Political Science 20: Controversial Legal Issues
Political Science 20: Controversial Legal Issues
Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course
Common Course ID: POLI 20
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait
Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a political science course for undergraduate or graduate students taught by Sara Benson at San Jose State University in San Jose, California. The open textbook is the only book length source for the class and is used in a quiz, a presentation, and a written account that becomes part of the final exam. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to keep costs low for students. Students can access the open textbook as an e-book through our campus library website.
Political Science 20: Controversial Legal Issues
Brief Description of course highlights: ”Basic concepts in critical thinking as demonstrated in legal reasoning and analysis of contemporary legal issues …” https://catalog.sjsu.edu/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=10&coid=40804
Student population: This is a lower division writing-intensive general education course that fulfills the university’s critical thinking requirement. About half of the 25 students are political science majors.
Learning or student outcomes:
1. Students should possess a broad knowledge of the theory and methods of the various branches of the discipline.
2. Students should be able to formulate research questions, engage in systematic literature searches using primary and secondary sources, evaluate research studies, and critically analyze and interpret influential political texts.
3. Students should be able to apply these techniques to identify, understand, and analyze domestic and international politics.
4. Students should master basic competencies in oral and written communication skills and be able to apply these skills in the context of political science. This means communicating effectively about politics and/or public admin, public policy, and law.
5. Students should acquire an understanding of the role of the citizen in local, state, national, and global contexts and appreciate the importance of lifelong participation in political processes.
Instructor Name - Sara Benson
I am an assistant professor in political science at San Jose State University
Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.sjsu.edu/polisci/about-us/faculty-staff-directory/sara-benson.php
Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.
Recent Political Thought
Power and Ideas in American Politics
Senior Seminar on the Carceral State
American Political Thought
Race and Politics
Introduction to Political Thought
Controversial Legal Issues
Political Science Writing Workshop
Law and Society
US and California Government
Women and Politics
Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching. My teaching practice is organized around developing critical reading and writing habits. Because my classes rely on everyone having the book for close readings, I reduce and eliminate cost whenever possible.
Torture and Democracy
Brief Description: Darius Rejali’s study provides a comprehensive historical analysis of modern torture, tracing its evolution from the late 19th century through the aftermath of Abu Ghraib. Based on extensive multi-language research, Rejali argues that democratic states, specifically the United States, Britain, and France, developed and disseminated non-scarring interrogation techniques designed to evade media scrutiny and human rights protocols. The work demonstrates how these methods, including electrotorture and stress positions, were exported globally and became the standard for modern coercive practice. By addressing the technical efficacy of these methods, Rejali provides an academic benchmark for examining the intersection of state violence and democratic accountability.
Please provide a link to the resource - https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991013865891102919&context=L&vid=01CALS_SJO:01CALS_SJO&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Torture%20and%20Democracy
Authors: Darius Rejali
Student access: Students access the text through the King Library website once they are logged into campus accounts.
Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook. $40-$60
License*: ProQuest EBOOK Central Academic Complete
*Unlimited user access
*Online viewing available. Offline viewing requires a free personal account and free 3rd party software.
*Ebook Central has a session inactivity/idle timeout of 30 minutes
License Terms
Interlibrary loan electronic: Permitted (interpreted)
Course Pack Electronic: Permitted (interpreted)
Course Reserve Print: Permitted (interpreted)
Course Reserve Note: Academic Complete contains all unlimited simultaneous user access titles and course reserves use is allowed.
OER/Low Cost Adoption Process
Please provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost. I wanted students to read a book-length source in this class and some students were not doing the assignments because the book price was an obstacle to success. Our political science librarian made the text available via the library website and now all students can access the full text and finish all related assignments.
How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? See above.
Sharing Best Practices: The sustainability of open education relies on sharing with others. My suggestion for faculty would be to start by seeking the advice of your faculty librarian. I learned about the possibility of an e-book for my course because of our political science librarian who then made sure my students could access the book for free.
Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. On many occasions, the bookstore did not have enough copies or charged a lot.