Redistricting: Bill Ratliff and Pete Laney, 2/21/2006 384k Primary Elections: Kronberg, Ramsey and Smith, 3/22/2006 384k Energy: Michael L. Williams, 4/20/2006 384k

Texas schools and universities invest millions of dollars each year in state-mandated instruction on the workings of Texas government. But most Texans remain uninterested in or, worse, unfamiliar with how their government works. Elections and extraordinary news events may spark brief public interest. But Texans' engagement with their government, like voter turnout in Texas, remains stagnant.

The Texas Politics project confronts these problems in the classroom and on the Web. Texas Politics is designed to support state-mandated university instruction in the workings of Texas government and to aid all Texans in becoming more thoughtful and effective participants in their government. The project's clear and dynamic presentation of the story of Texas politics builds on Web-accessible video, audio, graphical, and textual formats to foster student and citizen interest in Texas politics and to provide instructors and students with a comprehensive set of tools for teaching and learning.

At first glance Texas Politics resembles a traditional textbook, providing coverage of the basic elements of the Texas political system in online units analogous to book chapters. This familiar format provides students and instructors with an intuitive organizing principle, whether they are looking for a single piece of information or designing an entire course of study. But Texas Politics is much more than a traditional textbook reformatted for the Web. For instructors, Texas Politics combines the attributes of a good textbook – comprehensiveness, accessibility, and intuitive organization – with a collection of multimedia features no textbook can match, including multimedia resources that can be used in class, by students at home, or on a public Internet connection. For students and the general public, Texas Politics provides a richer set of learning resources than any textbook – all free via the Web.

The Texas Politics team is currently developing new features that will add depth and breadth to the existing textbook. Please click here for a description of these features.

Video: The Promise of Coal, with Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams

The Texas Politics project also sponsors the Texas Politics Speaker Series. The series brings to the UT Austin campus players and close observers of politics and government from across the political spectrum to discuss compelling political and policy issues. Just as the Web site attempts to educate and motivate readers, the speakers and topics are selected to engage students while providing firsthand insight into how the political process works.

The most recent Speaker Series event, The Promise of Coal and its Role in Texas' Energy Future, featured Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams. Commissioner Williams discussed the prospects for alternative energy fuel production and the FutureGen project. The discussion may be viewed here as a QuickTime video.

For more information about events, or to be added to the Speaker Series email list, contact texaspolitics@mail.laits.utexas.edu.

Texas Politics is a project of Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services (LAITS), a unit of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. The Texas Politics project team builds on the University's close association with state government.