Keeping the Republic, 4th Ed., + Debating Reform + Midterm Mayhem 2011

by Barbour, Christine; Wright, Gerald C.; Ellis, Richard J.; Nelson, Michael

• ISBN13: 9781608718146
• ISBN10: 160871814X
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-15
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

Keeping the Republic, now with a free supplement analyzing the midterm election outcome! Midterm Election Supplement Coming in December, this valuable supplement provides an insider's guide to the implications of 2010 midterm elections. When placing your order, be sure to use the ISBN on this page to ensure that your students receive the supplement packaged FREE with their textbook. Keeping the Republic, 4th Edition The 2008 election will go down in the history books for a number of reasons, including the first African American at the top of a national party ticket, the longest nomination fight in recent memory, and a viable female candidate for president for the first time ever, but one of its most striking hallmarks is the early and enthusiastic involvement of young voters. While the passion they bring is encouraging, the key to their lasting impact will be the extent to which they really understand the functioning of the American political system, leading to a deeper and more abiding engagement. By using the themes of power and citizenship, Barbour and Wright encourage students to analyze "who gets what and how" and evaluate how well the political system is working. In order to "keep the republic," students need to shoulder responsibilities as well as exercise their rights. In order to see where politics intersects their own roles as citizens, they need to absorb the ideas and theories that animate the study of political science and think critically about them. And in order to keep students reading, the prose needs to be clear, friendly, and relevant. The key to this new fourth edition is thorough updating- including the 2008 elections-and the integration of subtle enhancements every class-tested, well-reviewed, and well developed book should offer. In addition to examining recent events and scholarship, more than half the photos are new, the figures and tables reflect current data, and new vignettes open a majority of chapters. Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System As much as policy topics like abortion and same-sex marriage elicit spirited reactions from your students, aren't you looking for ways to get students out of their partisan corners? Ellis and Nelson have found that debating concrete proposals to reforming the political system encourages their undergraduate students to leave ideology behind and instead, to sift through competing claims and evidence. Connecting classroom conversation directly to political institutions, students not only grapple with reform ideas but also join the discussion without the crutch of spouting opinion. With pro and con pieces written specifically for this volume, students consider and evaluate arguments from top scholars, thoughtfully exploring the ways government could work better. To learn more about Debating Reform, click here.