Politics 480-01, Senior Thesis, Fall 2010Prof. David S. GuttermanW 6:30-9:30This course is designed to facilitate your work on a senior thesis. The senior thesisproject can be the most rewarding part of your undergraduate work and it can be the most difficult. The opportunity to explore a question or topic that fascinates you can be both exhilarating and frustrating. This course is designed to encourage and enhance your intellectual passions and help guide you through the difficulties one often encounters in the process of fulfilling such a project. The two-credit nature of this course reflects the Politics Department's expectationsabout the amount of time, energy and effort that you will need to successfully complete this project. It is anticipated that a minimum of twenty hours per week will be devoted, in and out of class, to the thesis. The paper you write for this class will hopefully be the best piece of work you will have completed at Willamette and thus a fitting culmination of your Politics major.We will meet frequently as a class in order to make thoughtful critiques and suggestions about the theses projects. At other times students will meet individually withthe instructor (but not necessarily all during the Wednesday 6:30-9:30 class period) to discuss their progress. Texts & Resources- The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Williams provides an excellent introduction to the process of research and will be very helpful in planning and completing your project. - All Politics senior theses should use Chicago citation and style. See www.chicagomanualofstyle.org- Hatfield Library and the Politics Department archive all senior theses. This collection is gradually being digitized (so your final thesis will be available to Willamette students and faculty on line for decades to come!). Senior theses will become available here: www.willamette.edu/cla/politics/thesis/student/index.php and here: http://libmedia.willamette.edu/xmlui/handle/10177/1068The Writing CenterYou are required to work with the fine consultants at the Writing Center. My recommendations are:- Schedule appointments early on—perhaps when preparing the thesis proposal—with someone in the Writing Center who has some experience in your field (they keep a list by the phone). Think of this as a kind of get-acquainted appointment during which you’ll explain your project and look at a short piece of writing. - If that consultant seems a good fit to you, schedule a series of appointments later inthe semester. (If not, try another consultant.) Try to stick with one consultant so that you don’t waste valuable time explaining your project over and over. - Schedule appointments regularly for before and after you submit stages/drafts of the work. This will allow you to shape up your work before submitting it to your professor and peers and it will allow you to work specifically on areas pointed out by your professor and peers. - And remember 4) Students who bring in a 25- or 50- or 60-page paper a 1day before it’s due for a one-hour appointment won’t be able to get much help.The Writing Center logYou must make at least 4 writing center visits during the course of the semester. Those who do not visit the writing center the required number of times will receive a full grade deduction. You must also keep a writing center log indicating the precise date and duration of the meeting, the name of the writing consultant, a description of what happened at the meeting (what part or parts of your paper the consultant read, the sortsof things the consultant said), as well as an evaluation of the usefulness of each meeting.Grading and Evaluation:(1) Research prospectus (10% -- 5% for prospectus, 5% for comments on peer prospectuses). Your revised prospectus will carefully lay out your research design, your thesis/problem/puzzle/topic, hypotheses, methods of enquiry/testing, and relevant existing scholarship. Prospectus should be at least 7 pages in length, plus annotated bibliography.(2) First draft of paper (20%) - a partial draft version (15-20 pages) of research paper with outline and bibliography; receive feedback on both form (prose) and content (argument), and then make revisions.(3) Second draft (25% -- 20%/ for the paper/ 5% for quality of peer review comments) – a full draft version (35-40 pages) of research paper; continue the process of revising and refining in response to feedback; title, subtitle, abstract, bibliography (20-25 articles, 15-20 books).(4) Final draft (30%) – final draft of paper (45+ pages), providing an outline, abstract, 10 key words, text with headings, and bibliography; fully revised, edited, proof-read. Every one of these components of the final project must be completed.(5) Class participation and Oral defense (15% -- 10% on Oral defense of thesis and work as a discussant on two of your peers’ oral defenses) - on-going class involvement, constructive criticism of classmates’ work, and presentation of the arguments and findings of research in class, work in oral defense to challenge your peers to support and develop their arguments.In addition, you will be asked to write a series of progress reports on your research and writing. Failure to meet deadlines for assignments will result in the lowering of grades.Late work, an unsatisfactory first draft, or missed appointments and classes can result in a deduction from your final grade. Writing a passing final paper is not enough to pass thecourse. Each graded component of the course must be satisfactorily completed in order for you to pass the course.Thesis assessmentThe Politics Department uses the following rubric to assess all senior thesis: 1. Thesis identifies a well-defined and compelling puzzle or question.2. Thesis presents and develops a clear and coherent argument.3. Thesis makes effective use of evidence.4. Thesis demonstrates understanding of competing explanations or interpretations.25. Thesis is clearly and concisely written without distracting grammatical or stylistic errors.6. Thesis is well organized and has a logical progression of thought.Schedule of class meetings and paper due datesW Sept. 1 First class meeting: Introductions Wednesday September 1 - 400 word progress report is due at 4:00 PM. All progress reports should be uploaded to your WISE drop box, saved as a Word document. Your first progress report should discuss what work you have been doing on your thesis up to this point. Your