...Writing Assignments i n World Politics Courses Thomas 0. Schlesinger Walking out of Rounds Hall with me after class, Benny, a sophomore in one of my international relations courses, asked for, and received, some pointers on the required paper. “You’ve just told me to write exactly as I’ve been taught not to write,” said he. “And who, pray tell, taught you?” asked I. He gave an over-the-shouldernod across the street, toward Ellen Reed House--the English Department. "Hmmm. . . fine--I'mnot surprised to hear they tell you something different,” I told him. “The English profs teach you to write in a generic way, say, fiction, or generically expository stuff. I want you to write a social science paper.” With some ”Hmmm-ing” of his own, Benny shuffled off, wearing a mildly annoyed and not altogether convinced frown. How dare they teach different ways to write in different departments at the same college! Benny did make an effort to heed my suggestions, but it took persistence. For example, the introduction to his first draft, included a vague Writing Across the Curriculum, Vol. 11, August 1990 35 36 Writing Across The Curriculum (August 1990) statement like: ”Conflict between Arabs and Black Africans in the Sudan is a serious problem and should be examined in greater detail. . . including its history, causes, and future.” The purpose statement I eventually settled for read more like this: ”This paper will examine social, economic, and political aspects...
Words: 2635 - Pages: 11
...Many Americans proudly assert that the “American Experiment” has been a success. The optimistic and patriotic American will point to the “stability” and strength of the country's democratic institutions upheld by the United States Constitution as proof that the democratic notions and principles that were envisioned by the Founding Fathers continue to flourish to this day. A pessimistic individual on the other hand may easily point out that the current political climate exemplifies the decline of civic responsibility, and ultimately, the decline of democratic rule. In Washington, politicians are split along partisan lines, battling one another on decisive and controversial issues such as raising the debt limit, balancing the budget, and health care reform. While politicians carefully calculate the potential consequences of their decisions, the same battles are being waged ferociously on other fronts by the media and other self-interested groups. Ultimately, the results of these policy decisions depend on which party could convince the American public of what is in their best collective interest. This is precisely the nature of politics and democracy, and neither one is always fair. In a world where interest groups and lobbies have tremendous sway and influence over those in power, and when media reporting of the issues lacks fairness and accuracy, it should be the citizen's duty and responsibility to ensure that they are politically aware and civically engaged. This paper will...
Words: 2854 - Pages: 12
...Abstract Lesbian and gay adoption has been widely controversial across the globe. This social issue is tremendously discussed by religious, political and social groups which have been providing numerous statistics, figures and major researches on the effects of same sex couples to the mental and emotional growth of children. At the inception of the 21st century, many countries have shifted and adjusted to different kind of perspective. Many government leaders have actually allowed same sex marriages as well gay and lesbian adoption. This paper aims to provide the readers some facts and research studies concerning the impact of same sex couples to the upbringing of their adopted children. This paper intends to open the minds of the audience concerning both sides of the issue. The paper does not provide any preference or does not promote any viewpoint relating to religious teaching or significant educational research. The information regarding same sex adoption is presented below and depends on one’s perspective whether or not to consider it acceptable on your standards and morals. Introduction Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adoption or same sex adoption has been considered legal during the inception of the 21st century. There is a growing number of jurisdictions in United States and countries which have recently altered their decisions concerning the legalization of gay adoption although majority of the Asian nations...
Words: 2087 - Pages: 9
...Thalia Capilla July 26, 2014 POSC146: Mass Media and Public Opinion Thalia Capilla POSC 146 Justin Nelson Downfall of News Coverage In Depicting War The ideal news coverage is a mirror image of reality, thousands of Americans tune in to their local or national news channel for quality coverage and accuracy. In the 1960’s Vietnam became the first war to be televised, resulting in a large disapproval rating on the war. However, the American people saw the truth and gave their opinion. Today the media is nowhere near the ideal news coverage, being characterized as corporate, concentrated and conglomerate. News Media is a profit making enterprise owned by a few companies. So what changed? How did the media evolve into something so filtered by the government? In this Literature Review I will cover how international affairs and war coverage quality has drastically declined to fit corporate news norms. It sacrifices quality over quantity, framing the American people. News media in a democracy should provide a forum for diverse views and provide the people with the truth of what is happening around the world, (McLeod 2009). That is what I would like shed light on in this paper. News framing, agenda setting and priming are broadly examined by Scheufelel and Tewksbury (2007) to see how all three are related and what the potential relationships can infer about the effects of mass media. This is an important analysis as these three components of the subtle effects model can...
