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College Park
Scholars International Studies
Independent
Research Project Spring 2008
Dr. James M. Glass
1140C Tydings, 405-4119
jglass@gvpt.umd.edu
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Office Hours
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Dr. Glass
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Javiera
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Tony
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Shana
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Mike
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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If these times are not
convenient for you, we will gladly make an appointment
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Introduction
The Independent Research
Project for International Studies provides three options for the Second
Year Students in constructing and investigating projects: the Independent
Research Project, the Film Study, and the Course Study.
Independent Research Project
The students in the
International Studies program have a variety of interests in world
politics. We encourage students with developed interests in a substantive
area of international politics to pursue the Independent Research Project.
The student should have some previous experience with the topic, in terms
of reading, research and such on an issue. The project allows students to
explore these interests further by expanding on their ideas and insights on
the subject into well-developed arguments about international politics.
Course Study
The University of Maryland
offers a variety of courses that deal with fascinating subjects, several of
which touch on international politics. This project encourages students to
find courses of substantive interest that they can assist them in
developing research projects. Students may take advanced courses on a
subject (preferably 300 or 400 level) that includes a research component.
The student then pairs that course with their College Park Scholars practicum
for International Studies to develop a research project.
The student will take a
course on a selected area of interest and the International
Studies practicum. Students cannot double count the course: they must take the appropriate
College Park Scholars practicum course to fulfill the International Studies
requirement. Furthermore, students will develop separate research papers
for each course. We do require that
the student submit both research papers at the end of the semester to their
teaching assistant.
Film Study
One option that is new to the
program is that students may choose an Independent Research Project
organized around the use of films and international studies. For the
project, we would require a brief prospectus, a two-paragraph description
of a thematic or contestable issue you would like to explore. Students may
choose a region (for example, Africa, Asia, Latin
America) an issue (for example, just versus unjust wars; the
nature of violence and its attack on ethics; the ‘ordinariness’
of mass murder) and then select ten (10) films and five (5) readings that
reflect on the issue. Students will be responsible for seeing the films,
reading the texts and constructing their final analysis.
General
Policies
- We will try to meet any extraordinary needs
of any student. Such needs arise out of either preexisting or new
conditions, which may include persona, social, physical, emotional or other
impairments. Students must present an Accommodation Form. A copy of the Accommodation Form
should be on file in the disability support service (DSS) Office, 0126
Shoemaker Bldg. (301) 314-7282, dss@umail.umd.edu
- The University
of Maryland, College Park has a nationally
recognized code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student
Honor Council. This code sets standards for academic integrity at
Maryland
for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student, you are
responsible for upholding these standards for this course. All
assignments must have this sentence on the front page: "I pledge on my honor that I have not
given or received any unauthorized assistance on this
examination." It is very important for you to be aware of
the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and
plagiarism. For information on the code of Academic Integrity or
the Student Honor council, please visit: http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html
Decorum
Please be mindful of the proper decorum in all scholar
classes: no cell phones, beepers, ipods, etc, must be turned off at the
beginning of every class. Please come to class appropriately
dressed. You are in the University now, and the scene here is very
different from high school. I assume that students will internalize decorum
expectations and rules; your teaching assistants and I are teachers not
disciplinarians.
Attendance and Late Polices
Absence from any class must have a verifiable medical
excuse presented to your teaching assistant, no exceptions. If you
miss a class for reasons that are not dire emergencies or out of medical
necessity, your grade will suffer. All due dates for assignments for
listed in the course schedule, no late papers will be accepted, unless
there is a medical or compelling reason. With
the diversity of religious backgrounds at the university, we will not
penalize students for religious holiday observances. Please notify us
during the first two weeks of class if there is a scheduling conflict that
way we can decide appropriate dates for make-up assignments.
E-mail
The teaching assistants
and I will routinely use email to send messages about class assignments,
and relevant events related to your class participation. If you
change your email, please inform your teaching assistant and myself
immediately. Additionally, please update this information with the
university by visiting: Change
Student Address/Email.
Recommended Texts
We recommend the following texts as excellent introductions
and reference guides to the writing and research process. Several of these
texts are in newer editions, but any edition is fine. No matter what career
you pursue, these books are invaluable. We do not require that students
purchase these books.
·
Booth,
Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 1995. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
·
Hacker,
Diana. 1999. A Writer’s
Reference. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s Press.
