Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses May 2020 A Crash Course in Liberal Education: An Analysis of Civically Engaged Edutainment Videos Caitlin Marie Lancaster Anderson Clemson University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Anderson, Caitlin Marie Lancaster, "A Crash Course in Liberal Education: An Analysis of Civically Engaged Edutainment Videos" (2020). All Theses. 3309. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/3309 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A CRASH COURSE IN LIBERAL EDUCATION: AN ANALYSIS OF CIVICALLY ENGAGED EDUTAINMENT VIDEOS A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Communication, Technology, & Society by Caitlin Marie Lancaster Anderson May 2020 Accepted by: Dr. James Gilmore, Committee Chair Dr. Kristen Okamoto Dr. D. Travers Scott i ABSTRACT Crash Course is an entertainment education YouTube channel that was founded on principles that align closely with that of liberal education. Liberal education is a model of education dedicated to broad knowledge, specific intellectual and practical skills, and personal and social responsibility, most notably civic engagement. Despite the value derived from liberal education, it is facing a crisis where it is replaced at the university level by neoliberalism, an ideology dominated by workforce performativity and individualism. Using Michel Foucault’s power/knowledge concept, this thesis examines the neoliberal shift in education as a crisis of power and explores how liberal education is rearticulated online through the Crash Course videos.