Public Policy and Global Change offers an introduction to the study of American public policy and examination of significant issues on the American policy agenda. Unlike most public policy textbooks, it attempts to connect major challenges in American society to global economic, environmental, cultural, and political changes. The title is designed to help students understand the forces shaping their lives and American society in an age of globalization.
This knowledge is vital for students to practice democratic citizenship: casting informed votes, participating in the nation's political life, and helping others to reach a better understanding of American public policy. While effective as a standalone text, this book is a companion to Dennis Patterson, ed., Readings in American Public Policy. The two books used together offer broad coverage of important issues and a wide range of diverse viewpoints on these issues.
The selections in Public Policy and Global Change:
- Illustrate globalization's effects on American politics and policy.
- Provide a broad spectrum of views on significant policy issues.
- Examine the issue of rising inequality.
Dr. John Barkdull, Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas Tech University, has taught courses in American public policy since 1993. Recently, he was Distinguished Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He has been the recipient of a Fulbright Senior Fellowship to teach in Bangladesh, and a Fulbright-Hays fellowship to study in Southeast Asia. Dr. Barkdull has published in the American Political Science Review, Social Science Quarterly, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and other scholarly journals, and has authored a number of book chapters. Furthermore, he has penned an extensive amount of policy-oriented articles and textbook materials for classroom use. Dr. Barkdull directs both the Global Affairs program at Texas Tech and the International Studies minor, and is faculty undergraduate advisor in Political Science.