Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System (The Debating Politics Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1604265523 ISBN 13: 9781604265521

Publisher: CQ Press, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard J. Ellis is Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University. His books include The Development of the American Presidency (2015; 2nd ed.); Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System (with Michael Nelson, 3nd ed., 2016); Judging the Boy Scouts of America: Gay Rights, Freedom of Association, and the Dale Case (2014); Judging Executive Power: Sixteen Supreme Court Cases That Have Shaped the American Presidency (2009); and Presidential Travel: The Journey from George Washington to George W. Bush (2008). In 2008 he was named the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Oregon Professor of the Year.

Review:

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 Virginia

About this edition

• Publisher: CQ Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1604265523
• ISBN 13: 9781604265521
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392
• Editor: Richard J. Ellis, Michael Nelson