UW-Waukesha Professor to Speak at Clinton Library

WAUKEHSA – University of Wisconsin-Waukesha associate professor of political science Joseph Foy has been invited to speak at the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library on Sept. 24. One of the presenters in The Clinton School for Public Service Speaker Series, he will discuss his most recent book, Homer Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture (2010), which he co-edited and to which he contributed.

Past speakers in the series have included some of Foy’s exemplars, such as Madeleine Albright, Rachel Maddow, Brent Scowcroft, and others.

In his writing, Foy uses Homer Simpson as the icon for contemporary American culture. The book focuses on how dissenting views, often pushed to the fringe of political discussion, can infiltrate mainstream political discussion through popular culture.

“The book is about how our views of race, gender, religion, and sexuality might be challenged by what we consume in the form of entertainment and how institutions of power can be confronted through movies, television, cartoons, and music,” Foy says.

Foy also received a Barrington-Musolf Faculty Research Award for his writings. The award selection committee, comprised of three UW Colleges department chairs, cited Foy’s research and writing as “accessible and applicable, offering students a lens on interpreting the world they live in.” They based their assessment on his work writing two chapters and co-editing the book. The $500 monetary award can be used to support additional research or cover professional travel expenses.

Foy started teaching at UW-Waukesha in fall 2005 and completed his Ph.D. that same semester. A graduate of Carroll College, Helena, Mont., he earned both M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. His other book, Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics through Popular Culture (2008), received a John G. Cawelti Award for the best textbook/primer in popular and American culture from the Popular and American Culture Association. Both books were published by the University Press of Kentucky.