Final Assignment, Fall 2021

 Answer one question from Part A and one from part B.  Each of your two answers should take about three pages.  The whole assignment should be no more than six pages total.

Your answers should draw upon class readings, discussions, and items that I have posted on the course blog.  Where appropriate, you may also use outside sources.

There is no single right answer to any of these questions.  The point of this exercise is to show that you have thought carefully about course content.

Part A:  

Evaluate one of the following essays in light of class discussions and materials.  Does the author miss anything important?  Do you agree or disagree?

1.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/tocquevilles-democracy-in-america-read-anew-in-2020-feels-prophetic--and-in-some-ways-hopeful/2020/10/14/a104c752-0d73-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html

2. https://news.stanford.edu/2020/07/01/meaning-declaration-independence-changed-time/ 

3. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/opinion/democrats-aoc-build-back-better.html

Part B:

1.   In light of your own circumstances, and all other things being equal, would you prefer to spend the rest of your life in Texas or California?  (You must pick.  "Neither" is not an option here.) Explain your criteria, and give specific reasons why one state meets those criteria better than the other.

2.  Since the 1990s, Texas has moved from blue to red, and California has moved from purple to deep blue.  Explain what could change to move them back again in the future.

• Assignments should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than six pages long in total. Use 12-point type and one-inch margins.  
• Cite your sources with endnotes, which should be in standard Turabian format.  The author's first name goes first.
• Endnote pages do not count against the page limit. 
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you.
• Return assignments to the class Sakai dropbox (in Word format, not pdf) by NOON on
  Friday, December 17. I reserve the right to dock papers one gradepoint for one day’s lateness and a full grade for two or more days’ lateness.