B. I didnt notice obvious grammatical errors in this textbook. In reviewing the table of contents, I found the book has a logical flow that begins with defining what government is and then proceeds to provide information on the critical subjects of our democracy including but not limited to: The Constitution, federalism, civil liberties, civil rights, voting, Congress, the presidency, our court system, and the federal bureaucracy. Although the U.S. has been a strong proponent of democracy, it did not invent democracy. I do think that some modules could be combined, but for the most part the author accomplishes this well. It also includes a chapter on The red links in areas of the textbook are distracting. Democracy is a means of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy reflects citizens' preferences. The invitation to re-introduce discussion of governors, state legislatures, city councils, and other forms of sub-national government is much appreciated. Furthermore, the textbook has the capacity to undergo straightforward updates, (such as to linked contents, etc.) Have used it this semester in 2 sections of my intro Am Gov class with no student complaints. Would grade this as 4.5 if possible. The textbook provides a clear, concise, and easily navigable resource of comprehensive information on the topic of U.S. government. As for as substantively, I find the grouping of Chapters 4-7 to be curious. I have used this text successfully in the classroom, and students generally respond positively to it. This text, American Government 2e by Krutz and Waskiewicz, covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately beginning with the origins of each political construct, through its evolution in America, and trends into the future. The text is easily navigated and free of any significant interface issues. Today's must-read. Particularly appropriate for an undergraduate audience. The concepts represented in the text also make case teaching via policy/politics news easy, even if the textbooks examples were to be stale - - which they are unlikely to be. As mentioned earlier, chapters are structured in reasonable ways. By the standards of Introduction to American Politics textbooks, this is a comprehensive offering. An example of a high degree of accuracy is the discussion on the problem of divided government. - clear framing around basic theories of representation and collective action (probably less explicitly on the latter than something Changes like these are expected and I do not think that this would be too difficult to do. Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy. I think that the textbook goes too far in this direction. The professor can supply larger themes to the broader course and this textbook can fit nearly any theme with important and clear information on American Government. The definitions in the glossary are precise. For students looking to identify key terms, this bolding does feel mightily inconsistent. 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. The organization and flow of the book is very good. It is not overly complicated and written at the appropriate level. Overall I find the writing to be at an appropriate level for first-year college students. The layout is consistent for each chapter, with topic subheadings, feature boxes, links to learning, summaries and glossaries. Faculty involved in the project have endeavored to make government workings, issues, debates, and impacts meaningful and memorable to students while maintaining the conceptual coverage and rigor inherent in the subject. The opening parts of the book though do focus a bit more on economics than I would prefer. Government Democracy In Action Answers below. The case law is also an effective addition. The book is accurate with but few exceptions. I like that the chapters are divided into numbered subsections, which helps give students clearer instructions when I am dividing chapters over multiple days. Overall, this is a good text that seems to be accessible for student learning. Includes audio, annotation tools, and approaching level option for the student text. The work provides a comprehensive overview of both the formal and informal political institutions that one would expect to find in an introductory-level American Government text. This course must give freshman students the conceptual baseline tools to advance to the next grade. The figure icon needs to be fixed or dropped. p. 136, in which only a small fraction of the page is filled with an external link) , though if you are not strictly concerned with minimizing page count or aesthetics, this is feature rather than a bug, as it reduces the need for thing like including figures on a page with unrelated text to maximize efficient spacing. In reviewing the table of contents, I found the book has a logical flow that begins with defining what government is and then proceeds to provide information on the critical subjects of our The organization of the text is fairly traditional, with the decision to include the topic of bureaucracy under the Outputs of Government as one less conventional approach. This edition (2016) has been eclipsed by the huge changes under Trump, but that is also true of all 'standard' texts. Overall the book is extremely well edited. The book seemed to use inclusive examples--for example, the racial breakdown of the federal judiciary. Most of the content of the different chapters focus on the mechanics of the system and on relevant examples that will be important for years to come. Overall, an excellent textbook which covers the needed subject matter comprehensively. The Public, the Political System and American Democracy 9780078747625 United States Government Democracy in. The textbook includes virtually all topics that are critical to foundational