Requirements

1. Participation (25%) Students will read all items on the list and come to seminar each week prepared to discuss them in detail. These questions may help you prepare for the discussion: (1) What outcome(s) is the author seeking to explain? (2) What is this author(s) main argument? (3) Where does this reading fit into the literature and how does it seek to contribute? (4) What is the nature of this reading's empirical research design and findings? What are paper's strengths and weaknesses?

 Discussion leaders: While all students are expected to come prepared each week, two or three students will be assigned to introduce and lead each session. In the past, students have found it useful to coordinate their presentations and use handouts or slides to convey their main points.

 2. Critical Review Paper (30%) Students will prepare a critical review paper on a research question derived from any weekly topic heading (e.g. "Trade and Democracy"). This paper will be between 5-7 double-spaced pages and must emphasize your own ideas. Please do not write a purely sequential literature review of the separate works covered on the list. The thrust must be clearly articulating your own original critique and synthesis of the set of readings. What is the central research question driving research in this area of the field? What are the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical flaws plaguing research in this area and how would you go about correcting those flaws?

Due Date: Week 6 at the beginning of class.

 3. Original Idea Paper (45%) You will prepare a 13-16 page paper containing an original idea that could serve as the key insight for a potentially publishable work. Your "new idea" may be a theoretical contribution, an improvement in research design, or an empirical innovation. Regardless of the nature of your contribution, all papers need a clear motivation from a critique of the existing literature. You may co-author this particular paper assignment with one other student in the seminar. Co-authored papers will be graded jointly but I will expect a higher level of elaboration and quality in the final project.

 Due Date: A preliminary, one-page proposal is due the fourth week of class at the beginning of class. The final paper is due Wednesday of finals week by 5:00 pm.

 * All late work will be penalized at the rate of 1/3 letter grade per day, including weekend days.