Sophia A. McClennen is a leading public intellectual specializing in political culture, democracy, media, and global politics. Her work explores the dynamic relationship between culture and political power—how each shapes the other through media, storytelling, political satire, social movements, and struggles for democracy.
Best known for her work on political satire and democracy, McClennen is the author or editor of 15 books, including Modern Political Satire, with a forthcoming book on sovereignty. Her scholarship and public writing also address autocracy, nonviolent resistance, human rights, globalization, media studies, and critical theory. Across her work, she examines how cultural forms—from satire and journalism to popular media and political storytelling—shape public opinion, challenge power, and influence democratic life.
She has published in leading venues including the Journal of Democracy, writes regularly for Salon, and appears in national media, including CNN, as a commentator on political satire, media, democracy, and contemporary politics. She is also connected to public-facing democracy work through Tactics4Change, which brings research on nonviolent resistance, political strategy, and democratic movements to wider audiences.
In the past three decades nonviolent social protest has become the most reliable path to democracy. However, not all nonviolent mobilization campaigns succeed. To examine why some nonviolent campaigns are more successful than others, we analyze the use of a particular type of activist campaign tactic, the “dilemma action.” The dilemma action is a nonviolent civil-disobedience tactic that provokes a “response dilemma” for the target.
The Tactics4Change interactive website provides free access to information about more than 400 hundred cases of nonviolent dilemma actions, from every continent, and over 100 countries. This dataset of creative tactics, designed to put opponents in a lose-lose position, offers opportunities for further learning for activists, students and scholars. The database is a collaborative project between the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) and faculty from the Pennsylvania State University. Learn more about the database.
For over a decade, Stephen Colbert hosted a late-night show where comedy, politics, and culture collided nightly. This hour explores how he shaped an era of American satire and the impact of one of its most thoughtful voices signing off. Early satire was often cartoons. They're what are today's memes? We have examples of the "Join or Die" cartoon, Ben Franklin tried to make it very clear what would be the point of fighting for independence then we have great examples from New York.
At Penn State University, McClennen is Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature and Director of the Center for Global Studies. Her work as a scholar, writer, speaker, and media commentator is united by a central concern: how culture and political power interact, and how democratic movements use language, humor, media, and collective action to resist autocracy and imagine more just political futures.
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
Author/editor of 15 books; regular Salon columnist; featured in national and international media including CNN, NPR, BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, and PBS NewsHour.
© 2026 Sophia McClennen. All rights reserved. Created by Argomedia INC
Author/editor of 15 books; regular Salon columnist; featured in national and international media including CNN, NPR, BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, and PBS NewsHour.
© 2026 Sophia McClennen. All rights reserved. Created by Argomedia INC