course(s) in U.S. Government. Defining Democracy 1. I was able to move freely throughout the textbook with ease, experiencing no navigational difficulties and without finding any display features that were distracting or confusing. The text is arranged in a way that necessary updates can be easily integrated. Unfortunately, I found the hyperlinks within the text to be a bit distracting. Facilitate mastery of complex principles with dynamic digital tools. Our School" Reopening Plan; Daily Bulletin; S3 Grant; Principal's Message; Mission & Vision Statement; Bell Schedule; Contact Us; Policies & Procedures; . From the origins of the US political system, the constitutional framework, participatory inputs, formal institutions, and public policy, the major points are For example, the term latent opinion comes up in the introductory chapter. For example, the definition of the margin of error that is provided is not technically correct, and the example that follows the definition is not correct even in a non-technical sense. I found the insertion of bold links in the middle of the text rather distracting. It covers all the bases of an Introduction to American Government and then some. For the most part, you could move around chapters if not sections. A second point, is figure 3.17 regarding marriage equality. Given the nature of an American politics course, I don't frequently see my colleagues, nor do I, order concepts much differently than they are ordered in this book. read more. There certainly is enough relevant and timely material to assign a chapter per week for the one semester Intro type class, especially when combined with the supplementary material noted above. The process of Amending the Constitution is under developed. The book was very culturally sensitive but more could be added throughout each chapter. There are a number of instances where, as was previously noted, there are significant blocks of text in long paragraphs without subheadings or some other type of break. I usually wind up giving the students a link to these materials on the web, so having them in the actual textbook would be a nice bonus of using this text. Here, citizens vote for their government officials. United States government : democracy in action by Remy, Richard C; Congressional Quarterly, inc. The comprehensiveness of Krutz's American Government text is such that it more than adequately addresses the curricular requirements of the American government and politics courses offered by the Virginia Community College System. Spelling, punctuation and sentence structure were also all very good. There were a few places where the order within the chapter was slightly distracting (the media chapter comes to mind), but this was not a major issue. There is a standard form to intro Am Gov textbooks, and this one is pretty typical. In my classes using the book, I have done quite a bit of rearranging. 1. Democracy and government, the U.S. political system, elected But by sticking to institutional logic, historical examples, and well-established topic controversies that are not going to go away (abortion, executive orders and the use of force, the civil service), the book does an excellent job at avoiding the publishing industrys penchant for planned obsolescence. There are even two chapters on public policy, which many basic textbooks omit. The canonical terms of introductory American Government are present and defined adequately. Democratic backsliding in the United States is no longer a matter of speculative concern. United States Government - Adventist Education Within each of the chapters, there are sections which provide clear learning objectives, summaries, key terms, and opportunities for assessment with multiple-choice and short-response review questions. 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. SyncBlasts:Online SyncBlasts permit teachers to leverage rich, multi-media reading and writing assignments focused on social studies and current event articles. There are questions and glossary words at the end of each chapter to help clarify issues. This text covers nearly all of the major topics covered in American Government texts. Analysis of political institutions is well-balanced with substantial attention to the role of the individual and collective action. Citizen control of the agenda 5. I think it would be harder to pull apart sections of the book independently and rearrange them. It is not overly burdensome or clunky or overwhelming in its text portions. I have no comment or assessment of either the usefulness of "supplementary" stuff like outside websites or discussion questions. While the textbook references race, ethnicity, gender, and other identities in expected chapters like Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, and even the Media, overall the textbook offers a limited approach to identity politics in the context of American politics and government. read more. The content of the book is accurate. But I would rather have it smaller so I Key terms are defined with appropriate detail in a glossary and the summaries serve to reinforce the material covered in each section. All about United States Government Our Democracy Textbook is exactly what you need. The book's layout is consistent. This is a very impressive work, and I will most certainly adopt this book. al consideration. Effective participation 3. Yes, the book is internally consistent in terms of its discussion and its presentation of information. My biggest concerns lie with the unconventional ordering of the material, as well as the density of the text throughout. So things will change and go out-of-date. The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite. read more. It is as accurate as any standard, mainstream textbook on American government. United States Government: