Students will either submit the assignment via blackboard or email a copy to their professor on the date recorded on the syllabus. The paper will not require outside research or bibliographies beyond the complete course syllabus, although academic standards of citation (e.g. footnote or in-text) are expected if a direct quote is used (use Turabian, Chicago style, or any other academic style that is consistent throughout). Early papers are welcome. Late papers and papers longer than five double-spaced pages of text will be penalized. Please do not utilize smaller than size 10 font.
Each short paper is an important part of the course grade. No cover page, bibliography, or other miscellany is required.
The student will answer the question below. Be thoughtful and energetic in your response and do not shy away from strong arguments and even disagreements with the texts if appropriate. Use solid, clear prose without typos and errors that detract from the smartness of your presentation. There really is no excuse for the unprofessionalism of typos, misspellings, grammar errors, and the like at the graduate level. Define all key terms. Write succinctly, directly, and clearly. At a minimum, an adequate paper will comprehensively respond to the prompt, demonstrate an expansive understanding of the issues and key texts, and do so in a clean grammatical fashion. Remember: you are reporting on the ideas of these individuals first and foremost, not providing an opinion editorial of your own views.