Gaming the System takes an active approach to learning about American government, using novel, exciting, and highly instructive games to help students learn politics by living it. These timeless games are the perfect complement to a core textbook in American government-covering key topics like the Constitution, the Supreme Court, Congress, political participation, campaigns and elections, the federal bureaucracy, the social contract, social movements, and public opinion-and can be applied to specific courses at other levels, as well. For Instructors: These nine games are designed to be easily inserted into courses, with all but one fitting into one class session and all flexible enough to adapt or scale as needed. Games are designed so that students will be ready to play after minimal preparation and with little prior knowledge; instructors do not need to design or prepare any additional materials. An extensive instructor-only online resource provides everything needed to accompany each game: summary and discussion of the pedagogical foundations on active learning and games; instructions and advice for managing the game and staging under various logistical circumstances; student handouts and scoresheets, and more. For Students: These games immerse participants in crucial narratives, build content knowledge, and improve critical thinking skills-at the same time providing an entertaining way to learn key lessons about American government. Each chapter contains complete instructions, materials, and discussion questions in a concise and ready-to-use form, in addition to time-saving tools like scorecards and 'cheat sheets.' The games contribute to course understanding, lifelong learning, and meaningful citizenship.

Gaming the System takes an active approach to learning about American government, using novel, exciting, and highly instructive games to help students learn politics by living it. These timeless games are the perfect complement to a core textbook in American government-covering key topics like the Constitution, the Supreme Court, Congress, political participation, campaigns and elections, the federal bureaucracy, the social contract, social movements, and public opinion-and can be applied to specific courses at other levels, as well. For Instructors: These nine games are designed to be easily inserted into courses, with all but one fitting into one class session and all flexible enough to adapt or scale as needed. Games are designed so that students will be ready to play after minimal preparation and with little prior knowledge; instructors do not need to design or prepare any additional materials. An extensive instructor-only online resource provides everything needed to accompany each game: summary and discussion of the pedagogical foundations on active learning and games; instructions and advice for managing the game and staging under various logistical circumstances; student handouts and scoresheets, and more. For Students: These games immerse participants in crucial narratives, build content knowledge, and improve critical thinking skills-at the same time providing an entertaining way to learn key lessons about American government. Each chapter contains complete instructions, materials, and discussion questions in a concise and ready-to-use form, in addition to time-saving tools like scorecards and 'cheat sheets.' The games contribute to course understanding, lifelong learning, and meaningful citizenship.

Zombies are upon us as never before. So what should we do about it? Recent zombie apocalypses on the screen and page reshape our understanding of the walking dead and ourselves; we find that all bets are off in the case of apocalypse. The undead have begun to mirror our cultural fears of ourselves, always demanding a response, exposing our weaknesses, chewing social rules. Whether we fear the unknown of space, governmental control, lawlessness, or interpersonal relationships, zombies are there. Even now we live with intense nostalgia, longing for a simple time before the beginning of apocalypse even as we imaginatively create ever more complex and horrifying versions of postapocalyptic life. With this thin veneer covering our real fears in mind, the focal points of zombie criticism shift toward cause and cure. This ultimately spotlights a way forward: possible cures for the zombies that ail us. For students, critics, and zombie aficionados, we offer responses to the end of the world as we know it. Along the way, we argue that the traditional evolutionary model of interpreting zombies is not enough; we must also chase zombies from advent through destruction and toward reintegration as we learn to live alongside them.