Political Science 331

Fall 2006

Dr. Bilocerkowycz

 

                                             PAPER  GUIDELINES

 

You are required to write a 10 page paper (typed and double-spaced) which will account for 30% of your grade.  The purpose of this paper is to examine, analyze, and evaluate a topic bearing on nationalism or ethnopolitics.  The paper should do the following:

 

1. pose a significant and EXPLICIT RESEARCH QUESTION(S)-in question form

2. discuss and analyze carefully selected aspects of the topic

3. provide and evaluate relevant data (documents, statistics, biographies etc.)

4. examine and critique contending perspectives and interpretations

5. draw your own conclusions

6. note the BROADER SIGNIFICANCE and RELEVANCE of your findings for   

    the study of nationalism and ethnopolitics

 

In addition to the paper's 10 PAGE BODY, you should also include endnote references (any consistent and clear footnote/citation system is acceptable, however be sure that endnotes or footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the paper).  Note page numbers begin with the body of the paper but that the first page is understood to be page one  and should not be typed in (although it is counted).  Thus, visible page numbering begins with page 2 of the paper’s body.

Please NO Roman numerals.

 

Also provide a CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, which describes and evaluates each source used in a couple of choice sentences.  It is expected that you will be using both Web-based AND non-Web-based sources (library books, academic journals, etc.). The critical bibliography should be separate from the endnote references.  Please also include a ONE PAGE SUMMARY OUTLINE of the paper to be placed after the TITLE PAGE.  The outline should use a letter and number format (A. 1, 2, 3 etc ; B. 1, 2, 3).  PHOTO IMAGES as well as maps, charts, and tables (where relevant) are encouraged to enhance the visual component of your

work.

 

The papers will be due in class on NOV. 8 (WED.).  Late papers will be penalized, and may not be accepted late beyond a certain point unless you have

 

 

spoken with the instructor beforehand.  Papers written for other courses are not acceptable, whether revised or not, when in doubt as to the originality of your

research paper please check with me.  Please MAKE TWO COPIES of your paper, only one needs to be turned in, while the other can be used for oral

presentation purposes and as "insurance."

 

Plagiarized work will result in a zero for the paper.  Plagiarism includes quoting directly from a source without acknowledgment in a footnote, or simply paraphrasing someone's analysis or interpretation without citing the source.  Common knowledge does not need to be footnoted.

 

You may select a topic listed below or propose one of your own.  In either case, however, you should check with me to obtain formal approval.  Topical diversification will be encouraged to limit pressure on library resources.

 

POSSIBLE TOPICS:

 

Status, Problems, or Issues Facing:

 

Native Americans (or a specific tribe)

 

Hispanics in the U.S. (focus on a specific group: Puerto Ricans, Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans)

 

Minorities and the media (television; movies) e.g. Arabs; Hispanics; Native-Americans OR Afr-Am

Minorities and business/economy

 

African-American-Korean relations

African-American-Jewish relations

 

Nation of Islam

NAACP

African-American Churches

 

race and capital punishment

hate crimes

racial (or other ethnic) profiling

race and pro sports (NFL; or MLB; or NBA etc.)

Impact of rap/hip hop music (pluses and minuses)

patterns of cross-ethnic coupling and potential explanations

race and the Katrina response

race, rebuilding and New Orleans’ future

 

Hispanic impact on American culture

 

pro-Israeli lobby (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee)

Cuban-American lobby

 

Ku Klux Klan

militia groups and the race question

 

the relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II

integration of Irish- Italian- Polish- (or other hyphenated) Americans

status and challenges facing Arab/Muslim Americans

status and challenges of being a “model minority” (Asian-Americans)

 

politics and legal issues of affirmative action in U.S.

 

bilingual education

 

Views (on ethnicity, nationalism etc) and Impact of Key Figures:                           

 

Nelson Mandela (South Africa)

Desmond Tutu

Jean Le Pen (France)

Charles DeGualle (France)

Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Russia)

Gerry Adams (Northern Ireland)

Slobodan Milosevic (Yugoslavia)

Gandhi (India)

 

Dr. Martin Luther King (U.S.)

Malcolm “X”

Rosa Parks

 

Colin Powell- intellectual biography

Condoleezza Rice- intellectual biography

Oback Obama- intellectual biography

Louis Farrakhan- “                         ” 

Jesse Jackson –    “                         ”

Al Sharpton-        “                         ”

 

Nationalism, Movement, or Conflict

Hindu nationalism

Canadian nationalism vis-a-vis the U.S.

Scottish nationalism

French nationalism (or recent unrest by French minorities)

Basque nationalism