SAGE

To make any sense of this massive amount of material, students need to learn how to think critically and distinguish opinion from fact (or at least evidence). But in an age where opinion is king and solid evidence can be branded fake news, how do you teach this in something as potentially contentious as comparative politics? If you ask Stephen Orvis, professor and associate dean of Students for Academics at Hamilton College and co-author, with Carol Ann Drogus, of the new essentials version of Introducing Comparative Politics, one way is to avoid rote memorization of dates and treaties and move toward an ability to think critically. Practicing what they preach, their book includes breakouts explicitly labelled "Critical Inquiry" that specifi cally call on students to apply critical thinking to data presented—"Although you won't be able to come to defi nitive conclusions," they write, "these exercises will give you a taste of how comparative politics is done." To avoid dogmatism, Orvis encourages students to debate hot topics in the news within the framework of long- standing concepts and debates in comparative politics. "Rather than using any one theoretical or methodological approach, we introduce students to the broad debates in the fi eld to show how comparatists have used various theories and methodologies to understand political phenomena," explains Orvis. "We do not generally offer defi nitive conclusions about which approach is best for understanding a particular issue, preferring instead to show students the strengths and weaknesses of each." That vein also runs through the work of William Roberts Clark in the book he co-authored with Matt Golder and Sona Nadenichek Golder, Foundations of Comparative Politics. "We believe that the traditional approach most textbooks adopt has the unfortunate consequence of creating a signifi cant disjuncture between what comparative political scientists teach students and what these scholars actually do for a living," says Clark, the Charles Puryear Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University. Interestingly, his book includes a "Why Science?" chapter that ties the scholarship explicitly to scientifi c method—and thus review and rigor. "Comparative politics scholars spend their time constructing and testing theories about political phenomena in the world. In reality, [we're] primarily interested in explaining, rather than describing, the 'why' behind politics." He also focuses on the "when." Foundations of Comparative Politics (which while brand new was adapted from the groundbreaking Principles of Comparative Politics, Third Edition, also by Clark, Golder, and Golder) stresses the importance of using current events to build critical thinking skills. Clark notes that some textbook authors seem reluctant to present this sort of material to students because they think it's too complicated. However, he believes that an introductory class in comparative politics should stimulate students' interest in the subject matter and introduce them to the principal concerns and fi ndings of the fi eld. What better way than to explore current events that have already captured the students' interest and which are crying out for context. "[W]e can explore events that are part of our lives today to explain the 'why' behind them," he says. "This offers an opportunity to think critically about things that matter to students and allows them to engage the political science literature with relative ease." Firehoses of information—from shared information (or disinformation) on social media to up-to-the-minute headlines, news, commentary, and editorials that are often lost in the 24-hour news cycle—bombard today's students. Foundations of Comparative Politics William Roberts Clark, Matt Golder, and Sona Nadenichek Golder Introducing Comparative Politics: The Essentials Stephen Orvis and Carol Ann Drogus Visit page 14 for details. Renowned Authors Stephen Orvis and William Roberts Clark Discuss How They Use Current Events to Foster Critical Thinking Boost Critical Thinking with Current Events in Introductory Comparative Politics courses Comparative Politics 3

• Cover