You are here

Contemporary American Politics and Society
Share
Share

Contemporary American Politics and Society
Issues and Controversies

First Edition


December 2002 | 278 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Contemporary American Politics provides a comprehensive introduction to the most salient topics of debate in contemporary American politics and society today.

The text introduces and explains the history, nature and underlying issues to the key areas of political division and conflict in America's on-going `culture war', including, abortion, gun control, capital punishment, pornography, gay rights and drugs.

All students will gain a deeper and critical understanding of how this powerful set of concerns continue to underpin and shape the fundamental divisions informing American domestic politics at local, state and federal levels.

Completely up-to-date and featuring chapter summaries, exhibit boxes, discussion questions, weblinks and further reading guides, Contemporary American Politics offers a lively and accessible text that will be essential reading for all students of American politics and society.

Robert Singh is a lecturer in politics at Birkbeck College, London. Contemporary American Politics: Issues and Controversies is a companion text to the foundation textbook American Government and Politics: A Concise Introduction also published by SAGE.

`In this volume the political scientist Robert Singh has selected and analyzed closely a set of topical issues and controversies in American politics - including gun control, capital punishment and cultural wars - as a way better to understand the United States. The result is an excellent text which conveys both the diversity of contemporary America and the complexity of issues often treated superficially in media accounts. I recommend the book highly' - Desmond King, Mellon Professor of American Government, University of Oxford

`Rob Singh is a master of style, and his book is the perfect companion for those who are interested in America's "culture wars" but hitherto have been put off by the execrable jargon they have spawned' - Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Professor of American History, University of Edinburgh

`For those who still believe that politics is normally, naturally, about economics, Rob Singh has gathered the evidence and dialed the wake-up call: seven major instances of an ongoing culture war meet a common analytic framework here in a lively and informative fashion' - Byron E Shafer, University of Wisconsin

`For the student this is the perfect complement to a textbook. American politics is not just about institutions and processes, but also about current political issues and debates. Robert Singh's interesting book illuminates a range of social and cultural issues that divide Americans in the 21st century. All undergraduate courses on American politics should include it on reading lists for seminars, tutorials and classes' - Alan Ware, Worcester College, Oxford

 
The Culture War and Contemporary American Politics
 
The Rise of the Culture War
 
Abortion
 
Gun Control
 
Capital Punishment
 
Pornography
 
Gay Rights
 
Religion in Public Life
 
Drugs
 
Conclusion

For instructors

Purchasing options

Please select a format:

ISBN: 9780761940968
£51.00
ISBN: 9780761940951
£146.00

SAGE Knowledge is the ultimate social sciences digital library for students, researchers, and faculty. Hosting more than 4,400 titles, it includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more.

The platform allows researchers to cross-search and seamlessly access a wide breadth of must-have SAGE book and reference content from one source.

SAGE Knowledge brings together high-quality content from across our imprints, including CQ Press and Corwin titles.