Using a Survey Text in an Introductory United States Politics Course: Faculty Learning and Student Teaching.

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Conference Discussion

At Connecticut College, we have introductory level courses in each of the four subfields of political science (comparative, international relations, theory, and United States) and students are allowed to take two of these courses for the major. Each student, then, has two fields in which they move directly into specialized courses at the 200- and 300-level. Accordingly, any student with advanced placement studies or significant high school work in United States politics would be discouraged from taking Government 111, Contemporary United States Politics. Prospective majors are especially strategic in choosing among the four survey courses, but similar calculations are made by students completing their general education distribution or fulfilling the requirements for a Connecticut state teaching certificate. As a result, the enrollment for Government 111, Contemporary United States Politics, is generally comprised of first- and second-year students with a minimal background in the subject matter. Still, these students carry the insights (and sometimes the misconceptions) of United States residents and are sincerely motivated to learn about the government.

In this context, a textbook becomes an invaluable resource, providing each student with the fundamentals. Of course, when virtually every point is new information, textbook reading can very quickly become an overwhelming task. Consequently, I seek a text that sets clear priorities for the students. I also add supplements, in the form of daily handouts and more specialized articles. That said, I conduct each class with the presumption that students have mastered the concepts, unless and until the students ask questions. I have found that this approach forces students to be brave about their confusions -- a valuable life lesson -- and that the presumption of understanding helps us to move more quickly to an analytic conversation. When I'm in doubt about student comfort with the concepts and/or reading, a few opening questions will routinely reveal any uncertainties.

The extent of my dependence on a survey textbook should now be clear. Because it explicates the basics, it puts students at a proximately equal intellectual footing while saving classroom iteration. It identifies challenging themes, ideas, and issues that can be pursued through more focused readings and class discussion. Finally, its format and tone are respectful of the reader, so the student is encouraged to view it as helpful. After working with several different textbooks, I have found that these criteria are best met by Karen O'Connor and Larry Sabato's Essentials of American Government, Continuity and Change, currently in its third edition and published by Allyn and Bacon.

I should add, parenthetically, that this is an edited version of a larger text. My choice of the Essentials edition is partially a reflection of my preference for focusing upon institutions (a more complete edition includes several policy chapters) and partially a reflection of my concern for student book bills (there is a longer edition without policy chapters, but I have several books for purchase in the course). All editions have every possible teaching supplement, beautifully executed and suited to a wide range of classrooms and teaching styles. I find, though, that my colleagues' use of these materials is often highly idiosyncratic. Wishing to be respectful of those preferences, my attention will be centered on the Essentials text itself.

In regards to content, I find that Essentials explains the principle elements of United States government and politics -- founding; political behavior; campaigns and elections; and the branches of the national government -- in a manner that is both rigorous and clear. The presentation within each chapter is carefully organized and precise. At the same time, the chapters briefly reprise or cross-reference shared topics. Thus both the chapter on interest groups/political parties and the chapter on the judicial branch refer to amicus curiae briefs. This facilitates teaching the chapters in a sequence different from that which is provided by the authors.

I confess to revising the chapter order. After discussing the founding documents, I progress through the institutions, from those that are closest to the individual (participation, campaigns and elections) to those more distant (federalism, Congress) to those most distant (presidency, judiciary). Essentials instead puts its chapters in the following three units: Foundations (Constitution, federalism, civil rights and civil liberties), institutions (the three branches, with the executive divided into the presidency and the bureaucracy); and political behavior (public opinion and media, parties and interest groups, campaigns and elections). In fairness, when I have had students set out the order of the reading list, they have often recommended the Essentials progression -- and not because they have first consulted the table of contents! Putting political behavior at the conclusion of the course, they maintain, means that the complexities of the political environment are more fully known and thus the behavior is more thoroughly examined. This is clearly O'Connor and Sabato's reasoning as well, though they are obviously accepting of contrary views.

In regards to presentation, Essentials is something of a throwback to textbooks that relied upon information and argument to educate the reader. Though pictures, graphics, and boxes are provided, they are less frequent and consequently less intrusive than is true for many other texts. Perhaps because they are fewer, they are also more finely crafted and far more to the point. As a specialist in women and politics, and as a professor with a majority white classroom, I am especially appreciative of the authors' inclusion of women and people of color throughout the text. The integration makes its point in each chapter, not merely in reference to civil rights and civil liberties. At the same time, the conceptual integration does not mask the enduring difficulties associated with the politics of difference in the United States.

In selecting and then working with survey texts, I find that I am routinely skimming chapters to see whether my checklist of points is addressed and whether there are sections to discount. After spending a class on Federalist 10, for example, I do not want "faction" and "interest group" to be interchangeable terms, though a debate on that practice would be valuable. I find that the O'Connor and Sabato Essentials text covers my checklist (and more), renders discounting unnecessary, and facilitates debate. I really cannot ask for more.

I look forward to hearing about others' standards, experiences, and questions on this topic of selecting a survey text for introductory courses in United States politics.