Words: 3579 - Pages: 15
...Konstantinos.ardavanis@hofstra.edu Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to help you learn about the Sociology of Religion, with special attention paid to contemporary issues in religion and society in the United States. This course will set out to explore the various rituals, values, and customs that a society embraces, and through this, find the hidden meaning behind the cultural knowledge that these values, rituals and customs provide. While people use these values, rituals, and customs to interpret the world around them, it will be our job to discuss the implications and unconscious assumptions that these interpretations provide using a number of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. TEXTS AND READINGS REQUIRED • Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments (2nd edition) by Kevin J. Christiano, William H. Swatos Jr., and Peter Kivisto, ISBN 978-0-7425-6111-3 • Additional readings to be posted to Blackboard SUGGESTED • Durkheim, Emile. 1965. Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: Free Press. • Marx, Karl and Frederich Engels. 1978. "The Communist Manifesto" and “the German Ideology,” in The Marx-Engels Reader. Ed. Robert Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton. • Weber, Max. 1958. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Charles Scribner. • Weber, Max. 1978. "Religious Groups (The Sociology of Religion)". Economy and Society. Berkeley: University of California...
Words: 3279 - Pages: 14
...International Relations: Contemporary Issues and Actors Elective, 2nd year BA ES, Period 3 (4.5 ECTs) 1. General overview 2. Organisational Issues 3. Participation 4. Attendance rules 5. Grading 6. Essay questions 7. Main rationale and acquired skills 8. Changes introduced to last year’s course 9. Lectures 10. Tutorials 11. Essay writing - Quality criteria 3 4 6 9 10 10 14 15 16 17 36 2 1. General Overview This course is about how we understand International Relations (IR) and what major international actors operate in a number of contemporary policy areas. As it serves as an introduction to the discipline of IR, it starts with some of the basic concepts in it: e.g. war and peace; the role of the state, etc. This is complemented by introducing the role of International (governmental) Organizations (IOs) such as the UN, WTO, NATO, the EU, OSCE, CoE; and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), such as Amnesty International; Greenpeace; Medicins Sans Frontieres; etc. The course also introduces the role of the individual and self-organized groups of individuals that claim actorness in IR (advocacy groups; epistemic communities, policy networks; guerrillas; pirates; terrorist groups, etc.). In covering these issues, students are acquainted with some of the main theoretical debates in IR (e.g. Neo-Realism; Neo-Liberal Institutionalism; Social Constructivism; etc.). The lectures provide the general framework for discussing the role of the abovementioned...
Words: 8192 - Pages: 33
...electorate to participate in the political process. Yet, where features such as wit, charisma or aptitude have been emphasized and admired, the intemperance of political campaigning has also drawn out a negative side, one that seeks to cast a damaging shadow on any opposition in order to attain the support of the majority. The types of political message given out by both politicians and the media vary in how they are constructed and what they intend to achieve, and despite widespread criticism surrounding its ethical fragilities, attack politics in particular have become a fundamental component of any political campaign and evidence has shown the electorate to show a greater interest in a more pessimistic tone of politics. This essay intends to address whether negative publicity in the form of attack advertising is an effective tool of electoral manipulation by evaluating its influence in engaging and mobilizing voters. Indeed, where research has shown it to be counterproductive, or to produce unintended consequences, its...
Words: 3099 - Pages: 13
...accused him of being unpatriotic and disrespectful of the American flag” (Illing 2018) However, this was not what brought Kaepernick to news headlines. The controversy exploded when President Donald Trump responded to the situation by saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners ... say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He’s fired!’ (Graham 2017). Overall the NFL protests demonstrate how the snowballing turmoil of a country can make its way into...
Words: 1835 - Pages: 8
...Students learn the format of the AP test, essay rubric and essay structure. ▪ Students take a full-length AP test for comparison purposes in the spring. Reading: The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne Writing: Answer the following question in one paragraph. Use quotes from the novel as evidence. Some readers believe that the elaborate decoration that Hester embroiders on the scarlet letter indicates her rejection of the community’s view of her act. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your position using evidence from the text. (test grade) Writing: Write a well-developed essay addressing the following prompt. Document all sources using MLA citation. Compare Hester to a modern day person who has been shunned. Provide at least two research sources for the other person. (project grade) Reading: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards Analyzing: SOAPSTONE and cannons of rhetoric Reading: Teacher Introduction Essay Writing: Students and teacher evaluate where each student’s writing is and where it needs to be by analyzing students’ introductory...
Words: 3064 - Pages: 13
... text] Ban the Burqa? The Argument Against ð Jasmine Jaber -‐ 42886090 GEN320 End of Semester Independent Research Project Master of Research Thesis Proposal Jasmine Jaber Introduction The Argument Against 42886090 Over the past few years, the veiling practices of Muslim women have been the issue of public debate and come under direct government gaze. In particular, countries such a France and Turkey have issued a ban on wearing the burqa in public. The ban relates to the general wearing of the burqa and not for certain situations such as identity checks. This debate has spread to Australian soil where dozens of Australians, such as Cory Bernardi, have enunciated their approval and have called for such a ban in Australia. While some countries have similar meaning of the veil, the majority of non-Islamic individuals across Europe and Australia have interpreted the veil in their own way and thus attached to it different meanings causing different perceptions as to why or why not it should be worn. Using the article by Bernardi (2010) as a starting point, I will critique the feeble objections writers of the topic have against the burqa and justify why their reasons for a burqa ban are invalid and cannot benefit society, and if anything, set society backwards. By interpreting the results of my focus groups, this thesis will explain how...
