Teaching the social contract tradition to students can be frustrating. Works by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau may seem arcane, abstract, or irrelevant to students. Yet, it is important for students to think about what processes or mechanisms would make consent and dissent legitimate. To address this problem, this paper explains how to use a short…

Ideological and Political courses are compulsory lessons for Chinese students throughout their schooling, which also are taken for granted as Citizenship Education courses by the authority. What's the real state of the lesson? Here we show you one example of the lesson. The lesson was recorded in September 2013, in a special classroom with two…

This article provides an example of a social studies lesson from Turkish educational context in order to facilitate comparison with examples of social studies lessons from other parts of the world. This lesson was recorded in a 7th grade class at a middle school in one of the metropolitan neighborhoods in Istanbul. According to the current…

History or social studies teachers are constantly striving to make the past come alive for their students and to help them see that not only does the past relate to the present, but it can also give insights into the future. The recent passing of former President Gerald R. Ford provides social studies teachers with just such an opportunity. Ford's…

How an introductory political science course called "The Elements of Political Theory" is taught using Plato's "Republic," Hobbes's "Leviathan," the "Declaration of Independence," and the "Communist Manifesto" is discussed. In the course, students contrast the way ancients and moderns differ in…

College students enrolled in a senior level political science seminar were assigned to read books and then write essays that uncovered one critical flaw in the work. The class was divided into teams to debate the value of the critiques. A mock trial format was used for the debates. (RM)

Breaks were imposed in the game Monopoly, at which times the players, college level students, elected one person and gave him or her the power to change the rules. Behavior similar to political behavior in the real world resulted. The students discovered the resemblance and wrote papers on what had occurred. (RM)

Ten elements and techniques which can be used very effectively in a college level political science course are animation and enthusiasm; costumes; skits; motion; humor; perks; personality and mood changes; voices, puppets, and imitations; the personalization of material; and state of mind. (RM)

Describes a college course dealing with the origins and goals of Soviet foreign policy. The course examines the events surrounding the development of Soviet policy since the 1917 revolution, the domestic factors which influence foreign policymaking, and current problems and policies. (RM)

Describes the use of an instructional module used to introduce college students to a combined mathematical modeling and normative analysis approach to the investigation of public policy issues. The module, which was designed to bridge several courses and combined independent work with discussions, was judged to be successful in promoting…

The benefits and limitations of an interdisciplinary course, combining sociology, history, and political science, on America in the 1960s are analyzed. Both structure and content of the course are discussed. (Author/RM)

Describes an advanced college course dealing with urban public policy in the United States. It assumes previous student work in political science and urban life. (RM)

Describes an exercise in the content analysis of political ideologies. Advantages of the exercise include that it teaches students to employ content analysis as a method of research and that it introduces them to the ideological statements of America's leading social critics. (DB)

Many educators in high schools and colleges have taught about European history and politics in the context of the Cold War and the division of Europe into two blocs. The revolutionary changes in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union have made obsolete the superpower spheres of influence that divided Europe. This curriculum project contributes…

This curriculum unit presents an overview of change in Mexico. The unit is not meant to be an in-depth study, but rather a survey of four areas traditionally important in Mexican life: the economy, politics, religion, and literature, with particular emphasis on the first two. The unit is designed as a module on contemporary Mexico in a Latin…