies in 2010, she has raised over $6 million in funding. At Penn State she teaches courses on human rights culture, culture and globalization, media studies, global cinema, the cultures of displaced peoples, cross-cultural conflict resolution, political satire and critical theory. Click here for her academic bio.

When she isn’t teaching or lecturing, she is writing. She has published thirteen books and has two in process. Her most recent book is Trump Was a Joke: How Satire Made Sense of a President Who Didn’t, which has a foreword by Michael Moore (Routledge 2023). She is also working on a project that advances the work done in Pranksters Vs. Autocrats: Why Dilemma Actions Advance Democracy (Cornell 2020), co-authored with Serbian activist, Srdja Popovic. A co-edited volume with Jeffrey DiLeo Left Theory and the Alt-Right is forthcoming from Routledge in 2023. She is also working on a book in the global impact of political satire: The Revolution Will Be Satirized.

She also published Globalization and Latin American Cinema: Toward a New Critical Paradigm (Palgrave 2018), a project that she researched for 25 years. Other books include The Routledge Companion to Human Rights and Literature (2015), co-edited with Alexandra Schultheis Moore, which includes over 50 contributions to the topic. She made Penn State history by publishing the first scholarly book co-authored with an undergraduate, Is Satire Saving our Nation? Mockery and American Politics (Palgrave 2014), co-authored with Penn State communications undergraduate Remy Maisel.

She has published over 80 essays in books and journals. She writes regularly for Salon and has published in Slate, Huffington Post, Daily Beast, Truthout, Counterpunch, and other sites as well. She has been interviewed by Neil de Grasse Tyson, CNN, BBC TV, Al Jazeera TV, Wall Street Journal TV, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Politico, Variety, The Hill, NPR-Miami, and CBC Canada among others.

Find her on Twitter @mcclennen65.

One of the great benefits to her work has been the opportunity to travel. In 2006 she was the Fulbright Research Chair in Globalization and Cultural Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and she also held a Fulbright faculty award in Peru (2003) where she researched Peruvian cinema. She has taught in Chile, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Peru, and has also done research in the UK, Serbia, Cuba, France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Spain, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.

When she isn’t working, she practices Pilates, stand up paddling, and teaches yoga. In summers she races wooden sailboats with her family on Cape Cod. She spends a lot of time on social media and she loves watching clips of political satire–but since it helps her research she counts that as work and play. She reads the columns of Andy Borowitz as often as The New York Times.

She lives in State College, PA and Chatham, MA.

Write to Sophia McClennen at sophia.mcclennen@gmail.com

Academic Publications

Tuesday October 17, 2023

Co-Authored

Neoliberalism, Education, Terrorism: Contemporary Dialogues – with Jeffrey Di Leo, Henry Giroux, and Kenneth Saltman. Paradigm Publishers (Dec. 2011).

Co-Edited Books and Journal Issues

“Violence” – with Jeffrey Di Leo, eds.

Special issue of symploke. 20.1-2. (Fall 2012).

“;The Generation of ’72″ – with Brantley Nicholson, eds.

Special issue of A contracorriente. 10.1 (Fall 2012.)

With Henry James Morello, eds. Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2010, 348 pages. Revised and expanded version of our guest co-edited thematic issue of CLC Web: Comparative Literature and Culture 9.1 (2008). Includes an introduction by the co-editors, and an article/chapter by Sophia A. McClennen as noted belo.
With Joseph R. Slaughter, eds. “Human Rights and Literary Forms.” Thematic Issue of Comparative Literature Studies 46.1 (2009). Includes an introduction by the co-editors.
With Earl E. Fitz, eds. Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2004. Revised and expanded version of our guest co-edited thematic issue of CLC Web: Comparative Literature and Culture 4.2 (June 2002). 217 pages. Includes an introduction by the co-editors, a co-translated chapter, and an article/chapter and a Bibliography by Sophia A. McClennen as noted below.
With Ron Strickland, eds. (Dis)Locations of Culture: Chilean Culture after Pinochet. Special issue of Mediations 22 (Spring 1999). Includes an article by Sophia A. McClennen as noted below.

ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN REFEREED JOURNALS

(With Jeffrey Di Leo). “Postscript on Violence.” symploke 20.1-2 (Winter 2012): 241-250.
(With Brantley Nicholson). “The Generation of ’72: Latin America’s Forced Global Citizens.” A contracorriente 10.1 (Fall 2012): 1-17. https://tools.chass.ncsu.edu/open_journal/index.php/acontracorriente/article/view/593/1037
“From the Aesthetics of Hunger to the Cosmetics of Hunger in Brazilian Cinema.” symploke 19.1-2. (2011): 73-84.
“What’s Left for Latin American Cultural Studies?” minnesota review 76 (2011): 127-40.
“Beyond Death and the Maiden: Ariel Dorfman’s Media Criticism and Journalism.” Latin American Research Review 45.1 (2010): 173-88.
“Torture and Truth in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden.” Revista Hispánica Moderna 62.2 (2009): 177–92.
(With Joseph R. Slaughter). “Introducing Human Rights and Literary Forms; Or, The Vehicles and Vocabularies of Human Rights.” Comparative Literature Studies special issue on “Human Rights and Literary Forms.” Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Joseph Slaughter. 46.1 (2009): 1–19. (50% my work).
“Neoliberalism and the Crisis of Intellectual Engagement.” Academic Freedom and Intellectual Activism in the post-9/11 University. Works and Days 51/52, 53/54.26–27. (2008–09): 459–70.
“The Theory and Practice of the Peruvian Grupo Chaski.” Jump Cut 50 (2008): https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc50.2008/Chaski/index.html.
“E Pluribus Unum/ Ex Uno Plura: Legislating and Deregulating American Studies post 9/11.” CR: The New Centennial Review 8.1 (2008): 145–75.
“The Humanities, Human Rights, and the Comparative Imagination.” Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Henry James Morello. Thematic issue of CLC Web: Comparative Literature and Culture 9.1 (2008). https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol9/iss1/.
(With Henry James Morello). “Introduction.” Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror. Thematic issue of CLC Web: Comparative Literature and Culture 9.1 (2008) https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol9/iss1/. (50% my work).
“Area Studies Beyond Ontology: Notes on Latin American Studies, American Studies, and Inter-American Studies.” A contracorriente 5.1 (2007): 173–84.
“Countering the Assault on Higher Education.” “Repression and Resistance in Higher Education.” Special issue of Radical Teacher 77 (2007): 15–19.
“The Geopolitical War on U.S. Higher Education.” College Literature 33.4 (Fall 2006): 43–75.
“Inter-American Studies or Imperial American Studies?” Comparative American Studies 3.4 (2005): 393–413.
“The Diasporic Subject in Ariel Dorfman’s Heading South, Looking North.” MELUS 30.1 (Spring 2005): 169–88.
“Exilic Perspectives on ‘Alien Nations.’” CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 7.1 (2005): FTP: https://clcwebjournal.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb05-1/mcclennen05.html.
“Poetry and Torture.” World Literature Today 78.3–4 (September–December 2004): 68–70.
“Comparative Literature and Latin American Studies: From Disarticulation to Dialogue.” Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Earl E. Fitz. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 4.2 (2002): FTP: https://clcwebjournal.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb02-2/introduction(mcclennen&fitz).html
(With Earl E. Fitz.) “An Introduction to Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America.” Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Earl E. Fitz. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 4.2 (2002): FTP: https://clcwebjournal.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb02-2/mcclennen02.html (50% my work).
“Así fue: Anti-colonial Narrative in Alejo Carpentier’s Concierto barroco and Reinaldo Arenas’s El mundo alucinante.” A contracorriente 1.1 (2003): 51–81.
“After Civilization: The Theory and Practice of Introducing Latin American Culture.” ADFL Bulletin 34.2 (Winter 2003): 6–14.
“(De)Signing Women: Mexican Women Directors and Feminist Film.” Revista de Estudios Hispánicos 36.1 (January 2002): 69–96.
“Ariel Dorfman.” The Review of Contemporary Fiction 21.3 (2000): 81–132.
“Cultural Politics, Rhetoric, and the Essay: A Comparison of Emerson and Rodó.” CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 2.1 (2000): FTP: https://clcwebjournal.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb00-1/mcclennen00.html
*Revised Reprint: “Chilex: The Economy of Transnational Media Culture.” Cultural Logic 3.1 (2000): FTP: https://eserver.org/clogic/
“Chilex: The Economy of Transnational Media Culture.” Mediations 22 (1999): 86–111.

