Layne - Fall 2012 - Bush School of Government and Public Service

one - I strongly suggest that you read Stephen Van Evera, A Guide to Methods for Students of
Political Science (Cornell University Press, 1997), pp. 89-95, 97-109, 123-128.
NOTE: It is not acceptable to hand in the same assignment for more than one course.
Translation: you cannot “recycle” work you have done for other courses for this class.
Draft Paper and Presentation: 10% of course grade.
Special Research Team Projects on the Shifting Balance of Global Power in the Early 21 st Century:
40% of course grade. These grades will be assigned on a team basis.
The 22, 29 October and 5 November class meetings will be set aside [tentatively] for
presentations of draft papers. Each student will make an oral presentation in class based upon a
draft of your research paper. The oral presentations will serve as one of the bases for class
discussion during these weeks. The draft paper should be reasonably polished, and should not
exceed 15 pages in length. The class discussion and critique of draft papers should provide
feedback and suggestions to incorporate into your final paper. The final paper, therefore, should
show significant revision from the draft paper, based on comments from the instructor and from
your peers - as well as your own evolved thinking about your topic.
Draft papers should be circulated by email to the instructor and to all class members no
later than 48 hours prior to their scheduled presentation in class.
Discussion Leadership: Discussion leadership is a course requirement but will not be graded.
There are two components to discussion leadership: (1) Leading the class discussion of the
assigned weekly readings; and (2) serving as discussant/commentator on a draft paper
presentation.
All students will be responsible for leading at least one class discussion. Depending on
enrollment, students may be called upon to lead more than one discussion.
Discussion leaders are responsible for discussing the assigned readings for the class session,
raising questions for class discussion, and preparing a Power Point presentation that identifies the
key themes of the readings and sets out a number of discussion questions. Discussion leaders are
to go beyond providing a mere summary of the reading (because all students are required to do the
assigned readings). The function of discussion leaders in not to regurgitate the assigned readings,
but rather to engage the material, highlight the main points, and get the class involved in debating
and discussing the material. You should also feel free to bring up what you think is wrong, or
missing, from the arguments made in the readings under discussion. Discussion leaders will be
evaluated on the basis of the substance and style of the presentation, as well as on the quality of the
Power Point presentation and discussion questions. The instructor will be looking especially for
evidence that you have carefully read and thought about the assigned readings. Your
presentations are expected to cover the main points, issues, and arguments that arise from the
readings. Discussion leaders should situate the readings theoretically, critique them, dissect the
causal logics of the arguments, and consider their policy implications.
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