Political Science Final Exam Essay

Prompt:

Choose one of the challenges faced by American Democracy that we will cover (polarization, civil rights and liberties, mass incarceration, immigration and land policy). Define and present this issue demonstrating a mastery of relevant class sources (readings/videos/lectures) and explain why, to you, this is the most consequential issue to American governance going forward. Successful essays will also include how the various other choices relate to this issue and interrelate, as well as what institutions are critical to the navigation of this issue.

Prompts:

• Polarization has become a buzzword in American politics since the early 2010s. What is it? Where did it come from? How does it manifest and is it a major issue for the health of American democracy? Answers should engage in the competing hypotheses for the “source” of political polarization while answering the core question of: are parties more polarized than ever, how, why and is it an issue?
• Immigration has been one of the central axes of the last few election cycles and a major platform issue between the parties. Essays should argue why immigration has taken such an outsized role in the current American political discourse while engaging in the broader histories and trajectories of immigration policies and the tensions around changing demographics in this country. How do the policies of today reflect patterns of immigration policy across US history? Is today’s immigration regime fundamentally different from the past? How does US immigration policy line up when stacked against international law? How do concepts like Orientalism and Hypodescent then shape the experiences of people in the country as first or second generation immigrants? Finally, and most importantly, how does the questions of immigration, immigrant rights and the role of changing demographics shape the outlook of the health of American democracy going forward?
• Mass incarceration has been argued to be, by authors such as Alexander, a rebranding of the Jim Crow era of segregation and racial organization. If answering this topic, you should present what mass incarceration is, where it came from, how it emerged in response to the Civil Rights movements and how we track how it manifests today. How does it mirror patterns of Jim Crow era segregation that prevented full democratic inclusion to all Americans and why, if selecting this topic, do you believe it is the biggest challenge that American democracy has to face in the 21st century?
• The class has presented how land, in a settler colony, has an outsized role in policy making for the US state. If selecting this prompt: demonstrate how land policy has shown this outsized role of “land over people” and give specific examples. How has the politics of land changed over the course of US history? What ongoing ramifications are we facing from previous land policies that are no longer practiced? All of the above should drive to the point of why the questions of land, property and inequality in property and economics are the main challenge to the health of US democracy in the 21st century.

Complete answers should define what your challenge is and why it is the primary challenge the American political system faces. Please use course materials only (lecture and readings/videos etc.) to build out your answer. Successful papers will clearly present class concepts and analyze them to build a coherent, logically presented argument. They will both explain and contextualize the big ideas of the course so far. Material from the whole course (not just the last 4 weeks) is permissible.

Please submit a paper, no more than 10 pages double spaced and no less than 5, 12 pt standard font, standard margins.

Please cite all class sources used in MLA. I would recommend the usage of to keep track of citations and format them correctly. Please also provide a references or bibliography list at the end (not counted against the page limit) formatted based on the MLA citation style. Once again, use course materials only to make and defend your points.

In writing your thesis, please consider the following tips.

1. Define your challenge to democracy. Show that you have read and understand well the course material related to it. What is it? Once again define democracy to you and why your particular challenge is a challenge.
2. For example, if representation was an option, you could talk about the EC as a major issue around equal representation.
3. Point to specific institutional examples. Make sure to link why those are related to your concern.
4. Using the above example, would you replace the EC with a PR system? A parliament system? And why is your choice the best for representation which you said was your biggest concern?
5. Remember that in social science there is never a definite answer. All sides are valid as long as you defend them well. You are graded on the quality of your arguments and your ability to use the course material to defend that position with meaningful thought, not on political dogma.
6. Structurally, ensure that your thesis has a claim and that it previews your supporting points.

In writing your body paragraph, please consider the following tips.

1. Make sure that the body paragraph relates to the thesis that you provided. Make explicit connections between your points and your bigger argument from the thesis (or your new thesis if changing).
2. Clearly organize the subpoints so that you don’t ramble yourself into a corner.
3. Explain ideas and concepts you present (ex, separation of powers is the explicit division of governing responsibilities between the legislative, executive and judicial branches).

** ATTACHED IS THE PDF LINK TO THE TEXTBOOK FOR THIS CLASS, TO USE FOR THIS FINAL ESSAY USING EXTENSIVE CITATIONS/ USE OF INFORMATION FROM THE TEXTBOOK ***