This article presents a memorable method to introduce new students to the concept of political needs. Using an adaptation of Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" to one of "Hierarchy of Political Needs" the instructor presents how needs for "physiological survival," safety, belonging, "recognition," and…

Today's political environment continues to become more polarized as Americans find themselves taking sides on controversial issues. While this is certainly not new to the American democratic experience, the way we as a country are combating it is. With the nation engulfed in a political maelstrom, people are forgetting how to have a civilized…

In the light of recent attempts to construct 'literature pedagogy' for cosmopolitan, 'globalizing', political ends, this article provides here some stark reminders about the educational, not to say political, risks of confining the aims and purposes of literature to the aims and purposes of politics, or using a literary-political aesthetic as…

This article describes public records request assignments in courses in political science and in Asian American Studies. Beyond commonly known activities like voting, volunteering, signing petitions or peacefully protesting, students should gain experience in exercising their rights to an expansive set of government records that fall within the…

During four intensive summer weeks, 28 students were exposed to the daily life of top political leaders (ministers and city mayors), acting as their political advisors. Real-life assignments were planned in cooperation with liaisons from the personal offices of these political leaders. The cases brought the hectic, complicated and uncertain life…

In terms of gamification within political science, some fields-particularly international relations and American politics--have received more attention than others. One of the most underserved parts of the discipline is research methods; a course that, coincidentally, is frequently cited as one that instructors hate to teach and students hate to…

Advanced high-school courses, such as Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the United States, present a content selection conundrum of major proportions. Judicious content selection is necessary if students are to learn subject matter meaningfully, but the sheer breadth of tested material in these courses promotes nearly the opposite:…

Framing theory is one of the most thriving and complex fields of communication theory, and as such it has grown to be an integral part of many political communication, public opinion, and communication theory courses. Part of the complexity stems from scholars' efforts to develop accounts of framing processes that are closer to the "real world" of…

The New Research on Gender in Political Psychology Conference brought together new and experienced teachers with interests in gender politics. The conference session "Teaching Gender throughout the Curriculum" generated a great deal of discussion concerning the pedagogical practice of gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming--the integration of…

As state capitals and city halls influence our daily lives, how can students become active participants in the affairs of their communities (Saffell and Basehart 2009)? For students to explore this question and local policy making in general, I developed a city council simulation for a state and local government course. This article describes the…

In his seminal work "Bridging the Gap: Theory and Practice in Foreign Policy", Alexander George (1993) lamented the great divide between academia and the foreign policymaking community, arguing that greater interaction between scholars and policymakers would produce better policy. We share George's belief that scholars and practitioners each have…

In this article, the author discusses Black intellectual superstar Melissa Harris-Perry, who is ditching drama at Princeton University in order to build a new, unique center at Tulane, in the heart of the South. The new center will focus on the study of race, gender, and politics in the American South, a job created specifically with her in mind.…

College professors are evaluated for promotion and tenure on the basis of their accomplishments in three areas: teaching, research, and service. All too often, however, service is considered the poor cousin of the trio. In political science in particular, we believe that this imbalance is detrimental to the individual scholar, our students, the…

Engaging students in the design, administration, and postelection analysis of an exit poll can be an excellent experiential learning activity. Lelieveldt and Rossen (2009) argue that exit polls are a "perfect teaching tool" because they provide students with a cooperative (rather than competitive) learning experience; help students…

Within the subfields of political psychology and the study of gender, the introduction of new data collection efforts, methodologies, and theoretical approaches are transforming our understandings of these two fields and the places at which they intersect. In this article we present an overview of the research that was presented at a National…