Refereed Interviews

“Ariel Dorfman’s Literary World.” World Literature Today 78.3–4 (September–December 2004): 64–67.
“An Interview with Ariel Dorfman.” Context 15 (2004): 7–8.

Bibliography

“Comparative Latin American Culture and Literature.” Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Earl E. Fitz. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2004: 220–66. Reprint from CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture. 4.2 (2002): FTP: https://clcwebjournal.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb02-2/biblio(latinamericas).html

Translations from Spanish

(With Corey Shouse.) Ortega, Julio. “Towards a Map of the Current Critical Debate about Latin American Cultural Studies.” Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Earl E. Fitz. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2004. 149–58.
Campos, Javier F. “Literature and Globalization.” Mediations 22 (1999): 150–64.
(With Candace Ward.) Fornet, Ambrosio. “Introduction to Bridging Enigma: Cubans on Cuba.” Special issue on Cuba of South Atlantic Quarterly 96.1 (1997): 1–15.
(With Alex Martin and Candace Ward.) Hernández, Rafael. “The Paradoxes of Cubanology.” Special issue on Cuba of South Atlantic Quarterly 96.1 (1997): 143–57.
(With Candace Ward.) Mateo Palmer, Margarita. “Cuban Youth and Postmodernism.” Special issue on Cuba of South Atlantic Quarterly 96.1 (1997): 159–68.
Montero, Reinaldo. “‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ Cary Says.” Special issue on Cuba of South Atlantic Quarterly 96.1 (1997): 129–33.
(With Alex Martin.) Resik, Magda. “Writing is a Sort of Shipwreck: An Interview with Senel Paz.” Special issue on Cuba of South Atlantic Quarterly 96.1 (1997): 83–93.
Vitier, Cintio. “Martí and the Challenge of the 90’s.” Special issue on Cuba of South Atlantic Quarterly 96.1 (1997): 213–20.
Rotker, Susana. “Nation and Mockery: The Oppositional Writings of Simón Rodríguez.” Ed. Doris Sommer. Special issue of Modern Language Quarterly 57.2 (1996): 253–67.
1. - Rotker, Susana. “Nation and Mockery: The Oppositional Writings of Simón Rodríguez.” The Places of History: Regionalism Revisited in Latin America. Ed. Doris Sommer. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1999. 119–33.