·
Strunk
Jr., William and E. B. White. 2000. The
Elements of Style. Any Edition. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
·
Turabian,
Kate L. 1996. A Manual for Writers of
Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago:
University of
Chicago Press.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The
internship/ service learning practicum have five graded components for each
student. Students will work with their teaching assistants throughout the semester
on many of the assignments. We strongly encourage that students contact
their TAs with any questions throughout the semester.
Meetings: Each student
will meet periodically with his or her teaching assistant throughout the
semester. Students and their teaching assistants will arrange for times
that accommodate both of their schedules. We expect students to attend
these meetings. If students must cancel a meeting, we would appreciate
prior notification as well as suggestions for rescheduling the meeting.
Academic Showcase Project Board: Each student will design a project board for
internship or service learning practicum for the College Park
Scholars Academic Showcase on
Friday, 2 May 2008. The project board and showcase gives every
student an opportunity to synthesize and to share the lessons learned from
their work during the semester. Students will discuss the details of
their project boards with their teaching assistant.
The
College Park Scholars (CPS) Main Office requires that students turn in
their registration forms for the showcase by Monday, 3 March 2008. We will send out the application
via email and we will post a copy on the website under the ‘Course
Syllabi’ page. We encourage students to submit their application as
soon as possible.
The
CPS Main Office will coordinate the design and printing of the posters. We
encourage students to contact the office for details on how to design a
poster. The cost of a poster is $35.00 for students, and the office will
accept either cash or check.
The
CPS Main Office must have the electronic files at Wednesday, 16 April 2008 to print the posters in time
for the Academic Showcase. The posters will be delivered to the
International Studies Office, and we will contact students on dates and
times to pick up their posters.
Final Paper: The final
paper will serve as the culmination of the student’s research,
providing the most detailed and full analysis of the chosen subject. The
project must develop a research question, a central thesis, supporting
arguments, and a detailed analysis of the relevant material. Since each
student will be exploring questions unique to his or her interests, the
projects may include more components.
The
research paper grants students the opportunity to explore some interesting
aspects of international studies in greater depth. Students are free to
choose for any substantive area of interest that falls within the broad
heading of International Studies. In the process of researching, students
will develop a broader and deeper knowledge of their substantive area
throughout the semester. The paper is, however, more than just a reservoir
of knowledge: it requires students to develop their individual insights and
understandings of their chosen interest. In writing the paper, students
must employ critical thinking and analytical reasoning to expand on and
enrich their ideas.
We
strongly encourage students to discuss the development of their questions
and arguments with their teaching assistants. They will prove invaluable in
designing projects as well as providing feedback and insights into the
research process. Please consult with as regularly as needed throughout the
semester.
We
have allocated 70% of the overall course grade to the final paper. This 70
% of the grade is a composite score of the work a student will perform
throughout the semester, that may include (and certainly is not limited to)
outlines, annotated bibliographies, rough drafts, citation checks, and/or
other possibilities. Students will not do all of these assignments. Each
student must discuss with his or her teaching assistant the most
appropriate means to accomplish a research project. In consultation with
the teaching assistants, students will adopt some of the above means for
their research project. These smaller pieces of the larger project will
allow us review each student's progress. Furthermore, these assignments
will help students break down the research process, and allow the teaching
assistants to offer more feedback on how to design and implement the final
project.
We expect students to
write a coherent argument on their chosen topics. The final paper will be
20 to 25 pages in length, double spaced and one (1) inch margins with a
font size twelve (12) Times New Roman (or equivalent). The reflection paper
will be due at the end of the semester.
Citations: All research papers
must use citations and reference sources as described by a style chosen by the
student. We have no preference on which style students use in their
research papers, whether APA, MLA, etc. We require that students select one
style and follow it through the entire paper. We require that students be
consistent with citations: do not switch back and forth between footnotes,
endnotes, and in-text citations (unless it is part of the style). For any
quotations or ideas, whether films, journals, magazines, books, etc., you
must provide the appropriate citation as well as follow the appropriate
style guidelines. The following websites may help:
Indiana
University Writing Tutorial:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets.shtml
Purdue
University Online Writing Lab (OWL): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Grading
Meetings w/
Teaching Assistant 10
%
Academic Showcase Project Board 20
%
Final Paper 70
%
Updated: 28
January 2008
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