In fact, in several places the book includes specific discussion of how the subject relates to minority or historically underrepresented or repressed communities that other texts tend to ignore (e.g. Surely, it would be impossible to cover all the relevant material in this book, but its format does allow the instructor to be selective about the sections within each chapter to be emphasized. read more. This isn't physics, it's politics. In the table of contents, chapter 17 is titled "Chapter 17: Foreign Polict.". }. Analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources including text excerpts, political cartoons, photographs, graphs, charts, and maps. 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. The use of the Electoral College and same-sex marriage across chapters are examples that I found useful in this regard. I like how there are separate chapters for Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. The textbook provides for a comprehensive overview of American Government. 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. The textbook contains sections and subsections within the chapters with independent learning objectives. Well-regarded global democracy indexessuch as Freedom House, 2 Varieties of Democracy, 3 and the Economist Intelligence Unit 4all show an erosion of American democracy since 2016. The information is up-to-date through the 2016 presidential election and makes reference to the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Experiences and participation of African-American, Latinx, Asian, indigenous, women, and LGBT citizens fill a chapter. By the standards of Introduction to American Politics textbooks, this is a comprehensive offering. The text and figures were attractive and easy to navigate. It is certainly a viable option for my course. Reviewed by Robert Asaadi, Instructor, Portland State University on 3/11/20, updated 4/16/20, Thorough coverage of the main thematic areas generally addressed by introductory American Government textbooks. The textbook is consistently outlined. The book is very comprehensive. This provides the Media with an opportunity to fill this vacuum. The writing is clear and concise. Terminology is placed bolded for easy identification. This is a good choice as the textbook for beginning level political science courses. I saw no problems with the navigation or images. 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. Moreover, I found the film selection stiflingno documentaries, no TV series, no foreign films. Each chapter is structured similarly. The text appears to be free from grammatical errors. Similar t the question about modularity, the organization and flow of the book is partially a matter of the author and editor's preference. Also, the map on page 15 lists Russia as a representative democracy. There are some lapses here. Thought/theory/philosophy explained while discussing history of government. The concepts are: growth of democracy, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, civil liberties . The text is consistent in terms of language, organization, and overall framework. read more. The uniqueness of the American system is rarely mentioned (e.g., the fact that it has a presidential, federal system, with true separation of powers). Diverse student populations will appreciate this aspect of the text. .nav-contain-highered{ This matters very much for American government texts, and the author has done a very good job here mixing long-standing historical examples with contemporaneous material. I haven't seen anything quite like that before, and it's useful. government, this book integrates instruction about state and local government throughout, rather than relegating these vital institutions to a unit at the end. Hume's ideas on human nature as the underlying purpose for dividing power is essential to understanding the American political system. The highlighting of key terms and the examples that are provided are helpful. Similar to other Introduction to American Government textbooks this book covers the typical material and then some. The index is clear and useful and the chapter glossaries are This is a particular strength of the text book from my view. This Electoral College voting method is referred to as the district system." For example, section 1.3 shows up as not converted. Logical and standard fare. 35. Instructors will have no difficulty omitting certain topics/chapters. Some of this material is bound to become somewhat out-of-date in the relatively near term, but it appears to authors are releasing new editions of the book with updated information quite frequently, so this is less of concern to me than with other texts on this subject. The textbook does not contain a glossary. The updates for most chapters should be easily accomplished. For example, while Federalism (Chapter 3) is included in the "Students and the System" section, State and Local Government comes much later in the book (Chapter 14, in the "Formal Institutions" section). , but for next semester, the text needs to provide 2016 turnout and election data. Reviewed by Nicholas Pyeatt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Penn State, Altoona on 2/1/18, The book is very comprehensive. 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. The content is very up-to-date and includes/examines relevant current issues. The book is updated through to the present day. The organization of topics conforms with what one finds in many other introductory level texts on American Government. The United States democracy is based on principles and ideals that are embodied by symbols, people, and documents. I did not find the book cultural insensitive. If you click on the Media icon subsets you can go straight to that subsection of the Media chapter. . In the next sentence, the author writes "Another way the media socializes audiences is through framing." However, the concepts are so strong here (thorough, well laid out) that an There is little to nothing lost compared to a mainstream textbook. Your textbook makes no mention of Rousseau. American Government 3ealigns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. Generally speaking, I think this textbook does as good a job at this as any other good textbook. 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. Reviewed by John Herbert, Instructor, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Coon Rapids, MN on 6/15/19, The material offered more than meets the appropriate standard for a textbook used in a first or second year course in American Government and Politics. The book is very accessible. 