Hamiltonia - by Kaitlin N Sidorsky & Kelly B Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

Hamiltonia: A State and Local Government Simulation helps students understand real world politics at the state and local level by guiding them though creating government institutions, running for public office, and writing and debating laws and policies in the areas of state budgets, health, criminal justice, education, and environmental policy.

Book Synopsis

Students in state and local politics courses frequently have low levels of prior knowledge about the topic and even lower levels of engagement. Hamiltonia: A State Government Simulation promotes experiential and active learning by boosting engagement and making the content memorable and meaningful. By putting themselves in the driver's seat of creating state and local government institutions, students understand how variations in the rules of the game drastically affect the outcome in state politics and the policy areas they care about, like education, criminal justice, health care, and the environment.
This new text and simulation provide a full grounding in the basics of state and local government while also giving students an opportunity to apply what they have learned by building their own fictional fifty-first state from the ground up. Students will write a state constitution that gives shape to the institutions and rules, then engage directly with what they built - participating in an election, addressing pressing policy issues, and experiencing the challenges and opportunities of state-level political leaders. Hamiltonia brings political science concepts alive, provides the context for students to more fully understand state and local politics and feel more empowered to influence politics and policy where they live.
Features of this exciting book include:
An out of the box, class-tested simulation, ready to use in multiple settings and in a full range of course sizesA full package of instructor resources available at rowman.com, including an instructor manual, lecture slides, a test bank, and downloadable support materials for the simulationPedagogical aids like learning objectives, key terms, and suggested discussion questions to ensure students understand the basics before they jump into the simulationPolicy chapters on education, criminal justice, environment, and health to show the real-world implications of state and local government institutions and processes

Review Quotes

"State governments make many of the most important policies that affect students' day to day lives. But teaching state politics can be hard because students often enter the classroom with little understanding of state government. Hamiltonia to the rescue! This book blends a readable account of state politics with an innovative simulation that is sure to educate and entertain undergraduates." --Michael Nelson, The Pennsylvania State University

"Hamiltonia engages multiple learning styles while providing an exciting opportunity to flip traditional instructor-led teaching by focusing on real-world issues. Students develop a detailed understanding of the complexities of political decision making as they take the lead in designing their own state government and addressing pressing policy issues." --David Redlawsk, University of Delaware

"In Hamiltonia, government is brought to life through creative and engaging simulations in which students craft a constitution, establish the powers of political institutions, and design policies. This book provides a comprehensive and practical approach for teaching state and local government and lessons that students will remember." --Jennifer Clark, University of Houston

"What makes Sidorsky and Smith's comprehensive state politics textbook Hamiltonia truly exceptional is the comprehensive simulation that asks students to directly interact with important issues in state politics. Student interest, engagement, and learning is sure to increase with this remarkable new textbook." --Shannon L. Jenkins, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

"Kaitlin Sidorsky and Kelly Smith breathe life into the concepts of State and Local Government by engaging students in the experiential process of building the 51st State of the United States from the ground up. Hamiltonia: A State and Local Government Simulation is a great addition to any State and Local Government Course." --Wendy Johnston, Adirondack Community College

"Hamiltonia allows students to learn state politics through a comprehensive simulation that provides an interesting and informative way to understand the importance of institutional structure, while capturing the complexities and variations of politics and policies throughout the 50 states. The text is a welcome addition to any state politics course." --Jonathan Winburn, University of Mississippi

"As student assessments become more complicated due to large language models (e.g., ChatGPT), simulation-based activities can be a great way to overcome these challenges. I highly recommend Hamiltonia, which gives a step-by-step guide on how to run a semester-length simulation of state governments that is thoughtful, well-designed, and just plain fun!" --Eric Stokan, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

"Hamiltonia provides an avenue for students to learn beyond lectures and fully engage with the intricacies of state governments. A resource such as this is greatly needed for state politics." --Jordan Butcher, Arkansas State University

"Hamiltonia offers a unique combination of foundational knowledge regarding the politics of U.S. States, and an engaging simulation asking students to build the fictional 51st state of Hamiltonia. The perfect blend of content knowledge and simulation will significantly stimulate the engagement that instructors desire in the classroom." --Paul Rutledge, University of West Georgia

About the Author

Kaitlin N. Sidorsky is Associate Professor of Political Science at Ramapo College of New Jersey. She specializes in domestic violence policy and laws, state government, and women in appointed roles. Sidorsky is the author of All Roads Lead to Power: The Appointed and Elected Paths to Public Office for U.S. Women and co-author of Inequality Across State Lines: How Policymakers Have Failed Domestic Violence Victims in the United States. She has been teaching with simulations her entire career.

Kelly B. Smith is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stetson University. She specializes in the relationship among state legislative politics, bureaucratic politics, and democratic governance. Her current work examines the ways in which bureaucratic networks facilitate policy learning among bureaucrats and legislators during the diffusion of policy and its consequences for states as laboratories of democracy. She, too, has been teaching with simulations in her state politics course for years.