Not covering the policy chapters? Then specify ISBN 978-0-87289-603-1 to order the Essentials Edition. Excludes chapters 16–19.
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.
The themes of power and citizenship are touched on in every chapter, with each pedagogical feature extending the analytic and evaluative work of the text:
* Who, What, How, and WHEN. These stunning visual and rich textual timelines track change and show the impact of key issues in American political history, such as immigration, third parties, whistleblowers, and developments in the media and in federal-state relations.
* What’s at Stake? Chapter-opening vignettes vividly show what people are struggling to get from politics and how the rules affect who gets it. Acting as a bookend to the chapter, What’s at Stake Revisited reexamines the story to further evaluate who wins and who loses.
* Profiles in Citizenship. Based on personal interviews, profiles of such luminaries as Bill Richardson, Condoleezza Rice, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Bill Maher provide powerful examples of how students might also affect change in the political process.
* Consider the Source. With the aim of modeling critical thinking skills, these boxes do more than tell students to analyze political information; rather, the authors show them how to do it—a crucial step in getting students to think like political scientists.
* Who Are We? A wealth of figures and charts showcase important demographic data and reinforce the idea that politics is a complex endeavor among diverse groups with often divergent ideas of government’s role in individual lives.
* Who, What, How. Concise section summaries help orient students and reinforce analytic themes.
* The Citizens and… A designated chapter section that helps students evaluate the quality of democratic governance in America.
* Thinking outside the Box. Pointed questions get students to challenge their assumptions about American politics.
CUSTOMIZED VERSIONS AVAILABLE!
CQ Press is now offering customized versions of Keeping the Republic. E-mail collegesales@cqpress.com to learn more about this exciting new option.
Table of Contents
1. Politics: Who Gets What, and How?
2. American Citizens and Political Culture
3. Politics of the American Founding
4. Federalism and the U.S. Constitution
5. Fundamental American Liberties
6. The Struggle for Equal Rights
7. Congress 8. The Presidency
9. The Bureaucracy
10. The American Legal System and the Courts
11. Public Opinion
12. Political Parties
13. Interest Groups
14. Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
15. The Media
Testimonials
“A terrific university level book. Exceptionally well organized and well presented. Carefully constructed to present the essentials of American government but replete with references to Supreme Court cases that frequently have defined the changing nature of America’s governance. Highly recommended for undergraduate students of American government.”
- Robert Kennedy, Georgia Tech“While most introductory textbooks are broadly similar, one of the features that makes this text particularly appealing is its enthusiasm about demystifying the political world for students and pointing the way for them to become engaged citizens.”
- Robert Dion, University of Evansville
Bio(s)
Christine Barbour, Indiana University
Christine Barbour teaches in the political science department and the Honors College at Indiana University, where she has become increasingly interested in how teachers of large classes can maximize what their students learn. At Indiana, Professor Barbour has been a Lilly Fellow, working on a project to increase student retention in large introductory courses, and a member of the Freshmen Learning Project, a university-wide effort to improve the first year undergraduate experience. She has served on the New York Times College Advisory Board, working with other educators on developing ways to integrate newspaper reading into the undergraduate curriculum. She has won several teaching awards at Indiana, but the two that mean the most to her were awarded by her students: the Indiana University Student Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty (1995-6) and the Indiana University Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Brown Derby Award (1997). She is currently working on a book about local politics, development and the fishing industry in Apalachicola, Florida.
Gerald C. Wright, Indiana University
Gerald C. Wright has taught political science at Indiana University since 1981. He is an accomplished scholar of American politics—his books include Statehouse Democracy: Public Opinion, and Policy in the American States with co-authors Robert S. Erikson and John P. McIver, and he has published over 40 articles on elections, public opinion, and state politics. He has long studied the relationship between citizens, their preferences and public policy. He is currently conducting research with a grant from the National Science Foundation on what influences the character of policy representation in the states and the U.S. Congress, and he is writing a book about representation in the American legislatures. He has been a consultant for Project Vote Smart in the last several elections. Professor Wright is a member of the Freshmen Learning Project at Indiana University, a university-wide effort to improve the first year undergraduate experience by focusing on how today’s college students learn and how teachers can adapt their pedagogical methods to best teach them.
Ancillaries
REPUBLIC.CQPRESS .COM
Revised and updated by Frank Codispoti (Lone Star College, CyFair), this customized companion website is tailored and customized to the Full/Essentials versions of the book.
- NEW! Crossword Puzzles. This fun and unique feature gives students a different way to learn key terms.
- NEW! News Updates. News stories that reflect the themes of the book are selected by the authors and posted on the companion websites
- Study. Chapter summaries and learning objectives.
- Quiz. 20 multiple-choice questions per chapter with immediate grading; users can e-mail quiz results to instructors.
- Flashcards. Interactive study of key terms.
- Exercises. Activities encourage students to apply concepts from the text in a series of interactive questions.
- Explore. Annotated links facilitate further research.
- Take a Position. Critical thinking exercises challenge students to build balanced, well-argued positions on current events.
Instructor’s Resources
Available free online to adopters.
- Test Bank. More than 1,400 for the Full/Essentials, factual and conceptual multiple choice, short-answer, fill-in-the-blank, and short essay test questions. Available with Respondus software (compatible with course management systems).
- PowerPoint Lecture Slides. Highlighting key concepts, these slide shows are fully adaptable.
- Instructor’s Manual. Chapter overviews, lecture starters, class activities, and discussion questions provide the backbone for lectures and in-class discussions.
- Figures, Tables, and Maps. All of the books’ graphics are available as both PowerPoint slides and PDFs. Acetates are available upon request (subject to minimum quantities).
- CQ Weekly. CQ Press will provide a free 6-month online subscription to instructors who adopt Keeping the Republic (subject to minimum quantities).
- “Clicker” Slides. Designed for use with any student response system, these PowerPoint slides test comprehension and instantly poll student opinions.
Adopters, for access, visit college.cqpress.com and click on “Ancillaries for Download.”
