Newspaper Assignment
I would like for you to monitor a major newspaper in your assigned state on the web. I will ask you to make regular written (via e-mail or comment on the class blog) reports that I’ll review and perhaps call on you to share with the class.
Summarize, in a few sentences, what's going on in your state, based on your reading in your newspaper. Ideally, your comments will focus on politics, but if other major events are going on there, it's OK to comment on those, too.
See if you have a channel in your student tab in MyWofford called “My Courses” – and see if you see a thread called “Newspaper Assignments” – you can post your comments about your paper there. If not, just e-mail them to me.
For this first batch, I’d like them late Sunday night – or at least before class on Monday. (The newspaper assignments count toward the class participation component of your grade.) We’ll do this a few more times during October and November.
The Book Review – due October 7.
I would like for you to select a book on some topic of southern politics or political history (including biography) in the 20th or 21st century, read it, and review it for the class in a 4 to 5 page (1000 words, roughly) typed, double-spaced essay. Your review should not merely summarize the book, but should analyze it and offer criticisms or observations about it. What sources does the author use? Does the author have a noticeable bias? Is the book well-argued, does the author support his or her thesis with facts?
I’ll get a list of some book suggestions out to you via email later today.
Other upcoming assignments
The test on September 30 – will be short-answer, objective, identification type questions. I won’t ask any question that requires more than a 1-paragraph answer. This will cover the readings and lectures from September. I’ll try to give you a little more guidance about this next week.
The Midterm – which will be due on October 19 – will be a multi-page essay. I’ll give you a question or prompt a week before the essay is due, and you will be able to use course materials (but not each other) to answer the question, in a typed essay.
The state project/presentation:
Some of your individual readings will focus on one state. During the four weeks when we are studying each state, I will ask the students who are studying each state to take about 10 minutes (together, not each!) to share some of the basic facts about their state. Who have the major political players been, what are the state’s demographics, what has that state’s recent political history been like. After your introductory comments, I’ll talk in more detail about the state’s history and politics.
(This will be part of your class participation grade. I am de-emphasizing this a bit from previous years, in case you’re talking with last year’s class.)
The Research Project
On November 21, you will submit a research paper/term paper/whatever we will call it on some question, issue, or topic in modern (since World War II) southern politics. The paper should be at least 10 pages, cite your sources using one of the standard citation manuals (I use Turabian, but you may use another if you are more used to it). You may write an essay about modern politics in your assigned state (an essay that would look like something in V. O. Key or Charles Bullock), or you may choose a broader topic, such as some aspect of women in politics, politics and the environment, the election of 1964 (or some other year) in the South, urban politics in the South, political machines in the South, the life and career of a significant political figure…