Words: 2312 - Pages: 10
...The latter is the canter of this paper and this incorporates the request by behaviour or activities which result from education; indiscipline means non-attendance or absence of request. Indiscipline can be characterized as the breakdown of good leadership and moral qualities limited by the rule that everyone must follow, however, once ''the thin fine line between'' good and bad is obscured, it is going to affect the nation at large. As indicated by Max, if you ask any Nigerian you will hear complain about Nigeria's corruption of indiscipline, waste, insecurity, corruption and also unreliability and political instability etc. In this perspective of the above improvements today, Nigerians are requesting great leaders that will handle these issues are head-on However any country...
Words: 1762 - Pages: 8
...influences on Native American societies. SLO2. Compare and contrast religious, social and cultural differences among the major European settlers. SLO3. Describe the events that helped create American nationalism and lead to the American Revolution. SLO4. Explain the Constitutional Convention, the Articles of Confederation, and the emergence of a democratic nation. SLO5. Explain the U.S. Constitution as it related to the separation of powers, checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the major principles of democracy. SLO6. Evaluate the Jeffersonian dream of expansion and its effect on Native Americans SLO7. Describe Jacksonian democracy and the creation of a two party system SLO8. Explain slavery and associated issues that led to the Civil War and its aftermath. Module Titles Module 1—Early American exploration and colonization (SLO1) Module 2—British colonies (SLO2) Module 3—Road to the Revolution and the American Revolution (SLO3) Module 4—Early Republic (SLO4 and SLO5) Module 5—Jacksonian America (SLO 6 and SLO7) Module 6—Road to the Civil War (SLO8) Module 7—Civil War (SLO8) Module 8—Shaping American history: Signature Assignment (all SLOs) Module 1 Early Exploration and Contact with Native Americans Welcome to HIS 120: U.S. History and the Constitution How to be Successful in the Course Each module has a lecture homepage, reading assignments, required videos, and two threaded discussions. You should can find your...
Words: 6289 - Pages: 26
...neologisms in the American Press (based on the articles on B. Obama's presidency) Danielyan Hovhannes CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………2 2. CHAPTER I General Notes on Political Neologisms……………………………………………..4 3. CHAPTER II Neologisms Connected with B. Obama's Presidency……………………………...9 4. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………….15 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………..17 1 Introduction The current graduation paper is devoted to the detailed study of the neologisms in the American press. The latter is observed via examining the cases of neologisms brought forward by B. Obama. In this paper an attempt was made to throw light upon many words and phrases that are used in modern American political lexicon, as well as to examine some political neologisms that help to cover the 2008 Presidental Election Campaign. The graduation paper consists of an introduction, two chapters, conclusion and bibliography. The introduction manifests the main topic of the research, the major...
Words: 5225 - Pages: 21
...were the exact words that came from the mouth of Damien, one my co-workers, when I asked for his opinion on gays in the military. According to the latest polls from the National Post, 50% of military households feel the same way as him (Man para 7). Even with the majority of America in favor for letting gays serve openly in the military, this controversial topic is getting many Americans riled up. I stand on the side of the fence that supports the repeal on the ban that’s prohibiting homosexuals from joining the armed forces. There can be many benefits if we let gays in our ranks. It was Damien’s response that reminded me how ignorant people can be. I immediately insisted for a good explanation for his remark, but he wasn’t able to produce one. “If I’m in a war zone, I want somebody watching my back for my protection. I don’t want them watching me out of sheer bliss.” That was the explanation he gave me as he walked away with the look of annoyance on his face. I wondered, was he annoyed because he realized he sounded like a buffoon, or maybe my facial expressions revealed my disgust towards him. Homosexuals are human beings, and I am a strong believer that they should have the right to defend our country as long as they meet physical and ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) requirements. There aren’t many people who are willing to put on our nation’s uniform especially when America is at war; it takes a special person to accept that responsibility. One of the...
Words: 1618 - Pages: 7
...Offensive is a series of events, the essay will analyze all effects since the start of the offensive through the end. Source 1: “Tet” section of “Vietnam: A history” by Stanley Karnow Stanley Karnow worked for Time, Life, the Washington Post, and NBC to cover Asia from 1959-1974. He started to write this secondary source book when he arrived in Vietnam on July 1959. The book serves to...
Words: 2118 - Pages: 9
