CORNELL COLLEGE
Department of Politics

361. Race, Sex, & the Constitution
Public Law in the Age of Multiculturalism

January 2001

Dr. Craig W. Allin, Instructor

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

The following Supplements to this Course Description can be found on the Web:
Course Syllabus	Calendar & Assignments	Grades	Rules & Regulations
Research Strategies	Research Links	Web References	Good Advice

 

: Portions of this syllabus, some reading assignments, and the feedback I will provide on your papers may make use of the portable document format (PDF). PDF files generally print better than HTML files, and they offer you the opportunity to print selected pages. PDF is also the dominant file type used for delivering facsimiles of paper documents, like court opinions and legislative reports, over the Internet. To read PDF files on your personal computer you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 4, which you can download without charge from the publisher's web site. This software is already loaded on most college-owned computers. The printer-friendly PDF version of this syllabus is available by clicking on the PDF icon above.

Feedback: Whether or not you are asked to complete a standardized course evaluation, I am interested in your comments and suggestions for improvement of the course, the readings, the assignments and this course description. Feel free to send comments as you think of them. E-mail: callin@cornellcollege.edu.

Instructor: Craig W. Allin, Room 307, South Hall. Telephone: Office, (895-) 4278; Home, 895-8103. Phone messages may be left with faculty secretary Cheryl Dake (895-) 4283 or in her voice mail box or on the answering machine at my home. I do not check my office voice mail. If I do not answer the phone, I recommend contacting me by e-mail.

Office Hours: If I'm not in class with you, you can probably find me in my office. Feel free to make an appointment or just show up. To help you find me the current version of my schedule is available for your electronic inspection over the campus network if you are using Microsoft Outlook. This feature is not available with the free, bare-bones version called "Outlook Express."

Class Meetings: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. (and sometimes from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.) in Room 302, South Hall. For details and irregularities check Course Calendar & Assignments.

Text Books: The following are available for purchase in the bookstore.

Course Requirements:

Learning Objectives:

Assignment: Your job is to write a policy paper of 3500 to 5000 words exclusive of illustrations, notes, bibliography, appendices, etc. Your paper must address a significant question of public policy bearing some substantial relationship to the general content of this course and about which you have not previously written a college level paper. If in doubt, consult.

Public Policy & Policy Papers: A "policy" is a regular practice or a clear course of action. (E.g., it is the policy of Cornell College to issue grades once a month.) A "public policy" is any policy adopted by a government. (E.g., it is the policy of the United States to exclude women from certain roles in the armed services.) A "policy paper" is a concise document that recommends a public policy and argues for the adoption of that policy. Your policy paper--and the seminar report, which will be produced from the same materials--will be developed through five stages. The deadlines for each stage are listed on the Course Calendar and Assignments page.

Stage I -- TOPIC DEVELOPMENT: You must submit an e-mail attachment describing your research topic and providing a working bibliography for that topic. Selecting a topic requires only that you identify an area appropriate for inquiry and susceptible to a public policy recommendation. Your working bibliography should be sufficient to demonstrate that you have located and have access to the information that will be necessary to research your topic. In most cases your bibliography should include some mix of scholarly books, articles in scholarly journals, and primary sources such as government documents. Choose one of the approved style sheets and use it for your bibliography. Please indicate which style shet you have chosen.

Stage II -- THESIS DEVELOPMENT: You must submit an e-mail attachment stating your policy recommendation and setting forth an outline of the contentions you intend to make for it. Please note that articulating a good policy recommendation will require you to have already completed much of the research on your chosen topic. The policy recommendation is the paper's thesis. The outline of contentions previews your paper's anticipated structure. Selecting a topic requires only that you identify an area appropriate for inquiry and susceptible to a policy recommendation. Stating a policy recommendation takes you an important step further: you must determine, with some considerable degree of specificity, what policy ought to be adopted with respect to your topic. For example, "affirmative action" is a topic. "Congress should repeal all minority preferences in federal procurement law" is a thesis. Your thesis must state a policy within the legal power of some officer, agency or institution of local, state, or national government in the United States.

This is the point at which trouble most often arises, so before you submit your policy recommendation and contentions, examine them carefully using the criteria set forth in Getting from Topic & Bibliography to Recommendation & Contentions. Before you organize your contentions into an outline, consult A Good Argument Is a Hierarchy of Contentions.

Stage III -- POLICY PAPER: Your recommendation and supporting arguments will be presented in a formal paper with appropriate format, proper citations, etc. Remember, you are being asked to take a position and make a case for it. Papers that take a position and argue a case are very common at all levels in law, business, journalism, and government. They may be called briefs (law), decision memoranda (business), editorials (journalism), or policy papers (government). Whatever they are called, good ones have certain characteristics. They are:

Convincing: They state a conclusion and back that conclusion with reasoned argument. The purpose is to convince the reader, and the better the argument, the higher the probability of success.

Well Researched: They are firmly rooted in careful research. You must have a command of the relevant facts. You must understand your own position and the positions of those with whom you disagree.

Concise: They are not always short, but they must be concise. That means no padding and no B.S. Papers such as these are meant for the eyes of very busy decision makers: the judge, the corporate executive, and the high government official. If you want to convince such a person, you must not waste her time.

