Description
Overview
The best starting point is to begin with a question—ideally something that truly engages, enrages, or intrigues you in some way. Pick a topic or area of American politics (with a party, partisan, or polarization connection) you are genuinely interested in. Focus on some change in this area of interest—some kind of variation, cause-effect relationship, etc. Variation is at the heart of social science inquiry—social scientists seek to explain change or variation in human societies, politics, economics, and the law. “Why x and not y?” or “why do we see two completely different outcomes coming out of what appears to be the same circumstance or set of causes?” or “why has the understanding around issue x changed over y period of time?” are excellent starting questions for a given topic. Thinking historically certainly helps, and for the historically minded student, consider the way in which a political/parties issue has changed over time. What factors led to this change?
Designing a sharp research question is not easy, and is often overlooked when we emphasize a thesis or argument as a starting point. The goal here is to develop an academic project from the ground up using basic social science techniques of observing the world and making sense of something that develops or changes. That means asking a question first, ideally a question you genuinely do not know the answer to before conducting research, but one that can be answerable in the confines of a 10-page minimum final paper.
Another entirely different track is to focus on a genuine interest you have outside the politics, be it your major or line of work or future professional plans. Ask yourself: how do parties or party politics pertain to this interest of mine?
Crucially, I do not want an argument or thesis for the Polarization Proposal. Your argument will come later, in the final paper.
Here is a rough outline of the proposal’s elements:
Research Question, clearly stated at the top of the paper.
Explain briefly why you arrived at this question (how does your inquiry come about). 1-2 paragraphs. A personal voice (use of “I” for example) is acceptable, but do your best to use the personal voice sparingly and only in direct service of your research, analysis, or inquiry.
Explain why this question matters (why is this important?). 2-3 paragraphs.
List possible answers to your question. Must be at least 3 possible answers. 1-2 paragraphs.
List the sources to be used for analysis. Must include: 4 readings from our class, and 4 outside scholarly sources (books or articles, including online sources). 8 total sources needed. Briefly explain how you will use these sources. Archives, interviews, databases, and other kinds of sources are certainly acceptable. The assignment is open to any source that can substantively aid in your inquiry.
For the last two elements, avoid bullet point lists—weave such lists of answers and sources into the body of your essay.
Brute facts:
• Between 4-5 minimum (U.S. letter sized) pages, 12 point font size, standard margins, double spaced.