YORK UNIVERSITY

Department of Political Science

AP/POLS 1000 6.0 / AP/PPAS 1000 6.0

Section C

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS:

EXPLORING THE DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE

Fall/Winter 2010-11

Instructor: Prof. Sergei Plekhanov

ESSAY TOPICS, Winter Term

1.  How is the tradition of patriarchy manifested in Canadian social and political life?

2.  Carbon taxes are proposed as an effective government policy to reduce the environmental damage from industrial activities. Analyze arguments for and against carbon taxes.

3.  In recent years, growing numbers of Canadians have been calling for the introduction of proportional representation as a method of electing representatives to our legislative bodies. Analyse pros and cons of this idea.

4.  Proliferation of nuclear weapons is regarded as one of the biggest threats to international peace and security. What are the causes of nuclear proliferation? What measures are being taken to deal with this problem?

5.  What is the substance of the claim of various indigenous peoples around the world for self-determination? Discuss the experience of Nunavut as an example of ways to address this issue.

6.  To be a Canadian citizen is to enjoy the rights and privileges that flow from full membership in Canada as a nation-state. Discuss the ways in which some groups of people may feel excluded from the promise of full or effective citizenship in Canadian society – due to their gender or ethnicity, for example.

7.  University tuition fees are rising everywhere. In Ontario, for instance, they have increased by 8-fold since the mid-1970s. How is this change related to the shift from the welfare state to neo-liberal policies of globalization?

8.  Immigration has become a burning issue in American politics. Analyze the main issues in the political debates around immigration and the ways in which politicians use these issues in their political interests.

IMPORTANT: By Feb. 8 or 10, depending on your tutorial schedule, you must submit to your TA a one-paragraph statement outlining your plan for the essay. Without this, your essay will not be accepted.

For your research, you must use a minimum of five academic sources (books, textbooks, articles from academic journals, materials from research center websites, official documents). Newspaper or general magazine articles will be considered additional sources.

The essay should be typewritten, double space, font size “12”, length no more than 5 pages.

Due dates: March 8 and 10

(PENALTY FOR LATE HAND-IN: 1% of the final grade per day, until the accumulation of 14%. This penalty applies to the 1-paragraph statement, too)

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