Hierarchically Organized: They organize the arguments to be made into the strongest possible hierarchy of contentions. Refer again to A Good Argument Is a Hierarchy of Contentions.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:

Stage IV -- Policy Presentation: Your research and recommendation will also be shared with the class in the form of a seminar report. You will have 15 minutes to make your presentation. You will not have sufficient time to read your paper, nor would it be appropriate to do so. You will want to rework your material, including text and illustrations (if any), for the most effective possible oral presentation. Effective oral presentation depends on your knowing your material well. Presentation from notes is preferred to reading from a text, but reading from a text is better than rambling and confusion. Visual aids often support, clarify, or add interest to oral presentations. Clarity of organization is even more important in oral presentation than in prose. A listener can't go back and rehear what you just said the way a reader can go back and reread what you wrote. It's simple-minded and formulaic, but it's often wise to preview your presentation ("tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em") at the beginning and to review your presentation ("tell 'em what you told 'em") at the end. Oral presentations don't have formal notes or bibliographies, but it is still wise to communicate sources of specialized information to the listener. E.g., "A 1997 study by University of Michigan law professor Melissa James concluded that. . . ." Your instructor and selected classmates will provide you with critiques of your oral presentation.

Stage V -- Policy Paper Rewrite: After receiving a written critique of your policy paper, you will rewrite and resubmit the paper making as many improvements in substance and presentation as you can manage. The rewrite should be better than the original paper. After all, you will have had the benefit of expert editorial advice. As a practical matter, a conscientious effort to address the technical problems that have been identified in your paper will preserve your grade. More substantive improvements will enhance your grade.

Title: The title is your first opportunity to communicate with the reader. A catchy, cute, or humorous title can pique the reader's interest. A descriptive title can communicate something of the substance. A great title may succeed in doing both.

Abstract: The abstract is the paper in microcosm. It should contain the thesis and the best synopsis of the arguments you can manage within the 200 word limit.

Introduction: Every paper needs some sort of introduction to prepare the reader for what follows. A good introduction will state the paper's thesis or the question it is supposed to investigate. Since this is a policy paper, it follows that the thesis will be your policy recommendation. Your introduction should also describe the plan of the paper so as to provide a kind of road map for the reader.

Research: I am looking for clear evidence that you have found and made use of real scholarship and primary sources relevant to an understanding and evaluation of the issues central to your paper. In most cases your research should have included investigation of scholarly books, scholarly periodicals, and government documents. A paper that is overly reliant on popular magazines and newspapers is not appropriate at the college level. If you are unable to find sufficient real scholarship or primary materials relevant to your proposed topic, you should probably take that as a sign and change topics. The Internet deserves a special word of warning. The Internet is exploding with information: there are more than 10,000 new web sites per day. Much of what is becoming available on line is exceptionally valuable and comes from reliable sources. Examples include Supreme Court decisions from the Supreme Court and Congressional documents from the Library of Congress. On the other hand, much of what is available is garbage. Consider that scholarly books and articles have been reviewed by experts prior to publication as well as by editors employed by the publisher. Even popular newspapers and magazines contain information that has been subjected to a modicum of checking for accuracy and balance. "Information" appears on the Internet without any guarantee of accuracy beyond the professional reputation of the individual or organization that posted it. This places an enhanced responsibility on you to determine the reliability of your sources. Don't be duped into representing somebody's misinformation or propaganda as fact. Don't expect me to accept Internet sources that are not documented to the standard outlined in

Argument: A really persuasive argument requires at least three things:

Prose: I am looking for effective use of the language. That means, at the least, clear organization, effective use of subheadings and paragraphs to orient the reader, good transitions from one part of the text to the next, a conclusion that is both substantive and relevant, and sound grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage.

Documentation: Documentation as to source is required for all direct quotations and specific facts beyond the realm of common knowledge. Except when your reference is to a book or article generally, that documentation must lead the reader to the specific page on which you found the quotation or facts cited. Documentation is important for both ethical and practical reasons. Ethically, documentation gives credit where credit is due. Practically, documentation enhances the credibility of your work by demonstrating its reliance on and relationship with credible sources of information. I expect you to use parenthetical citations consistent with one of the three styles of documentation approved for this course. See the three styles for documentation and documenting Internet sources.

Editing and Rewriting: You will have 2 days in which to rework your paper prior to handing it in for a final evaluation. You may make as many or as few changes as you wish, but logic and self-interest should suggest a serious effort to come to grips with all the comments, criticisms, and suggestions attached to your penultimate draft. As a practical matter, doing a good job of making technical corrections will preserve your original grade; making substantial improvements will raise it.

Presentation: Effective oral presentation depends on your knowing your material well. Presentation from notes is preferred to reading from a text, but reading from a text is better than rambling and confusion. Visual aids often support, clarify, or add interest to oral presentations. Clarity of organization is even more important in oral presentation than in prose. A listener can't go back and rehear what you just said the way a reader can go back and reread what you wrote. It's simple-minded and formulaic, but it's often wise to preview your presentation ("tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em") at the beginning and to review your presentation ("tell 'em what you told 'em") at the end. Oral presentations don't have formal notes or bibliographies, but it is still wise to communicate sources of specialized information to the listener. E.g., "A 1989 study by University of Michigan hydrologist Peter James concluded that. . . ."