Do the political parties agree on the issue?What are their arguments?

Vaccinations

Explain the issue you chose. What happened/is happening with the issue? What are the sides of the argument?
▪ How are legislatures, judges/Supreme Court, the bureaucracy, and executive involved in this issue? What are they doing? What are they not doing? (address all of these)
▪ How does the Media impact/address the issue?
▪ What does American society think about this issue? (Polls or surveys would be helpful here)
▪ Do the political parties agree on the issue?What are their arguments?
▪ Do other countries experience this issue? How do they handle it?
▪ Are there any impacts on government legitimacy?
▪ Using what you’ve learned in the class, what do YOU think is/was the right way to handle the issue?

Does the internet contribute to democratization?

Does the internet contribute to democratization?

The essay’s goal should be to offer a critical discussion (with references to specific arguments or evidence from the academic literature) of possible answers to the question. Ideally, the critical engagement with the literature would be embedded in a coherent narrative explaining what you think is the best answer to the question. The essay has to be written on this question: Does the internet contribute to democratization?

Describe the importance of ethnic makeup, culture, ideology, religion, and national identity for each of your states.

The Political Gap Between France and Egypt

Specific Guidelines

Provide a brief political history of each state. No more than two pages for each state.
Specify the political-economic system and regime type of each state.

Explain whether the country is a developed democracy, communist, post-communist, or developing state. This should be at least one complete paragraph with substantiated evidence.

Describe the importance of ethnic makeup, culture, ideology, religion, and national identity for each of your states.

Clarify the role, if any, that individual and group participation play in policy formation.

Explain how public policy crafted and “who gets what, when, [and] how” (Lasswell, 1936).

Describe the capacity and autonomy of the state and how it impacts the citizens of each state and relations with other states.

Include other relevant topics or concepts presented in this course as appropriate.
Only scholarly sources

Name one piece of evidence that proves it is easy to provoke false confessions?What do you think of that evidence?

Week 11 – “The Interview” by Douglas Starr
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/09/the-interview-7

Why does Kassin think that the Reid technique is inherently coercive?
Name one piece of evidence that proves it is easy to provoke false confessions?What do you think of that evidence?
What do we know about the significance of non-verbal cues in determining if a statement is true?
What is the PEACE technique? How does it differ from previous practices?
Imagine that a study finds that the PEACE technique leads to fewer false confessions but fewer convictions overall. Which one should be used?

What is the group libel?How can you use the concept of group libel to build the argument in favour of regulating hate speech?

Week Ten – The Harm of Hate Speech
Waldron argues that there are two important things that are threatened when hate speech is unregulated. What are these?
Waldron briefly mentions a few of the arguments made by opponents of free speech. What are these?
What is the difference between hate speech and hate crimes?
What is the group libel?How can you use the concept of group libel to build the argument in favour of regulating hate speech?
How should we address speech that harms dignity without inciting hatred? Is there a slippery slope?

What is the geographical anchor of the Canadian constitution?Why does she make this point?

Week Nine – Up the Creek: Fishing for a New Constitutional Order

Annotation Exercise

Number the first eight paragraphs. A paragraph starts with an indentation. Don’t count the passages that she cites (paragraphs that are inset from the main text) as new paragraphs. The following questions refer to the numbered paragraphs.

What is the key concept in the first paragraph?
What is the main debate examined in this paper?
Are these disputes about rights or sovereignty (according to Ladner)?
Why is it important to distinguish between ownership of fish and the right to regulate fish?
What is the Mi’kmaq view of the dispute?
Fishing is the means. What is the end?
What is the geographical anchor of the Canadian constitution?Why does she make this point?
The Magna Carta established a public right to fishing. Is that a good or bad thing for Ladner? Why?

Turn to page 936. The Mi’Khaw Constitutional Order. Paraphrase the main idea of the first paragraph in this section.
What is one thing you learned about the Mi’Khaw worldview and constitutional order?

Name and explain three criticisms of the strategy that resulted in the Brown vs Board court decision.

Week Eight – Brown vs Board of Education
What is “interest convergence”?
Name and explain three criticisms of the strategy that resulted in the Brown vs Board court decision.
Explain why you agree or disagree with one of these criticisms.
What is “the property interest in whiteness”?
What is racial literacy and how does it differ from racial liberalism?

What is the libertarian proposal and why does Waldron think it is wrong?

Week 12: Questions on Waldron’s “Homelessness and the Issue of Freedom”

How does Waldron define collective and common property?
What is the libertarian proposal and why does Waldron think it is wrong?
What does Waldron mean when he writes, “The homeless have freedom only to the extent that our society is communist.”
What is negative freedom?
In his work on hate speech, Waldron emphasizes dignity. How does that concept apply in this essay?
What are the practical or legal implications of this argument? Does it help you reach a judgement about whether you support the City of Toronto’s decision to clear homeless encampments?

Was Marx’s analysis of global politics simply ahead of its time?

Marxism and Marxian Theories: Was Marx’s analysis of global politics simply ahead of its time?

Assessment Criteria

Essays will be assessed with reference to these overall criteria:

1. The extent to which an argument has been provided in response to the question

2. The extent to which the argument is well supported with accurate and insightful use of evidence from the work of academic scholars (some sources attached)

3. The extent of understanding of complex theories and concepts

4. The quality and clarity of the analysis and evaluation of the theories and concepts

5. The use of good referencing

6. The extent to which the material is written clearly, fluently and with correct grammar and spelling