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.
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Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System Formats Available from CQ Press
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Table of Contents The Constitution 1. Resolved, Article V should be amended to make it easier to amend the Constitution and to call a Constitutional Convention Federalism 2. Resolved, the federal government should restore each state’s freedom to set its drinking age Public Opinion and Political Participation 3. Resolved, the United States should adopt a national initiative and referendum The Media 4. Resolved, broadcasters should be charged a spectrum fee to finance programming in the public interest Political Parties 5. Resolved, political parties should nominate candidates for the presidency through a national primary Elections 6. Resolved, the electoral college should be abolished 7. Resolved, proportional representation should be adopted for U.S. House elections Interest Groups 8. Resolved, the No Cup of Coffee rule should be adopted in Washington House of Representatives 9. Resolved, the size of the House of Representatives should be increased to 675 10. Resolved, the redistricting process should be nonpartisan Senate 11. Resolved, the Senate should represent people not states 12. Resolved, Senate Rule XXII should be amended so that filibusters can be ended by a majority vote Presidency 13. Resolved, the president should be granted a line item veto Bureaucracy 14. Resolved, the federal government should scale back the outsourcing of government jobs to private contractors Judiciary 15. Resolved, the terms of Supreme Court justices should be limited to 18 years Civil Liberties 16. Resolved, the United States should adopt an “emergency constitution” to preserve civil liberties in an age of terrorism Civil Rights 17. Resolved, residents who are not citizens should be granted the right to vote Domestic Policy 18. Resolved, the government should require national service for all youth Economic Policy 19. Resolved, the federal government should ensure that no firm is too big to fail Foreign and Defense Policy 20. Resolved, Congress should pass the War Powers Consultation Act
Testimonials "The history of America is a history of reform, and as a society, we have always sought to build a better mousetrap. Richard Ellis and Michael Nelson have assembled a stimulating selection of reform ideas in this handy volume, and they have let advocates and detractors of these ideas make their best case. This book is ideal for classroom discussion—guaranteed to stir the pot and get students thinking about the world as it is and as it might be. - Larry J. Sabato, University of VirginiaBio(s)
Richard J. Ellis, Willamette University Richard J. Ellis is the Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University. Among his recent books are Presidential Travel: The Journey from George Washington to George W. Bush and To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance. In 2008 he was named the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching Oregon Professor of the Year. Michael Nelson, Rhodes College Michael Nelson is the Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College and a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. His recent books include: The Presidency and the Political System, 9th Ed., The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776–2007, 5th Ed. (with Sidney M. Milkis); and The Elections of 2008. More than fifty of his articles have been reprinted in anthologies of political science, history, music, and English composition, including articles on subjects as varied as baseball, C. S. Lewis, and Frank Sinatra. |
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