The Poisonwood Bible: An Antidote for What Ails International Relations?

Abstract

To examine the heuristic value of a work of fiction in an international relations classroom, students in an upper-level political science course were asked what stood out to them about international political economy in the Barbara Kingsolver novel, The Poisonwood Bible. Student papers were analyzed in a phenomenologically informed hermeneutic study, for which they received no extra credit. Collective thematic analysis of responses identified three meanings common to student experiences of the book. These themes included the relative power of international political economy theories to explain the Congo’s underdevelopment during the period covered in the novel, the salience of interpersonal skills in international relations, and holism in knowledge and politics. Underlying theoretical implications and study results are discussed in terms of the pedagogical implications for the ongoing debate within international relations as a discipline of explaining versus understanding.

The International Relations of Middle-earth: Learning fromThe Lord of the Rings

“…We build on a newly emerging dialogue which addresses the intersection of popular culture and IR 3 . Most relatedly, this includes Cynthia Weber’s (2005) and Julie Webber’s (2005) innovative use of popular films to introduce IR students to IR theory and Morgan’s (2006) use of the novel The Poisonwood Bible to teach international political economy. In doing so, we aim to engage popular culture with IR as Nexon and Neuman (2006:11–12) describe as both a light and a mirror: as a light, it can illustrate and explore political theory and historical events; as a mirror, it can help us to “step back from our ingrained suppositions about certain phenomenon and our vested interests in ongoing debates to gain a different perspective upon our social world” (12).…”