Parts of Books

[_ Indicates a revised reprint, reprint, or translation_]*

“Cultural Studies and ‘Latin America’: Reframing the Questions.” Renewing Cultural Studies. Ed. Paul Smith. Philadelphia, PA: Temple Press, 2011. 188-95.
*“Politics and Privatization in Peruvian Cinema: Grupo Chaski’s Aesthetics of Survival” Jyotsna Kapur and Keith B. Wagner, eds., Neoliberalism and Global Cinema: Capital, Culture, and Marxist Critique. New York: Routledge, 2011. 95-112. (Approximately 75% of the material in this essay was previously published in my piece on Peruvian Cinema in JumpCut.)
“Life in the Red Zone; Or the Geographies of Neoliberalism.” Cartographies of Affect: Across Borders in South Asia and the Americas. Eds. Debra A. Castillo and Kavita Panjabi. Kolkata: Worldview Press, 2011, 165-190.
*Reprint: “Neoliberalism and the Crisis of Intellectual Engagement.” Academic Freedom in the Post-9/11 Era. Eds. Edward J. Carvalho and David B. Downing, New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2010. 203-13.
*Reprint: “Neoliberalism and the Crisis of Intellectual Engagement.” Truth to Power: Public Intellectuals In and Out of Academe. Silvia Nagy-Zekmi and Karyn Hollis, eds. Newcastle, U.K.: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010. 3-24.
“Reading Afghanistan post 9/11.” The Impact of 9/11 on the Media, Arts, and Entertainment. Ed. Matthew Morgan. New York: Palgrave, 2009. 119–40.
*Reprint: “E Pluribus Unum/ Ex Uno Plura: Legislating and Deregulating American Studies post 9/11.” Dangerous Professors. Ed. Malini Johar Schueller. Ann Arbor: U Michigan P, 2009. 145–72.
*Revised reprint. “The Humanities, Human Rights, and the Comparative Imagination.” Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Henry James Morello. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2010. 36-57.
*Revised reprint. (With Henry James Morello). “Introduction.” Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2010. 1-14. (50% my work).
*Reprint: “Area Studies Beyond Ontology: Notes on Latin American Studies, American Studies, and Inter-American Studies.” Comparaciones en vertical. Ed. Paola Mildonian and Biagio D’Angelo. ICLA, Research Committee on Latin American Studies. Venice, Italy: Supernova, 2009. 178–87.
“The World According to Miramax: Chocolate, Poetry and Neoliberal Aesthetics.” American Visual Cultures. Eds. Dave Holloway and John Beck. London: Continuum, March 2005. 241–48.
“La cultura latinoamericana y los estudios interamericanos: proposiciones, peligros, posibilidades.” Espacios y discursos compartidos en la literatura de América Latina. Ed. Biagio D’Angelo. Lima: Fondo Editorial de la Universidad Católica Sedes Sapientiae, 2004. 259–72.
*Reprint: “Comparative Literature and Latin American Studies: From Disarticulation to Dialogue.” Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Earl E. Fitz. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2004. 111–36.
*Reprint: (With Earl E. Fitz.) “An Introduction to Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America.” Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America. Eds. Sophia A. McClennen and Earl E. Fitz. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue UP, 2004. 1–8. (50% my work).
Are Cultural Studies ‘Against Literature’: Reading Testimonial and Film in the Latin American Canon.” Woman as Witness. Eds. Linda S. Maier and Isabel Dulfano. New York: Peter Lang, 2003. 63–80.

Academic Writing

Tuesday October 17, 2023

Here is a sampling of my academic writings including articles, book chapters, and book excerpts grouped by research area (Film and media studies, neoliberalism, human rights, Latin American and inter-american studies, comparative literature and comparative cultural studies, and higher education). For more of my academic writing check out my page at Academia.edu where you can find a number of my books in full text.

For my full CV click here. To see short pieces and articles click here.

FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES
NEOLIBERALISM
HUMAN RIGHTS
LATIN AMERICAN AND INTERAMERICAN STUDIES
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES
HIGHER EDUCATION

Academics

Tuesday October 17, 2023

I am currently Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature and I am affiliated with the Departments of Spanish and Women’s Studies. I was hired with tenure at Penn State in Fall 2003, after six years at Illinois State University. In Spring 2003, I had a Fulbright fellowship to Peru, and in 2006, I held a second Fulbright to Canada as a Research Chair in Globalization and Cultural Studies. (Read my full academic bio here. Access my full CV here.)

Teaching:

I teach courses on culture and globalization, cross-cultural conflict resolution, critical theory, human rights, inter-American studies, and media. My pedagogical focus is on the development of critical knowledge that shapes how my students engage with the world around them. In particular, I teach students about the ways cultural forms are integral to how we make meaning and how aesthetics –the ways that stories are told and understood–relate to the contexts and embedded ethics of texts. For instance, in a large General Education lecture class I developed on “Human Rights and World Literature,” I ask students to consider how Art Spiegelman’s famous graphic novel of the Holocaust, Maus, works to de-familiarize a familiar story and thereby offers readers a new view of this immensely tragic event. In graduate classes, I prepare students to be successful on the job market by building their disciplinary knowledge, critical thinking skills, and successful writing practices, while also encouraging the type of passionate engagement with our fields of study that is essential for success as an academic and a professional. In addition to my teaching, I have written a number of course proposals and have co-authored a graduate minor in Latin American Studies.

