Political Science 487

Political Science 487

Senior Honors Seminar (001)

UTK, Fall 2007

Information

Course: 11:15-12:05 MWF, MEL F301

Instructor: Anthony Nownes

Office: 811 McClung Tower

Telephone: 974-7052

Email:

Web Page:

Office Hours: MWF 10-11AM, or by appointment

Introduction

POLS 487 is the Senior Honors Seminar. To graduate with honors in the Department of Political Science you must complete POLS 387, 388, 487, and 488 (each with a grade of C or better). If you are here, you probably already have completed POLS 387 and 388 (though you may be enrolled in 387 right now). Next semester you will complete POLS 488, which means you will write a senior honors thesis. This course is designed to get you ready to complete your thesis.

This course will be divided into three sections. The first section will focus on the process of writing a thesis. You will read a book called How to Write a BA Thesis, which is a guidebook (and a reference book) that offers advice on how to plan and execute a thesis. The second section will force you to grapple with a couple of “real-world” research questions. The purpose of this section is to get you in a frame of mind conducive to writing a thesis. Finally, during the final part of the course we will (together) nail down each student’s research topic. The course will culminate with each student submitting a thesis packet.

Books

The following items are available for purchase at the University Bookstore:

Samuel P. Huntington. The Clash of Civilizationsand the Remaking of the World Order (New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2003).
Charles Lipson.How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005).
Robert D. Putnam.Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Touchstone, 2000).

I may provide supplemental readings as well.

Grading

I will calculate your grade as follows:

A = 900 – 1000 points

B+ = 870 - 899 points

B = 800 – 869 points

C+ = 770 – 799 points

C = 700 – 769 points

D+ = 670 – 699 points

D = 600 – 669 points

F = 599 points or less

You will earn points as follows:

600 points for three reaction papers

300 points for thesis packet

100 points for class participation

Policies

Plagiarism:

I will not tolerate plagiarism. The following is an excerpt from the University of Tennessee’s Honor Statement, which can be found in Hilltopics Student Handbook, which is the official student handbook of the University of Tennessee:

“Students are also responsible for any act of plagiarism. Plagiarism is using the intellectual property or product of someone else without giving proper credit. The undocumented use of someone else’s words or ideas in any medium of communication (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge) is a serious offense, subject to disciplinary action that may include failure in a course and/or dismissal from the University. Specific examples of plagiarism are: 1. Copying without proper documentation (quotation marks and a citation) written or spoken words, phrases, or sentences from any source; 2. Summarizing without proper documentation (usually a citation) ideas from another source (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge); 3. Borrowing facts, statistics, graphs, pictorial representations, or phrases without acknowledging the source (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge); 4. Collaborating on a graded assignment without the instructor’s approval; 5. Submitting work, either in whole or in part, created by a professional service and used without attribution (e.g., paper, speech, bibliography, or photograph).” p. 11

For more on plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct, consult Hilltopics, pp. 11-23.

Accommodations for students with disabilities:

I am committed to making all necessary accommodations for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are urged to contact the Office of Disability Services (2227 Dunford hall, 974-6087) to learn more about their rights and responsibilities. Here is an excerpt from Hilltopics about the Office:

“The mission of the Office of Disability Services is to provide each student who has a disability an equal opportunity to participate in the University’s programs and activities. The ODS provides all students who have documented disabilities assistance with appropriate accommodations. ODS obtains and files disability-related documents, certifies eligibility for services, determines reasonable accommodations, and develops plans for the provision of such accommodations. It is the student’s responsibility to request any individual assistance in advance.” p. 47

Talking in class:

This class will involve a great deal of discussion. However, you are to speak only when recognized by me. Furthermore, you may NOT talk when someone else (including me) is speaking.

Some information about reaction papers:

The bulk of your grade—60 percent—will be based on reaction papers. Each reaction paper should be 5-10 pages long. A reaction paper is a summary of your reaction to some material you have read. A typical reaction paper summarizeswhat you have read, but also addresses other questions. Among the questions you might consider are the following: What was the most important thing you learned? Was anything unclear? Was anything left out that you think should have been included? You are free to address other questions as well.

Some information about thesis materials:

A portion of your grade—30 percent—will be based on your thesis materials. The “thesis packet” you turn in at the end of the semester must include the following: 1). Your thesis statement or research question; 2). A list of at least 25 references; and 3). An outline of your thesis. We will talk about each of these elements during the course of the semester. You should be thinking about each throughout the semester.

Calendar

Section I: Learning How to Write a Thesis

Week 1: 8/22-24

Week 2: 8/27-31Read: Lipson, Chapters 1-5.

Week 3: 9/5-7Read: Lipson, Chapters 6-12.

Week 4: 9/10-14Read: Lipson, Chapters 13-18.First Reaction Paper on Lipson,

DUE Friday, 9/14.

Section II: The Sorts of Things We Argue About

Week 5: 9/17-21Read: Putnam, Chapters 1-9.

Week 6: 9/24-28Read: Putnam, Chapters 10-15.

Week 7: 10/1-5Read: Putnam, Chapters 16-22.

Week 8: 10/8 -10Read: Putnam, Chapters 23 and 24.Second Reaction Paper on

Putnam,DUE Wednesday, 10/10.

Week 9: 10/15-19Read: Huntington, Chapters 1-3.

Week 10: 10/22-26Read: Huntington, Chapters 4-7.

Week 11: 10/29-11/2Read: Huntington, Chapters 8-12.Third Reaction Paper on

Huntington,DUE Friday 11/2.

Section III: Your Turn

Week 12: 11/5-9Thesis topic discussion.

Week 13: 11/12-16Thesis topic discussion.

Week 14: 11/19-21Thesis topic discussion.

Week 15: 11/26-30Thesis Materials, DUE Friday, 11/30.

Week 16: 12/3Last Day.