Includes bibliographical references and index.

With the start of each new semester comes the initial thrill of meeting new students enrolled in our introduction to political science course. At Monmouth University, where we teach, the introductory course has always been considered the "gateway" to the discipline-a general education requirement that attracts majors from across the academic spectrum. We meet students studying everything from accounting, marketing, and management to anthropology, biology, and music. Thus, the learning environment includes a wide variety of interesting and creative students majoring primarily in subjects other than political science. Although each section will also have a number of politically active, politically motivated undergrads, the classroom is mainly filled with non majors. In many ways, it was this reality that made us consider not only how we were teaching this course but also how we could design an appropriate text for students from all academic disciplines. -- Preface