Office: 244 Katz
Office Hours: By appointment.
Office Phone: 865-2333
Email: sophia.mcclennen@gmail.com

Courses:

Resources

My Student Resources

Guide to Dissertations (and Theses) in Comparative Literature
Close Reading Guide
Useful Information for Students Writing in Spanish
Vocabulario Clave para el Análisis de la Literatura/Cine/Televisión (con términos especiales para el análisis de la poesía, el drama y los movimientos literarios
Diccionario Español/English of film terms
Diccionario de conceptos claves para el estudio de cine
Abreviaturas para la redacción de trabajos escritos
Paper Grading Rubric

Speaking

Tuesday October 17, 2023

Sophia A. McClennen speaks nationally and internationally to media, journalists, educators, students, community groups, activists, and culture workers on a range of topics, including:

The social effects of political satire
The rise of satire news
Political polarization
How humor helps society
Misinformation, fake news and citizen knowledge
Satire and democracy
Satire and free speech
Satire consumption and civic engagement
Satire and hate speech
Satire and the alt-right
The positive effects of satirical activism (laughtivism)
Laughtivism and nonviolent social movements
Why satire is effective against autocrats
Satire and climate change
Satire and millennials
The role of satire in social media
The cognitive effects of consuming satire

McClennen is currently available for speaking engagements and media interviews, and can appear as an event presenter, a panelist at conferences or corporate events, and as a guest speaker at colleges, universities, and professional retreats.

Sophia McClennen say[s] very smart things about why satire matters and, well, is good for you.” –Len Niehoff

So cool! How #satire is helping cover #Trump” –UF Center for Public Interest Communications

Millennials can’t think about politics without satire"- Sophia McClennen –Annie Niemand

Satire is becoming our primary source of news today, explains Sophia McClennen.” –UF Center for Public Interest Communications

We need the satirists to help us unpack and make sense of the sensationalist news media" - Sophia McClennen –[Annie Niemand](Annie Niemand)

a very entertaining talk from Sophia A. McClennen from Penn State on political satire.” –David Hukka

Sophia McClennen saying very smart things about why satire matters and, well, is good for you @mcclennen65 #SatiricalUnion pic.twitter.com/lqsvcHCx7X
— Len Niehoff (@LenNiehoff) April 21, 2018

Had a great time presenting on how comedy can help climate activism @CulturalTrust #laughtivism pic.twitter.com/rwK4Dkffij
— Sophia McClennen (@mcclennen65) March 27, 2022

Thrilled to have had a couple of spots on the final episode of #TheStoryOfLateNight for @CNN. This was definitely my favorite episode because it covered the move to more political late night comedy. #StephenColbert #TrevorNoah #JohnOliver #SamanthaBee #HasanMinhaj pic.twitter.com/oii8BhHU5b
— Sophia McClennen (@mcclennen65) June 7, 2021

Interviewed on news media's anti-Bernie bias for @AJListeningPost https://t.co/M1mdhmuxaN #BernieBias #2020election pic.twitter.com/2bJKQsilVX
— Sophia McClennen (@mcclennen65) February 22, 2020

Had so much fun with @neiltyson and @adamconover talking about the satire of @StephenAtHome on @StarTalkRadio for @NatGeoChannel --check out the episode https://t.co/bt1Hls9KnW pic.twitter.com/gZPzhCGqKg
— Sophia McClennen (@mcclennen65) January 15, 2018

Selected Video

SIA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Sophia McClennen

Where to Invade Next? Michael Moore’s New Film

O Poder da Sátira

Sophia McClennen: The Power of Satire

Political Satire on Cable TV and Social Media

Sanders Campaign Rally in University Park, Pennsylvania, Introduction

Scope with Waqar Rizvi | UN urges global migration policies review

Comedians have figured out the trick to covering Trump

Selected Previous Talks

McClennen interviewed on “The power of satire and the return of late night shows” by Here & Now’s Scott Tong for NPR. October 11, 2023.

