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

Product 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. Students are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in American politics, and to be savvy consumers of political information.  The thoroughly updated Ninth Edition considers how a major component of power is who controls the information, how it is assembled into narratives, and whether we come to recognize fact from fiction. Citizens now have unprecedented access to power – the ability to create and share their own narratives – while simultaneously being even more vulnerable to those trying to shape their views. The political landscape of today gives us new ways to keep the republic, and some high-tech ways to lose it.  Throughout the text and its features, authors Christine Barbour and Gerald 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 narratives and effectively harness the political power of the information age for themselves.  Up-to-date with 2018 election results and analysis, as well as the impact of recent Supreme Court rulings, shifting demographics, and emerging and continuing social movements, Keeping the Republic, Ninth Edition is a much-needed resource to help students make sense of politics in America today. Keeping the Republic, The Essentials is identical to the full version of the text, minus the three policy chapters.
Also available as a digital option (courseware). Contact your rep to learn more about Keeping the Republic, Ninth Essentials Edition – Vantage Digital Option.

Review

“The book is a concise read; has updated photos and images, plus a sizeable portion of historical images and events. This is a rounded book…The book does well by [integrating] a discussion of citizenship and its broader implication for the extant political culture.” — Kalu N. Kalu

“The content is thorough and clearly broken into separate sections which convey concepts in a manner that students can focus on systematically…The ninth edition contains a tremendous amount of valuable information and I am excited about the extent of the content and the way the content is organized… The book’s updated theme of power and citizenship and the ways the control of the political narrative has been translated into political power and how it has shifted within the new social media is refreshingly timely.” — Paul Thomas Rabchenuk

“I consistently recommend the book to [colleagues] who are teaching American government for the first time. It is easy to use, and it provides all of the basics that any student would ever need to know. It is easy for students to read, and it challenges their preconceived notions about the world…” — James W. Stoutenborough,

About the Author

Christine Barbour teaches in the Political Science Department and the Hutton Honors College at Indiana University, where she has become increasingly interested in how teachers of large classes can maximize what their students learn. She is working with online course designers to create an online version of her Intro to American Politics class. At Indiana, Professor Barbour has been a Lilly Fellow, working on a project to increase student retention in large introductory courses, and a member of the Freshman Learning Project, a university-wide effort to improve the first-year undergraduate experience. She has served on the New York Times College Advisory Board, working with other educators to develop ways to integrate newspaper readi