Good Playlist: Introduction to American politics.

No matter how many times I’ve taught “Introduction to American Politics,” the transition from pre-class to class time always seems a bit awkward and abrupt. I’m about to put on a 75-minute performance and have sundry things to prepare or arrange. There’s a blackboard to write on, multimedia content to cue up, technological difficulties to troubleshoot, and lecture notes or discussion questions to review. My students, on the other hand, just get to amble in, say hello, take a seat, and open their notebooks. By the time I am ready to rock and roll, they have spent at least a few minutes chatting and laughing, so my call for “OK – let’s get started” comes somewhat out of the blue.

So when I discovered Christian Bruenig’s statement in the preface to his “Intro to comparative politics” playlist that “Everybody pretty quickly learns that when the music stops, comparative politics begins,” I felt a kindred spirit. A playlist, I decided, was the pedagogical trick I never knew I always needed.

One big problem: Unlike Mark Copelovitch (author of “The definitive (?) international relations playlist, 2018-2023”), I’m not a cool musician. And I have no confidence whatsoever in my ability to expose students to “some of the greatest music of all time.” So, last summer, I brought on two collaborators: course alumnae and soon-to-be teaching assistants Katie Lu ’25 and Margaret MacGillivray ‘26. This playlist is as much their creation as it is mine.

Our rules for selection were simple: one song for each session that would play on repeat for 7-10 minutes before class started, a limit of one song from any given artist, and a variety of genres represented. My students and I didn’t look for songs with either a political message to convey in vocals or political images to display in videos. In fact, we deliberately avoided explicitly political songs such as protest anthems or campaign jingles. Instead, we consciously chose ordinary songs that – whatever their actual topic – could be interpreted politically and have some linguistic or rhetorical connection to an important force or phenomenon in American politics.

For example, on the day we discuss judicial power and the Supreme Court, we selected “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. Obviously, that song has nothing to do with the Court – it’s not (as far as I know!) about any specific constitutional dispute or inspired by the life of any justice or engaging with any common criticisms of judicial review. But the lyrics speak to themes – legitimacy, credibility, defiance – that surround the Court and feature in both the readings and our discussion for that day.

I debuted the playlist last fall, and students seemed to enjoy the gimmick. I plan to use it again this fall. The only downside? After listening to some of these songs 3 or 4 times on a loop before class, I often have them stuck in my head for the rest of the day!