Our Democracy 2018 - McGraw Hill The accuracy of this text is equivalent or higher than any introductory text I am familiar with. The beginning of each module clearly identifies the learning objectives and is organized in such a way that it can be assigned at any point within the course as the instructor sees fit. As a policy professor with professional experience in the field, I would be likely to use cases to follow up about how policy content accounts for those decisions in a process that includes policy actors (private and public)). The deeper learning tools like Middle Ground and so forth allow the reader to learn more about a specific concept using a real world application and should provide the instructor with a ready-made activity that will more actively engage the student be it in an online or seated class. Reviewed by Alexander Cohen, Assistant Professor, Augustana College on 6/19/18, By the standards of Introduction to American Politics textbooks, this is a comprehensive offering. I saw no problems and particularity liked the emphasis on voter registration in the Voting and Elections unit. It covers all the areas that may be taught in an American Government intro class. Milestone Documents. Similar to other Introduction to American Government textbooks this book covers the typical material and then some. The textbook covers all the essential parts of American government. The text is easily and readily visible and permits an instructor to select what to cover based on the learning objectives of each chapter. However, when I went over each chapter in detail I realized that there is no consistency throughout the textbook regarding the film selection. Lincoln preserved . Of course, where to draw those lines is subjective and not all will see the value. It is only mentioned in the chapter on civil rights. The writing appears to be objective and factually correct. Also, when you click, for example, chapter 2, you cannot go directly to chapter 2, but you have to click the Intro first. However, there were some paragraphs, that were a bit wordy and I am concerned that at times the author may lose the student due to this wordiness. The more niche chapters like Public Opinion could use a freshen up on the theoretical concepts. One issue that does not receive a lot of direct attention is American political culture, including the values that underlie our democratic system, but this can be supplied complementary readings. Adopting profs should read the chapters carefully so they know what areas get deeper coverage, and what areas get shallower treatment. However, the chapter lengths seem fairly typical for this type of text. Students will develop an appreciation for the value of citizenship and civic . Reviews. 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. Feb. 23, 2017. As mentioned earlier, the book is reasonably up to date. I think it would be easy for me to pick and choose sections of the book to focus on and to present chapters in a customized order. United States Government: Our Democracy (2016) Publisher: McGraw-Hill . To report a technical problem with this Web site, please contact the Web Producer.Web . There is also a Link to Learning in each module that guides readers to content related updates that are available online. The index and glossary are well formulated. Chapter 1. 3. The text covers everything that an introduction to American government should. The textbook's content is accurate, free from errors, and unbiased. read more. Straightforward comparisons with oligarchy and monarchy. }. The textbook is highly relevant with topics that will continue to be important to include in a foundational study of U.S .government. United States Government: Our Democracy Textbook The book is clearly and accessible written. Not every one covers Civil Rights and Liberties or Foreign and Domestic Policy, but this text does offer a chapter on each of those. 2. The book is very accessible. The information is up-to-date through the 2016 presidential election and makes reference to the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. 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. V of the Constitution. There's A LOT of flexibility with the text content. The text uses the 2016 election, in particular, to help the reader better understand the varying voting methods within the Electoral College by stating: "In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won one congressional district in Maine, even though Hillary Clinton won the state overall. This is the first time that I have thoroughly reviewed an open source textbook for potential use in a course, and I was impressed by the overall quality of the book. Each chapter culminates in a Taking Action activity designed to translate learning into informed action. Verified. On diversity: Notwithstanding the fact that the book has text and images that represent different groups based on sex, race, religion and sexual orientation, among other characteristics; there is general reference to Hispanics being the largest minority group in the first chapter which is supposed to set up the main characteristics of our country. That said, those places were few and far between. Offers coverage of topics that most instructors would cover in such a class, including political behavior, civil rights/liberties, American political culture, and structure. Regarding 7.3 Direct Democracy, although I understand why it is where it is currently, I think that the concept needs to be covered earlier in the text (time of American founding perhaps or even in the first chapter if possible). For every chapter a special effort could be made to fully integrate the experiences and writings of people of color. The framework of the chapters is internal consistent.
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