Teaching
HarvardX/EdX American Government course:
My online HarvardX/EdX introduction to American Government course is free of charge, and the sessions can be taken in any order. The course is intended to supplement your for-credit introductory American government course, in the classroom or online. It has 24 sessions, each 20-30 minutes in length. The 24 sessions are divided into four groups of six lectures each: Constitutional Foundations (e.g. Federalism), Institutions (e.g., Presidency), Mass Politics (e.g., Public Opinion), and Public Policy (e.g., Foreign Policy). The videos are closed captioned to accommodate students with hearing difficulties. Links to each session are listed below.
If using Zoom, WebEx, or other online teaching platform, you can play it during a class session. If you want students to view a session before class, you can share the link with them by email or through Blackboard, Canvas, etc.
TEST BANK.
The test bank for the video presentations has 144 questions – four multiple-choice questions and two short-answer questions for each of the 24 sessions. Answer key is included.
SYLLABUS:
If you are creating your course syllabus, here is a model syllabus that combines text readings with the videos. The videos can be assigned for viewing before the class session or you can show them to your class at the beginning of each session as a starting point for offering your own thoughts about the topic and prompting student discussion. Link to Syllabus
COURSE TRANSCRIPTS:
Access to the Course video transcripts are available here.[COURSE TRANSCRIPTS]
Course Videos- select title to view session
CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS
Political Culture
Limited Government
Representative Government
Federalism
Civil Liberties
Civil Rights
MASS POLITICS
Public Opinion
Political Parties
Campaigns & Elections
Political Movements
Interest Groups
News Media
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
Congress and Constituency
Congress and Party
Presidents & Domestic Policy
Presidents & Foreign Policy
Federal Bureaucracy
Supreme Court & Judiciary
PUBLIC POLICY
Social Policy
Fiscal & Monetary Policy
Welfare & Income Policy
Regulatory Policy
Foreign Policy
Review Session
Course Syllabus
Select to view 2 minute trailer video
Recent Books
We the People: An introduction to American Government
Click to get free desk copy (for college & dual credit AP high school instructors)
Click to get free desk copy (for non dual-credit AP, honors, and regular American government high school teachers. When prompted about the nature of your request, paste the following sentence: I’d like to review for adoption Thomas E. Patterson, We the People, 15th edition, McGraw Hill, ISBN: 9781265634568)
To order: Thomas E. Patterson, We the People, 15e (McGraw-Hill, 2021), ISBN: 9781265634568.
For preparing your syllabus, the Table of Contents can be found here. A draft syllabus can be found here.
How America Lost Its Mind
(submission form is in right column)