The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. Consistently uses contemporary examples. This text could very easily replace the book I have used ("We the People") for the past 3 years. These issues are prevalent in American political and social life, and have been accentuated during the first term of President Trump. To some extent, though, that would make this a book with a specific orientation, which defies one of its strengths. This text is VERY detailed in its coverage, which is impressive and surprising given its relative brevity. SKU: b117200 . This text covers nearly all of the major topics covered in American Government texts. Generally, I don't think my critique of the modularity poses a problem for the use of this text. are excellent for visual learners and certainly enhance the message of each section/chapter. There is much more in this book than I could use in a term, so I would select portions of the chapters. The book was very culturally sensitive but more could be added throughout each chapter. The text is evenly written with no discernible bias. This text could very easily replace the book I have used A menu to the left of the online textbook allows readers to quickly and efficiently navigate to another topic of the textbook. My least favorite chapter concerns Federalism (3), not because of the topic but I just think that chapter is not as informative as others. Particularly well written is the "Approach to Foreign Policy, p. 650, especially, the "Classic Approach" and the more recent history of U.S. foreign policy. The cosmetics of the book is well done. The president can also send troops into battle, and nominate individuals to serve in the cabinet or on the Supreme Court. If anything, the text may be a bit on the long side. United States government (2003 edition) | Open Library I found the insertion of bold links in the middle of the text rather distracting. The writing is generally very clear. But thats ok! I looked more at concepts and content. Excellent charts and interactive materiel. At present, this text meets that need but it may not completely in a couple of years. The online Student Learning Center Print Edition ISBNs: Student (2018): 978--07-668113-6 ; Teacher (2018): 978--07-668108-2 ; Contact the company representative for ISBN numbers for online/eText editions. Again, the book uses a standard organizational framework/structure, and it is organized appropriately for an introductory text. As a teacher of history also, I especially look for historical accuracy. Personally, I prefer to teach institutions before individual or collective action, and that looks like it would be easy enough to do with this textbook by simply assigning some of the later chapters first and then coming back to the ones in the middle of the book later. read more. These definitions are located at the end of the chapter, which is not entirely user-friendly but understandable given the format of the text. I could go on, but you have some important ones. In the book, the word Figure will appear to let the reader know to look for an image. I believe this textbook is a comprehensive and well written vehicle to aid the instructor and enhance student learning. I really appreciate how they were able to consolidate what would easily be a 15 chapter textbook into 5! The second edition of the text provides more than 100 substantial updates from the last two years. For example, what were free people color doing while such issues as Shay Rebellion and debates about military involvement in the Revolutionary War were going on . Has good index. There seem to be problems with the formatting, though that could just be on machine, with some not converted paragraphs. There are currently no items in your shopping cart. The chapters relating to State & Local Government plus Domestic & Foreign Policy (14,16 & 17) are an added bonus although I will not assign these whole chapters in the Intro course due to time restrictions. PDF Democracy in the United States - USCIS The material progresses in a way that makes the most sense. For example, the section on ideology equates authoritarianism with the right side of the political spectrum, even though authoritarianism as a ruling style can also be commonly found in communist or socialist polities; students might be led to conclude that communists and socialists aren't about control. The "Key terms" sections at the end of each chapter will be helpful to students who aren't sure whether they understand a particular term. This book is very comprehensive. This is a positive choice as it provides students with some knowledge of state and local government without usurping the information that is taught in a state and local government class. American Government 2e offers a comprehensive survey of the core aspects of the US political system. The text repeatedly incorporates up-to-date examples to illustrate its reasoning and explain how foundational themes relate to contemporary political developments. The section summaries will help students distill important ideas and the glossary/test questions will be a useful study aid. At that meeting the establishment of the International Union of American Republics was approved. When you become a U.S. citizen, you also make these promises: give up loyalty to other countries defend the Constitution and laws of the United States obey the laws of the United States serve in the U.S. military (if needed) do important work for the nation (if needed) It is impossible to cover all the material in a quarter college course, this format allows selective teacher emphasized learning outcomes. From the origins of the US political system, the constitutional framework, participatory inputs, formal institutions, and public policy, the major points are American government textbooks, in order to stay relevant, demand frequent updates. Most textbooks for undergraduates in this topic area I plan to regularly assign these items to use in discussion and written work. For example, I may not get the chance to dedicate a whole class to elections but I can use sections of the chapter on elections in relation to civil rights, to Congress and to the Executive. The textbook follows the usual model of an American Government textbook. Right from the get go I enjoyed the section on Civic Engagement as While I would like a comprehensive glossary for each chapter, the fact that each subsection within the chapter has its own glossary makes assigning small sections very easy, though I would not recommend assigning sections in place of a full