Other than trips to government offices, political science has generally not used field experiences as part of the undergraduate curriculum. To illustrate the possibilities of such experiences, we discuss field-based courses and curricular units at three sites. Each uses a national park to teach students about environmental politics and policy…

This paper outlines an integrative approach to teaching (qualitative) comparative methods at the introductory undergraduate level. The integrative approach does not view methodological instruction as a topic to be treated cursorily at the outset of a course, but rather one to be intertwined throughout an academic term as students simultaneously…

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)

Elaborates ways in which literature may influence politics and demonstrates literary techniques employed to develop political arguments, disseminate political thought, and articulate ideological positions. Describes an interdisciplinary undergraduate course which used literature from Latin America as its focus. (JDH)

"State Politics and Woman Politicians" encourages and trains women who want to enter politics. It is being taught at Douglass College of Rutgers University and is expected to become a model for similar programs throughout the country. (Author)

To allow student writing to reach a broader audience, in 1999 political science educators and students at California State University Chico (CSUC) began a student journal in which exemplary student writing on political themes could be published. The resulting journal, "Studium: The California State University, Chico Student Journal of…

Describes a college course which examines the organizational and behavioral characteristics of trial courts in the American judicial process. A major course objective is to help students understand the trial court process as a political process by showing how trial court organizations are involved in the allocation of social values. (RM)

Describes a college course that examines the causes of political participation, the determinants of individual vote choice and the past and future behavior of the American electorate. (RM)

Describes a college course dealing with comparative state politics. Students learn about the way in which political scientists employ the study of American state politics as a "laboratory" for the development of scientific explanations of political phenomena. (RM)

Outlined is a 16-week political science course designed for students in engineering, the sciences, and humanities. The course focuses on the influence of science and technology on contemporary politics. Reading assignments, weekly topics, and course requirements are listed. (DC)

Describes a course offered on the political economy of national security. Discusses the objective of the course as the introduction of major economic issues associated with national security. Outlines lecture topics, course readings, and class format. Evaluates course weaknesses and strengths. Includes course assignments and requirements. (RW)

How fiction is used in a college-level political science seminar to teach about democratic decision making and U.S. politics is described. The fiction used is clustered around the following topics: community-level decisions, limits to consensus, group values and politics, acquiring elected offices and trying to keep them, and public bureaucracies.…

Proposes teaching political philosophy utilizing a model of Socratic discussion. Describes the use of Socratic discourse in a course entitled Contemporary Political Thought. Divides the course into three components: "the man on the street" analysis of issues; the use of social science literature; and philosophical readings on the issues.…

The rationale, structure, and content of the American Political Science Association's "Comparing Political Experiences" course is outlined. (DE)

This paper presents approaches and perspectives for anyone interested in designing university courses in the field of political communication. These include focusing on a single political figure or a single issue, focusing on a political genre, focusing on the mass media in relationship to political success, focusing on media exploitation, and…