A novel approach to politics : introducing political science through books, movies, and popular culture / Douglas A. Van Belle.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introducing the Ancient Debate: The Ideal versus the Real -- 2. Why Government? Security, Anarchy, and Some Basic Group Dynamics -- 3. Governing Society: We Know Who You Are -- 4. Government's Role in the Economy: The Offer You Can't Refuse -- 5. Structures and Institutions -- 6. El Grande Loco Casa Blanca-The Executive (in Bad Spanish) -- 7. The Confederacy of Dunces-The Legislative (Not in Bad Spanish) -- 8. Brazilian Bureaucracy-Do we even need to bother with the Jokes? -- 9. Courts and Law: Politics behind the Gavel, Obviously, but What's Under the Gown? -- 10. Not Quite Right, but Still Good: The Democratic Ideal in Modern Politics -- 11. Media, Politics and Government: Talking Heads are Better than None -- 12. International Politics: Apocalypse Now and Then -- 13. Chapter 13 was Confiscated for Your Protection -- 14. Political Culture: Sex and Agriculture, Getting Rucked Explains it All -- 15. The Lastest and Bestest Chapter: The Study of Politics.

"Textbooks seldom inspire accolades, particularly the dry behemoths often used in survey courses. A Novel Approach to Politics turns the conventional textbook wisdom on its head. This is a textbook your students will want to read! Adopters of previous editions from schools all over the country are thanking Novel Approach for some of their best student evaluations to date.

With this new edition, Van Belle brings the book fully up-to-date with coverage of the Obama administration and other changes in administrations and regimes worldwide; current policy debates about issues like reproductive rights, whether corporations are people, and the important effects of partisanship; international happenings such as the Arab Spring and the Euro crisis, and other assorted intergalactic matters. Van Belle adds discussions of a wealth of new and recent movies and books to the text, as he illustrates key concepts in political science through examples that will captivate students. Employing a wide range of references from 1984 to Game of Thrones to The Avengers, students are given a very solid grounding in institutions, ideology, and economics.