Instructions: The
term paper will examine a contentious issue in the CJS, and more importantly, the nature of the contest or the types
of arguments being made on any side of the contest. Ideally, we would look beyond the
“two sides” debates and try to find a broad raft of opinions on some
contested issue, although at a minimum two sides would be sufficient, so long as their statements are thoroughly analyzed.
While I will allow for significant deviation from the proscribed scope, the idea here is to not write a conventional
term paper (i.e. a deep dive into some topic) but rather, I would suggest you would be well served adopting a social
constructionist stance and examine the claims–making practices in
either scholarly or popular discourse on your chosen topic. Present a summary
of the contentious issue in question and where appropriate
include reference or commentary from appropriate criminological
theories. Evidence
your analysis thoroughly – i.e. find actual statements to
analyze and make clear reference to them through your analysis. Suggesting
some author/scholar/group has made some argument without
evidence will result in grade loss.
The
term paper should not exceed 12 pages, 12pt Times New Roman font, double spaced, one
space between paragraphs, conservative use of headings, one–inch margins all around, no cover
sheet, page limit exclusive of bibliography. At this stage, you are expected to use no fewer than 12
scholarly sources (scholarly books, journal articles, book
reviews, etc. NOTE: News articles and/or popular media are not scholarly
sources and do not count toward your quota, although you
may be expected to reference them for factual materials anyway)
I
have attached my research proposal that will aide you in the writing of this term paper.
I have also attached the feedback that I received for the proposal which will give you a better idea on what is expected.
Thank you!