PLSI 3150: American Political Theory

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID: PLSI 3150
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract:  This open textbook is being utilized in a political science course for undergraduate students by Dr. Michael Ault at California State University, Bakersfield. The open resources used in this class provide an introduction to the political theory underlying the United States of America. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was lowering the cost to $0 for students in this required major course. Students access the open resources from my Canvas course.

PLSI 3150: American Political Theory

Brief Description of course highlights:  This course investigates the theoretical foundations, functional processes, and contemporary critiques of the United States regime. Students investigate the political and social institutions established under the U.S. Constitution, review important changes in relations between government and citizens. Taken as a whole, the themes explored in this course lie at the intersections of politics, philosophy, history, and sociology and should appeal to students wishing to pursue a career in teaching civics or social studies at the secondary school level or the legal profession. Carries credit in Pre-Law Emphasis. Requisite(s): Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher. Typically Offered: Spring https://catalog.csub.edu/course-descriptions/plsi/ 

Student population: The course carries credit in our Pre-Law emphasis as well as our American Politics emphasis. Students from other disciplines (especially history) take the course as well.  Using AI, I was able to summarize the demographics and backgrounds of the students in the course based on their Welcome and Introduction assignment the first week: 

“The students come from diverse backgrounds, with many being juniors and seniors majoring in political science, history, and other social science fields. Some are transferring from community colleges. The students have a range of interests in politics, with some being deeply engaged and others less so. Those with a strong interest in politics tend to have formed their views through a combination of family, education, and media exposure. Many hope to use their political knowledge to pursue careers in law, teaching, and government.” ChatGPT Summary generated April 9, 2026.

Learning or student outcomes:  By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1. Identify and analyze the philosophical/theoretical foundations of the United States regime.
2. Identify and analyze the manner which these philosophical/theoretical foundations assist/hinder our understanding of the realities of American political life.
3. Identify and evaluate the theories and issues in American government and American political history;
4. Explain and critically assess the formal and informal political institutions, and their respective roles, in American politics.
5.  Evaluate the presidential electoral process, including the role of campaigns, public appeal, and democratic pressures in shaping expectations of presidential leadership.

Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption:  See: Syllabus for PLSI 3150-01_ American Political Theory.pdfCourse Schedule_ PLSI 3150-01_ American Political Theory.pdfCourse Requirements and Grading_ PLSI 3150-01_ American Political Theory.pdfand Topic_ Discussion_ Russell Conjugations and the Power of Framing.pdf and Topic_ In-class Assignment_ Impossible Subjects (Thursday 2_26_26).pdf.

George Lakoff: Moral Politics: https://youtu.be/5f9R9MtkpqM?si=eUHEgxtndlcHA2wb  

Jonathan Haidt: The moral roots of liberals and conservatives: https://youtu.be/8SOQduoLgRw?si=TGsBHRJ2IzGGY3Nf 

Jonathan Haidt: 'The Righteous Mind': Why Liberals and Conservatives Can't Get Along: https://youtu.be/qN42ZLwNFBY?si=V8OpxJiFmQiAoZUA 

OER/Low cost Title: What defines America ?

Brief Description: The readings in this class work together to ask a large and recurring question: What defines America, and who gets included in the American political community? Across the course, the texts explore the tension between the nation’s stated ideals and its lived history. Some readings emphasize the importance of the founding principles of natural rights, liberty, equality, and consent. Others stress the role of culture, inherited traditions, and shared identity in holding a political community together. Still others show how American law itself has actively drawn boundaries around belonging, producing categories of exclusion even within a nation that speaks in the language of freedom.

Taken together, the course is less about presenting a single answer than about showing students that American political identity has always been contested. The readings reveal that freedom in the United States has often expanded unevenly, with inclusion for some existing alongside exclusion, domination, or marginalization for others. That is why the class keeps returning to the relationship between principles, culture, law, and historical struggle. The broad arc of the course invites students to see American political development not as a simple story of progress, but as an ongoing argument over who “the people” are, what democracy should mean, and whether the nation has lived up to its own claims

Please provide a link to the resource  They are in my Canvas course.

Authors:  Multiple Authors and open source videos are used in this course: Thomas West, Samuel Huntington, George Lakoff, Mae Ngai, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Gerda Lerner and more.

Student access:  Students access the open resource material from my Canvas course. Each module has a set of open source (or academic journal) readings and I supplement them with videos and other course material. 

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Since the material is free and OpenSource, I no longer use the textbook, Classics of American Political and Constitutional Thought, Volume I and II.  (Hackett Publishing), which Vol I costs $32.00 and Vol II costs $32.00.

License:  
CC BY 4.0: 92.8% (128 pages)
Undeclared: 7.2% (10 pages)

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Please provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost.  I wanted to save students money on their textbooks, as well as cultivate my own resources for the course.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  I consulted with our Association’s sources of OER resources and conducted my own web searches. 

Sharing Best Practices:  The sustainability of open education relies on sharing with others. Please give suggestions for faculty who are just getting started with OER or Low-Cost options. List anything you wish that you had known earlier. These resources are an excellent way to introduce students to material as well as providing them with a free resource that does not create burdens or barriers for lower-income students.

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. The experience has largely been positive both for me, the instructor, as well as the students. I am using them for the fourth time, and I will be surveying the students on the course materials at the end of this semester.  In the past, students have responded positively to zero cost.

Instructor Name - Michael Ault
I am a political science professor at California State University, Bakersfield.

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.csub.edu/~mault/CSUB/__Home__.html

Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.
PLSI 1018: American Government and Politics
PLSI 3010: Sophomore/Junior Research Methods Experience (Research Methods I)
PLSI 328: Media, Propaganda, and Public Opinion
PHIL/PLSI 3030: Political Philosophy/Thought
PLSI 3150: American Political Philosophy
PLSI 380: Research Methods II (older catalog)
PLSI 481: Directed Research (Research Methods III older catalog)
PLSI 3770: Special Topics
PLSI 317: The Presidency

Older Catalog
PLSI 320: Social Movements and Political Power
PLSI 477: Voices of Dissent
PLSI 477: The Politics of Novel and Film
PLSI 477: CSUB Travel and Study: Vietnam and Cambodia

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  I am the author or co-author of articles appearing in American Politics Research, The British Journal of Political Science, International Area Studies Review, and Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice. I was also an invited co-editor for a special edition of Peace Review dedicated to “Subcultures and Political Resistance.” I have contributed chapters to Food Policy in International Context; Reason, Reflection and Analysis: An Introduction to Political Science; and The Eye of the Storm.

I have worked as a Principal Author, Co-Principal Investigator, and Research Analyst (and twice as a Composer/Director/artist/DJ under the pseudonym The Phim Project) for community-based organizing, fundraising, and applied research projects in Massachusetts, Kenya, and California. I have also been the lead on Travel and Study Abroad Program to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand where I led 17 students on a two week travel and study program.

I serve on the International Board of Directors for Touching Lives International, an extended grass-roots, non-profit project located in Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kimilili, Kenya, addressing AIDS, orphans, breast cancer awareness, and education issues. Under my supervision, several former CSUB students have held graduate-level internships in Kenya with Amina Ridhwani, the Founder and Chairwoman of Touching Lives International.

In addition to my graduate work, I have also studied at the European Consortium for Political Research in Social Science in Essex, England, and the Ashtanga Research Institute in Mysore, India. I received a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas, a Master’s degree from the University of Dallas (political philosophy), and two B.A. degrees from CSU, San Bernardino (economics and political science).