chapter. Students can read individual sections or chapters online (in a way vaguely reminiscent of Wikipedia), they can download a free PDF of the entire book, or more traditional students can order a hard copy of the book from Amazon (at a price that's still less than half of what students might pay for a book from a commercial press). There are questions and glossary words at the end of each chapter to help clarify issues. Similar to removing the bureaucracy form the discussion of institutions, I found the grouping of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights with Public Opinion and Elections to be an odd placement decision. One of many things I like about this textbook is that it is well organized throughout. I saw no problems here. The terminology is consistent and the textbook has a glossary at the end of each chapter; which is useful for students to identify terms and concepts. The book is very accessible. This is a welcome inclusion: Although most Americans interact far more with their state and local governments than the national government on a daily basis, historically American government courses have de-emphasized sub-national politics. Democracy 10 days 20 days Students analyze inherent tensions in American democracy between rights and freedoms and between promoting the public good and protecting individuals. Further, each section within the chapters does contain a glossary of bolded terms. American Government 3ealigns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. Below are the modified excerpts that are assigned to you. The book also includes more whitespace than a typical textbook (e.g. There are occasional editorial comments and examples of protests which suggest liberal criticisms of the status quo. democracy: key principles, institutions and problems professor david beetham 21 the judiciary in democratic governance: some insights from the indian experience ms. justice m. fathima beevi 31 some important problems and aspects of democracy in the context of the black african states professor abd-el kader boye 37 Learning objectives are clearly identified for each unit, and each unit concludes with a concise summary of main points followed by multiple-choice and short answer questions. Each chapter begins with an introduction, moves into the various sections and concludes with the summary and then supplemental material. Reviewed by Charles Young, Associate Professor, Umpqua Community College on 2/8/17, I am impressed with the comprehensiveness of the textbook. The 5 sections of the book could also be broken apart, for instance I would assign Chapter 15, but not 16 or 17, given the constraints of time. The links that I checked were still functioning. Do away with elections and democracy itself might be saved, argues Alexander Guerrero. These examples were not solely places in the civil right unit, but incorporated throughout the text; which is significant. That is the conclusion of a new survey of 1,571 political scientists. However domestic and foreign policy are rushed at the end while lobbyists and other peripheral topics enjoy a more central position. Each chapter is clearly divided into main sections with learning objectives, and there the text is further divided under clearly delineated sub-section heads. 1. Reviewed by Matthew Wright, Associate Professor, American University on 2/1/18, The book is comprehensive in that it has everything I usually look for in an intro to American government text: Although there is an internet link to the Articles in Chapter 2, I find it more useful for students to have access to the Articles within the textbook so they see they are important. read more, The chapters in the Kurtz et al e-book covers all relevant chapters of American Government and even offers chapters on Foreign policy, Domestic policy and State and Local government. Krutz textbook is set up exactly the same as the three different United States Government textbooks I have used in nine years of teaching at the community college level. I have used this text successfully in the classroom, and students generally respond positively to it. I agree that the content is relevant, and can be easily updated. Again, these are things the author may want to consider. Images and charts that are presented are not distractions at all, most of the time they are enhancements of the chapters. United States government : democracy in action by Remy, Richard C; Congressional Quarterly, inc. Terminology is placed bolded for easy identification. It is easy to navigate, the images/charts are relevant and clear, and all other display features serve to enhance the key point, theory, etc. All of the topics you would expect to be covered in an American government 101 course are here: origins of our republic, institutions, individual action and collective action. PDF TEXT: United States Government: Democracy in Action US GOVERNMENT Building Democracy for All is an interactive, multimodal, multicultural, open access e-book for teaching and learning key topics in United States Government and Civic Life. Table 17.1 on page 643 is useless. This is probably a sensitive issue. This book contains everything I need for intro American government classes. Welcome to our textbook for the year. It is a good alternative to expensive textbooks. suggestions as to taking featured topics a step further. This is tricky, as some American politics textbooks emerge from an activist mentality of pointing out howfor lack of a better termmessed up American culture can be. At the same time, I should point out that, at least in my view, the book is organized in an unconventional way. Each unit has three to four sub units that can easily be assigned in different readings This is the type of written activities I use in the classroom, specifically teacher driven selected chapter readings. American Government 3e aligns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. It follows the standard layout of American Government textbooks and offers an effective and easily searchable index. A chapter on State and Local government is also included as a useful addition. Chapter three necessitates a revision in order to re-create its relevance. The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive and it makes use of examples that are inclusive more than the norm. It offers an excellent collection of concepts and ideas useful to political science students. THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES in 10 minutes The 1619 Project Exposed: A Special Edition of the American Mind .