Present your Critique of Rousseau’s ideas of government and an assessment of their applicability today.

Early thinkers and analysis

General Requirements

You will write three short analytical papers for this course . Each paper will be on a specific set of readings.

For instance, the first paper will derive from the early readings on the political theorists. Each paper must show not only a solid understanding of the readings but also exhibit an ability to see analytical connections between ideas, concepts, and thinkers. Ideally, the papers will also show a facility for seeing relationships between the readings and contemporary events and ideas.

The following are possible paper topics for the first set of readings:

 Comparison of the ideas of Plato and Aristotle on democracy and the potential for human beings to rule themselves.

 Examination of Plato’s ideas on democracy and their application to today’s American democracy or democracies around the world.

 Analysis of Hobbes’ views on human nature and the need for strong monarchical rule and comparison to modern-day domestic or world politics.

 Critique of Early thinkers and analysisand an assessment of their applicability today.

Specifics

Each paper should be roughly 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced. (No egregious font/spacing
manipulations, please.)

You do not need to consult any sources outside of our class readings. However,
if you do quote or reference our class readings, provide a citation so I know to what source you are
referring.

Naturally, if you use sources outside of our class readings, you MUST provide citations.

Otherwise, plagiarism will be a potential problem (see below for more on plagiarism).

When you cite particular sources, you should follow the APSA style, i.e., in-text citations with a
bibliography for all sources used or consulted.

See the following link on Towson’s website for guidance:

https://towson.libguides.com/apsastyle.

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