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. Lincoln preserved . It covers all of the major topics an introductory text should cover and a few others as well. The formatting of the text throughout is excellent. Reviewed by Nicholas Goedert, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech on 6/20/17, The text is impressively comprehensive, both with respect to its range of coverage and depth of discussion of each topic. The opening parts of the book though do focus a bit more on economics than I would prefer. Reviewing the text, I did not experience any significant interface issues. And finally, it contains both sections on individual rights and liberties as well as policy and bureaucracy. Overall, this is a solid choice in terms of comprehensiveness. } In this textbook, you will find a built-in structure that helps you identify the key concept in every lesson and see it in action. Origins Of American Government Teaching Resources | TpT American Government [ushistory.org] United States Government: Our Democracy 2018. The Feature Boxes act as a springboard to easily engage students beyond the confines of the text. Reading and writing support such as guided notes, vocabulary pop-ups, and graphic organizers help improve understanding of the content. In fact, Kurtz et al. First, on page 15, in Figure 1.6, is a map illustrating different forms of government throughout the world. has on the daily lives of each and every American, motivating students to become active participants in all aspects of our political system, and helping overcome the The book follows a relatively consistent framework for presentation throughout. The text is impressively comprehensive, both with respect to its range of coverage and depth of discussion of each topic. In updates to this text, it may be useful to search for more contemporary illustrations of key concepts, and this would be a relatively easy fix to implement. For example I like to group Congress and Interest Groups together, the Presidency and Political Parties, and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with the Judiciary. I am impressed with the comprehensiveness of the textbook. The first unit of the text ('Students and the System') outlines the necessary historical context without getting too bogged down in general introduction. They are usually a couple of paragraphs long and illustrate key concepts with practical examples followed by links to websites that have additional relevant information. The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The internal structure of individuals chapters is clear and logical. Its framework is solid. I also think the book does an exceptional job bringing in minorities not traditionally covered in American politics texts (Asian Americans, Native Americans, etc.) I encourage any professor of U.S. Government to take a good look at this text and strongly consider its adoption. 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 graphics, photos, and primary documents add a visual appeal as well as provide students to other literacies. Present the electoral information in tables and use the 2016 election as a case study. Unit II Assignments. in District List . It provides an effective index as well as a glossary of key terms at the end of each chapter. 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. I really liked that it had information from the 2016 election, as that is interesting to many students. have taken care to discuss the impact of this issues on minority populations across the many chapters, and not solely in the chapter on Civil Rights as previous texts on the subject tended to do. A democracy, consequently, must be confined to a small . Plus, they blend with the gray boxes of the same color that are often used, otherwise effectively, to present case studies or specific examples. The book seems unbiased - and includes the traditional readings of American Government. The respective discussions involving each of the aforementioned groups is objective, open minded, and balanced. Reviewed by Eric Radezky, Adjunct Professor, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY on 5/21/18, This textbook is very comprehensive. Material is presented in an unbiased manner without any noticeable errors. It supplements text content with useful links that serve as a great tool for boosting application and comprehension. All government textbooks have a tendency to show their age quickly, but this text may be more resilient than most. A chapter on State and Local government is also included as a useful addition. An easy example is seen in not grouping the federal bureaucracy in part 4 with the other institutions, instead placing it in section 5, the outputs of government. Log in to your program from these platforms: McGraw Hill Science Interactives (612), .bs3-nav-link-support a{ In fact, the whole world pretty much looks democratic and thats not true. In terms of content, the textbook has all the chapters one normally expects from an introductory American Government textbook. 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. This is not a pervasive problem, however but an occasional one. .nav-contain-highered p{ The reason I say this is because the choice of content is a subjective process in itself and surely there are other content areas that could be added on a particular theme. Swapping out these examples for newer ones in the future should not be too onerous. Content is very much up to date. A number of important factors are left out. Of course, this is a college textbook and there is much to learn, my recent experience is that if the volume of the reading appears ominous such may not be read in whole or be comprehended as well as the instructor may have hoped. Ideas are presented in a clear, logical fashion, and transitions between sections flow smoothly. 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. The textbook provides a clear, concise, and easily navigable resource of comprehensive information on the topic of U.S. government. In fact, I would critique the text somewhat in the other direction, there are a few points where important related ideas are broken into different subsections. The index is clear and useful and the chapter glossaries are excellent. From the origins of the US political system, the constitutional framework, participatory inputs, formal institutions, and public policy, the major points are addressed. These will not significantly modify the content of the text, so you should be alright either way. Many different races, backgrounds, ethnicities are presented to give the reader a well-rounded picture of how all different groups participate in the American governmental process. The textbook content is clearly organized into sensible modules. 3. The text provides an accurate, informative, cost-effective option for college students. Some texts may cover only one additional chapter other than the basic chapters one would expect. Many varied examples and leaders are highlighted. In fact, I wish there was an entire chapter devoted to Campaigns and Elections. The historical approaches Usually the image it only an inch or two from the Figure citation, but not always clear. I have found that with any textbook, it is always necessary to supplement by lecture with current information that is not in the textbook. The writing is clear and concise. read more. Analysis of political institutions is well-balanced with substantial attention to the role of the individual and collective action. The information in several chapters, like the chapters pertaining to the institutions, provide for an in-depth analysis.

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