McClennen interviewed by Colin McEnroe for Connecticut Public Radio: “The art of political satire with Samantha Bee and Sophia McClennen”. September 15, 2023

McClennen interviewed with Texas Public Radio’s The Source on her new book, Trump Was a Joke: How Satire Made Sense of a President Who Didn’t. Listen here.

“Don’t Look Up/Birds Aren’t Real: Comedy and Conspiracy” Society for Critical Exchange, Stockholm, Sweden, June 5, 2021

“No Laughing Matter: How Comedy Can Help Climate Action,” Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, March 26, 2022.

“The Rise of Satire News.” Featured speaker at NASH83, conference of the Canadian Association of Journalists, virtual, February 21, 2021.

“Laughtivism: The Role of Satire in Nonviolent activism.” Interdisciplinary Study Circle, Department of English, University of Gour Banga, virtual, February 1, 2021.

“Pranksters vs. Autocrats.” Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, virtual, November 10, 2021.

“The Power of Laughtivism and Dilemma Actions,” Center for Applied Actions and Strategies (CANVAS), Summer Academy, August 14, 2020.

“Political Correctness and Stifling Comedy” virtual panel discussion on “No Laughing Matter: Comedy, the Constitution, and Cancel Culture” for the Media Law Resource Center, May 21, 2020.

“Global Political Satire: A Case Study on Interdisciplinary Research” invited speaker at Stanford symposium on Lit +: A Conference on the State of the Interdisciplines, December 5-6, 2019.

“Satire, Politics, and Resistance,” invited speaker at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, October 18, 2018.

“Why Satire is Good for Democracy” invited speaker at “The State of Our Satirical Union” Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, MN, April 21.

“Laughtivism: The Power of Satire” Special event organized by The College Arts & Humanities Institute at Indiana University, March 2, 2018.

“Comedy and Politics” Johns Hopkins Foreign Affairs Symposium, Baltimore, MD, February 22, 2018.

“Satire as a Career” Harvard Lampoon Alumni lecture, January 25, 2018.

“Satire and Journalism in the era of Fake News” December 4, 2017, keynote for the annual conference of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia, Newcastle Australia.

“Trump is a Joke: Fake News, Satire News and Challenges to Democracy” June 15, 2017 ICEE fest in Bucharest, Romania.

“Why satire is the antidote to Trumpism,” Reporter Workshop organized by Der Spiegel, Hamburg Germany, May 19, 2017.

“Fake News, Public Trust, and Democracy” India, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, May 10, 2017.

“The Future of Our Democracy: Satire, Social Media, and Millennials” Donald Sutherland Invited Speaker at St. Michael’s College, Vermont, March 2016.

“What’s Wrong with Slactivism?” Invited speaker at Indiana University Pennsylvania conference on Social Justice and the Humanities, February 26, 2016.

“Is Satire Saving Our Nation?” Lycoming College Scholars program invited speaker, September 29, 2015.

“Satire and Politics” Research Unplugged, Schlow Memorial Library, April 9. 2015.

“Is Satire Saving Our Nation?” Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement, Colby College, March 18, 2015.

“The Power of Satire” Frank 2015: Communication and Social Change, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, February 26, 2015.

“Why Our Democracy Needs Stephen Colbert,” Stockton University, February 20, 2014.

“Can Satire Save Democracy? The Story of Stephen Colbert” PSU Alumni Association Huddle with the faculty, September 14, 2013.

What I'm Watching

Hasan Minhaj and the New Yorker: Who decided comedy needed fact-checking? Sick of Trump? Try laughing at him How to Sharpen a Nonviolent Movement

About Sophia

Sophia A. McClennen

Academic Publications

Co-Authored

Co-Edited Books and Journal Issues

ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN REFEREED JOURNALS

Refereed Interviews

Bibliography

Translations from Spanish

Parts of Books

Academic Writing

Contents

FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES

NEOLIBERALISM

HUMAN RIGHTS

LATIN AMERICAN AND INTERAMERICAN STUDIES

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES

HIGHER EDUCATION

Academics

Speaking

Selected Video

Selected Previous Talks

What I'm Watching