Avoiding Politics


Book Description

Nina Eliasoph's vivid portrait of American civic life reveals an intriguing culture of political avoidance. Despite the importance for democracy of open-ended political conversation among ordinary citizens, many Americans try hard to avoid appearing to care about politics. To discover how, where and why Americans create this culture of avoidance, the author accompanied suburban volunteers, activists, and recreation club members for over two years, listening to them talk - and avoid talking - about the wider world, together and in encounters with government, media, and corporate authorities. She shows how citizens create and express ideas in everyday life, contrasting their privately expressed convictions with their lack of public political engagement. Her book challenges received ideas about culture, power and democracy, while exposing the hard work of producing apathy.




Polls and Politics


Book Description

This hard-hitting and engaging examination of polls and American politics asks an essential question: do polls contribute to the vitality of our democracy or are they undermining the health of our political system? Leading scholars address several key issues such as how various types of polls affect democracy, the meaning attributed to polling data by citizens and the media, the use of polls by presidents, and how political elites respond—or do not respond—to public polls. The contributors assert that while polls tread a fine line between informing and manipulating the public, they remain valuable so long as a robust democracy obliges its political leaders to respond to the expressed will of the people.







American Government


Book Description

We just experienced a historic election--driven more by common political myths and less by its realities--that will impact our political and personal lives for years to come. Rather than dismissing those myths as outright falsehoods, American Government: Myths and Realities, 2016 Election Edition, encourages students to confront their preconceived notions in order to think critically about government and politics. Clearly and distinctively woven into each chapter, the myths-and-realities theme provides a pedagogical framework that engages students with interesting questions while effectively covering the core concepts of American government. Priced at only $79.95, this affordable best seller provides students with definitive coverage of American government while laying out the foundation for today's generation to have a more sophisticated appreciation for our complex, yet exciting, system of governance.




Keeping the Republic


Book Description

Keeping the Republic gives students the power to examine the narrative of what′s going on in American politics, distinguish fact from fiction and balance from bias, and influence the message through informed citizenship. Keeping the Republic draws students into the study of American politics, showing them how to think critically about "who gets what, and how" while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship. The thoroughly updated Tenth Edition considers the influences of today’s technology and social media on politics and civic engagement. With the communication of ideas and information easier than ever, it’s increasingly challenging to filter through all the voices and biases to assess the facts and find balance. Throughout the text and its features, authors Christine Barbour and Gerald C. Wright show students how to effectively apply the critical thinking skills they develop to the political information they encounter every day. Students are challenged to deconstruct prevailing political narratives and effectively harness the political power of the information age for themselves. New content analyzes not only the 2020 election results and Supreme Court rulings, but also examines the activism of the Black Lives Matter movement, political outsiders in campaigns and party nominations, the federal government′s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the presidency of Donald Trump. With students living through one of the most challenging periods in American life, Keeping the Republic, Tenth Edition, is there to be a much-needed resource to help them make sense of politics in America today and become savvy consumers of political information. This title is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package. Contact your SAGE representative to request a demo. Digital Option / Courseware SAGE Vantage is an intuitive digital platform that delivers this text’s content and course materials in a learning experience that offers auto-graded assignments and interactive multimedia tools, all carefully designed to ignite student engagement and drive critical thinking. Built with you and your students in mind, it offers simple course set-up and enables students to better prepare for class. Learn more. Assignable Video with Assessment Assignable video (available with SAGE Vantage) is tied to learning objectives and curated exclusively for this text to bring concepts to life. Watch a sample video now. LMS Cartridge: Import this title’s instructor resources into your school’s learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don’t use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. Learn more. CQ Press Lecture Spark: Designed to save you time and ignite student engagement, these free weekly lecture launchers focus on current event topics tied to key concepts in American Government. Access this week’s topic.




Winner-Take-All Politics


Book Description

In this groundbreaking book on one of the world's greatest economic crises, Hacker and Pierson explain why the richest of the rich are getting richer while the rest of the world isn't.




Political Identity in Discourse


Book Description

This book takes an innovative view of language and politics, charting the terrain of political identities and discourses in New Zealand through detailed linguistic analysis of interactions with its voters. The author first sets out the geographical and sociopolitical context, examining how the constraints of a small and isolated country interact with widespread social values such as egalitarianism. He then delves into the multiple nature of identities and explores how Kiwis form their political selves through informal talk with others and in engagement with their physical and discursive surroundings. In doing so, the author provides an in-depth exploration of New Zealand political culture, identity and discourse, and sheds light on how we use language to become political people. This book will be of interest to linguists, political scientists and sociologists working with discourse analysis.




Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics, 6th Edition The Essentials


Book Description

Every section and every feature in the book has one goal in mind: to get students to think critically and be skeptical of received wisdom. Serving as a true aid to teachers, each chapter is designed to build students' analytical abilities. By introducing them to the seminal work in the field and showing them how to employ the themes of power and citizenship, this proven text builds confidence in students who want to take an active part in their communities and governmentuto play their part in keeping the republic, and to consider the consequences of that engagement.




Primary Colors


Book Description

A brilliant and penetrating look behind the scenes of modern American politics, Primary Colors is a funny, wise, and dramatic story with characters and events that resemble some familiar, real-life figures. When a former congressional aide becomes part of the staff of the governor of a small Southern state, he watches in horror, admiration, and amazement, as the governor mixes calculation and sincerity in his not-so-above-board campaign for the presidency.