LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: Political Science

Political Science Resources

This is a selection of openly licensed textbooks that has been created for free use in courses. These resources may be adopted for use as classroom text, modified to create new texts, or used as a supplemental learning tool to aid in understanding key concepts.

General Political Science

Nationalism, Self-determination and Secession by Geoff Andrews & Michael Saward

An open text that investigates the concept of a 'nation' and what makes people strive to attain nationhood; as well as how nations, nationalism, and self-determination play a role in current political disputes. The text is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license.
On Civic Republicanism: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics by Geoffrey Kellow and Neven Leddy, eds.

This open, edited volume seeks to provide an analysis of contemporary political issues through the lens of ancient theories - including those of Plato and Aristotle, Machiavelli, Montesquieu, and Wollstonecraft. The text is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license.
On Global Citizenship by James Tully, ed.

An open, edited volume that is part of the Critical Power Series from Bloomsbury Academic Publishing, dedicated to constructing dialogues around innovative work in social and political theory. This volume begins with Tully's commentary on the global field of citizenship, followed by responses and criticism from other influential authors. It is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license.

United States Government

American Government 2e by Glen Krutz; Sylvie Waskiewicz
ISBN: 9781947172654

Publication Date: 2019-02-21

An open text created to meet the scope and sequence requirements of a single-semester course on American government. The text is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license.
American Government by Timothy O. Lenz; Mirya Holman
ISBN: 9781616101633

Publication Date: 2013-08-16

An open text created by the Florida Atlantic University Department of Political Science, exploring the role of government, politics, and policy on American lives. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 license.
American Government and Politics in the Information Age by David L. Paletz, Diana Owen, Timothy E. Cook
ISBN: 9781946135049

Publication Date: 2016-11-16

In covering American government and politics, our text introduces the intricacies of the Constitution, the complexities of federalism, the meanings of civil liberties, and the conflicts over civil rights; explains how people are socialized to politics, acquire and express opinions, and participate in political life; describes interest groups, political parties, and elections--the intermediaries that link people to government and politics; details the branches of government and how they operate; and shows how policies are made and affect people's lives.

General Political Science Courses

Open Yale Courses
Yale University has published several open courses that discuss economics-related topics. Most contain syllabi, as well as videos of the lectures given as part of the course. Unless otherwise noted, most of the lectures and course material produced by Yale are licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 license. Selected courses include:
- Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform, by Professor Douglas W. Rae
- Introduction to Political Philosophy, by Professor Steven B. Smith
Saylor Academy Open Courses
Saylor Academy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and open online courses to anyone who wishes to learn. Most courses include readings, assignments and quizzes, and some links to outside content. All content authored by Saylor Academy is made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY 3.0 Unported License. Topics Include:
- Ethics and Public Policy, by Dr. Sharon Jumper
- Global Justice, by William Todd Davidson, Marcheta Wright, and Ulrike Gutberlet
- Introduction to Comparative Politics, by Saylor Academy
- Introduction to Political Science, by Dana R. Schueneman and Angela Bowie
- Introduction to Western Political Thought, by Saylor Academy

U.S. Government and Politics Resources

Sage American History
An open website that offers mini, chronological lessons on key events in U.S. History. The site is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 Unported license.
TeachingHistory.org
TeachingHistory.org is a national clearinghouse of educational resources that are made openly available. Unless otherwise noted, the site is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 Unported License.
USHistory.org
USHistory.org contains thousands of pages covering a wide array of topics related to U.S. History. Many of the historic documents are in the public domain. All other items are individually licensed.

Human Rights Resources

Culture and Human Rights (Module) - SUNY Global Workforce Project
This module of the Global Workforce Curriculum was created to help prepare undergraduate students to compete effectively in the global economy, by increasing their global understanding and skills. The module contains six complete, one-hour lesson plans for teaching on culture and human rights.
Human Rights Reports - U.S. Department of State
The State Department annually posts country reports on human rights practices, which cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Included in this section are a variety of resources provided by the U.S. Government, which may be of use in political science coursework. As a general rule, most works created by U.S. Government employees as part of their employment are considered to be in the public domain, but always be sure to check the licenses and permissions for each resource you intend to use.

Important Documents

The Bill of Rights - National Archives
The Constitution of the United States - National Archives
The Declaration of Independence - National Archives