PLEASE note two due dates and times. One for the draft and one for the final submission.
Draft Paper is due March 20 at 12PM: Most of it should be completed. This can be put in the chat box with a mediafire link, so the assignment does not time out.
Paper Due: April 1 at 6PM.
1. Paper must be typed and submitted in a Word document (doc or docx) and conform to APA-7 formatting standards
2. Paper should be 5-7 pages of actual text in length, double-spaced, using 12-point font. Title page, works cited, and appendixes will not be counted towards towards the page requirement. So, an APA-7 Formatted paper with a title page and a works cited page will be 7-9 pages in total length.
3. A) Use at least FIVE sources (the textbook may be used as one of these sources). Textbook is Ginsberg, B., Lowi, T. J., Weir, M., Tolbert, C. J., Campbell, A. L., & Spitzer, R. J. (2023). We the People: An Introduction to American Politics (14th Essentials Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. REMEMBER Sources should include at least THREE journal articles or books.
4. Please DO NOT cite any online reference encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, Britannica, or Encarta.
5. All sources must be cited (must have an end note or a foot note) and the source listed in a bibliography. Paper must be written in APA format.
The paper must be based upon YOUR CHOICE of one of the following topics/subjects:
Gun Rights/Gun Control: You should address the following kinds of sub-topics:
· The constitution: what it says about gun rights and how it’s been interpreted by the Supreme Court over the centuries.
· The Facts (as best we can gather): what are the REAL, OBJECTIVE facts about guns and gun violence? In this section you can present RELIABLE factual data (journalistically sound or scholarly-based) to provide a historical picture of the significance of guns in America. What are the things we DO NOT know about guns and violence that would help us develop functional and agreeable gun policies?
· The Views: Even if you are presenting a pro- or anti- gun rights argument, you should refer and respond to an article fairly depicting/discussing an alternative view or argument to the one you are taking on the issue.
· Take a Stand: make your (reason- and fact-based rather than purely ideologically driven) case for or against gun freedoms (or gun rights restrictions) based on the research that you did for the above bullet points, consulting reasonably judicious media sources (Time, Newsweek, Reuters, etc.) rather than highly motivated ideological ones.
Electoral College: Pros and Cons: You should address the following kinds of sub-topics:
· What is the electoral college, what is its function, and what historical controversies has it been involved in? Is it a valuable institutional legacy, or an anachronism that should be done away with?
· In what ways is the Electoral Colleges uniquely American? Is it a democratic or un-democratic institution?
· Draw connections in your essay between the Federalist-Antifederalist debate and the purpose and function of the Electoral College, and cite at least one primary source from The Federalist or Anti-Federalist Papers
Climate Change/Climate Policy/Climate Justice: You should address the following kinds of sub-topics:
· Define Climate Change, its causes, its effects, and projected costs and risks associated with it.
· What are the economic drivers of Climate Change? What are the actual and expected costs/opportunities that come with Climate Change?
· What are the politics of Climate Change? Who are the main groups concerned about Climate Change? Who are the supporters of a shift toward renewable/green energy technology and what are their arguments?
· Who opposes government interventions to reduce human-generated greenhouse gasses, limit oil exploration, and move away from a fossil fuel-driven economy? What are their arguments?
· What policies could realistically be implemented to manage carbon output an other human contributing factors to climate change?
· Is the ideal of making sure to keep tight limits on government regulation and control over private industry and private economic choices more important than the many potential global risks that are being discussed by scientific experts with increasing urgency today?
Social Media: You should address the following kinds of sub-topics:
· How does Internet-based human communication fit into the idea of the “public square” that is so central to our American notion of democracy?
· how has the sudden rise to significance of Social Media and the ubiquity of smartphones affected our basic social relationships? How has it affected our access to information? How has it affected the nature of political debates, discussion, and exchange?
· address the increasing partisanship in most media in general.
· address the related problems associated with the fact that more and more people get their “news” from Social Media rather than from traditional media
· address the specific political risks to election integrity posed by mis-/dis-information spread via Social Media
· Overall, what are the pros and cons of Social Media for Democracy? Does one outweigh the other? Should we insist on more tight regulations insisting on fact-checking and on “content moderation” on Social Media, or Less? Can a sustainable balance be struck? between allowing anyone to post anything they want as long as they call themselves a “journalist” and the demand for comprehensive vetting and effective content moderation?
First Amendment and Religious Freedom: You should address the following kinds of sub-topics:
· The First Amendment protects religious freedoms in two different ways. What are the free exercise clause and the establishment clause, and how do they differ from each other?
· Describe some recent controversies surrounding the maintenance of a “wall of separation” between church and state and how they have been addressed by the Supreme Court.
· What are some recent controversies involving the free exercise of religion, and how have they been addressed by the Supreme Court?
· It has been noted that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of some Constitutional clauses and amendments have evolved over the years to either expand or restrict freedoms and rights. Do you think that there is an inherent conflict between the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision acknowledging of the right of Same-Sex Marriage in Obergefell v Hodges and the First Amendment guarantee of the right of freedom of religion? Why or why not?
· Would the US be better off with an entirely and explicitly secular constitution that makes no mention of religion? Or would a more Theocratic or religious-based system like those in Iran or Saudi Arabia be a better fit for the US? Can you propose some other modus vivendi for proponents of unlimited Religious Freedom and those who support the abortion rights and the civil rights of the LGBTQ Community?
The bullet points under each of the above topic headings are not necessarily compulsory or exhaustive, but are meant as examples of the kind of basic things that should be considered in a paper on that topic; you can touch on or emphasize other sub-topics/issues as well.
Remember, you need at least four (4) sources for your essay, and it should be 4-5 pages of actual text (your own writing–not including title page or reference page), typed, 12 point font 1″ margins, and in APA or MLA format. For help with formatting, in-text citations and reference pages, here is a helpful link: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.htmlLinks to an external site.
