Authored by three of the USA’s most well-known scholars on American politics – Zoltan L. Hajnal, University of California, Vincent L. Hutchings, University of Michigan, and Taeku Lee, Harvard University – this undergraduate textbook argues that racial considerations are today – and have always been since the nation’s founding – central to understanding America’s political system writ large.
Overview
Drawing on decades of teaching experience and compelling original research, Hajnal, Hutchings, and Lee present an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of race’s role in American democracy, spanning topics as wide-ranging as public opinion, voting behavior, media representation, criminal justice, social policy, and protest movements.
The reader will examine the perspectives of multiple racial groups, learn how to bring empirical analysis to bear on deeply divided viewpoints, and debate solutions to the many problems of governance in an America that is polarized by party, riven by race, and divided by inequality. Chapters open with a vignette to introduce the core issues and conclude with discussion questions and annotated suggested readings.
Published November 2024. Find out more via Cambridge University Press.