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‎ Political Science

Useful resources for politics, political science, and public policy

Assignment

The study of American political institutions should necessarily be in conversation with the current state of our political landscape. In order to encourage you to connect and apply the topics and themes of this course to the on-going practice and development of American politics, you are asked to write TEN one-page posts that apply the concepts from that week’s class to a current event. The purpose of these posts is to encourage you to make rigorous and critical examination of the practice of American politics second nature.
For each post, you should select a news article that pertains to a recent or on-going development in American politics. You should then analyze the event in relation to at least one concept from that week’s readings.
This assignment asks you to think critically about the state of US politics. This means that you should aim to think critically about what it means and why it matters that this event illustrates one of the foundational concepts we are studying. For example, you might ask yourself whether the event you’ve selected demonstrates that our government is working well or is in crisis. Or, you might ask yourself whether the event you’ve selected reflects the strength and durability – or weakness and vulnerability - of a particular institution or way of engaging in political action.

Assignment Guidelines:
- 10 posts worth 3 points each
- See syllabus for due dates
- For each post, you should write a one-page (250 words) analytical response that connects a theme from the course readings to a contemporary event in American politics.
- Accurately cite your media source and reference to the reading in the body of your response (MLA or Chicago Manual of Style citations are required).
- Reflect on the accuracy and/or bias of the media source you have selected.

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