LSJ 200 Final Project | Winter Quarter 2022 Assignment Solution

LSJ 200 Final Project

Due Dates (see description of due dates on page 3):

 

Sunday, February 13 at midnight: Final Project Proposal Sunday, March 6 at midnight: Final Project Rough Draft Tuesday, March 15 at midnight: Final Project Due

Final Project Goals:

 

• Compare how a legal topic is portrayed in popular sources (news, movies, tv, literature) with academic sources (academic encyclopedias, academic books, peer-reviewed journals);
• Develop a thesis about what the key differences are why that matters to everyday understandings and experiences of the law; and
• Consider potential policy recommendations, including potential roles for key actors (e.g. activists, civil society organizations, policymakers, etc.).

Final Project Format: LSJ 200 Final Project

 

You have two choices for the final project format:

1. You may choose to produce a traditional research paper between 1500-2000 words. All

students who write a research paper will earn “W” credit for this course.

2. You may choose to produce a creative exposition of your research. We are open to your suggestions, but a creative exposition could be: fictional short story; comic book; art poster series; a collaborative activist “teach-in” where students work together to present on different topics; newspaper op-ed series; podcast (with script or outline for grading); long-form journalism (like New Yorker or The Atlantic).

Final Project Topics:

Note that each of these topics are big, so you will need to think about “sub-topics” that you could focus on for your assignment. We are glad to brainstorm with you! Consider examples from readings or that we explored in class. Although you may focus on the United States, you are also invited to look at other legal contexts or think transnationally (i.e. approach the topic beyond the idea of borders).

• Policing in Democracy
• Punishment and Law
• Tribal Sovereignty
• Immigration and Law
• Labor Power and Law
• Litigation and Social Change
• Social Movements and Social Change

Get Integrative Learning Project Assignment Help Here!!

Every final project must include: LSJ 200 Final Project

1. Final project in format of your choosing (with teaching team approval), which must:
   1. Identify the legal topic you are exploring, including how you might narrow in on any a particular element, to analyze the way the legal topic is portrayed in popular sources compared with academic sources
   2. Develop a thesis about what the key differences in portrayal are and why they matter to everyday understandings and experiences of the law

• Clearly situate the legal topic in its political and social context, and help us understand why it matters and why we should care

1. Use course concepts to help develop a deeper understanding of the legal topic and its significance
2. Introduce key sources of law that are relevant to your project (e.g. constitutions; legislation; court decisions; treaties; initiatives)
3. Use and analyze evidence from popular and academic sources to support your thesis (at least three (3) course readings and four (4) external readings)

• Develop thoughtful potential policy recommendations, including potential roles for key actors (activists, civil society organizations, policymakers, )

2. A short reflection (at least 500 words) that discusses:
   1. how you developed your project and thesis,
   2. why you chose your format,

• how you successfully executed the goals of the final project,

1. what you learned in the process, and
2. whether your views changed during the course of developing and completing

your project (how did they change? Why did they/didn’t they?)

3. An Annotated Bibliography, which must:

i.            Include at least three (3) course readings

1. Include at least three (4) external readings (at least two scholarly and two popular media)

• For each of the seven required citations, write an annotation between 75-150 words highlighting that reading’s key points and relevance to your project. Altogether, you will have seven (7) annotations. You may cite more sources but are not required to annotate them. Click here to see a guide for how to write an annotated

1.      Final Project Proposal (DUE: Sunday, Feb. 13 @ midnight), which must: LSJ 200 Final Project

1. Identify which legal topic you will explore, and explain:
   1. Why are you interested in this topic?
   2. How might you narrow it down for the purposes of this project?

• What do you think is going on here? What do you anticipate your thesis might be?

1. Propose a format for the final project, specifying:
   1. What format did you choose?
   2. What is your plan – how will you make this a reality?

• What is your timeline for executing your plan?

1. How will your final project address all of the seven (7) required parts of the final project (including how you will use the reflection to do this)?
2. If all goes according to plan, what do you expect to submit on Tuesday, March 15 before midnight?

1. Provide two sources directly related to the country and topic of your choice and annotate them in 100-150 words (describe what they’re about, the major points, and how it relates to your project)
2. Given the rough draft due on March 6, what do you think ~30% complete will look like for your particular project?

2.      Final Project Rough Draft (DUE: Sunday, Mar. 6 @ midnight)

1. You must submit an update on your project, which should be about 30% Depending on the format your project has taken, this might look like early sketches, scripts, outlines, or the first few pages of a paper.
2. In addition to whatever you offer as evidence of your ongoing progress with the final project, you must type up a 200-400 word reflection of your progress (what have you done so far? what have you learned?), next steps, challenges, and

3.      Final Project (DUE: Tuesday, Mar. 15 @ midnight)

1. Your final project must be uploaded to Canvas or otherwise transmitted to your TA and the instructor (if Canvas upload is not possible), and must include all Final Project Elements described above, including the Final Project, 2. Short Reflection, and 3. Annotated Bibliography.

 

Q: If I draw from more than 7 sources do I have to annotate them all?

 

A: No! You only have to annotate the required 7 sources but may include as many in your works cited as you used!

Q: I’m worried that my research project isn’t creative enough, or that my creative project isn’t academic enough. What should I do?

 

A: Remember that you only have a few weeks start to finish to complete this whole project! You can’t do everything and we don’t expect you to do everything. Also, don’t ever forget that formal research requires a ton of creative energy to come up with ideas, figure out how to tell a compelling story, etc.

Q: I’m doing a creative final project and I’m not sure I can meet all the requirements on the assignment. Do I have to do everything or can I pick and choose?

 

A: Even traditional research papers will have to make compromises about which things to emphasize and spend time focusing on. While I want you to think about all the different requirements of the project, your final product may not be able to emphasize them all. Don’t forget you can draw connections between your project and your research in the reflection!

Q: If I do a podcast, how long should it be? How should I include citations? Is there anything I can submit alongside my podcast to help the grading along?

 

A: How long your podcast ends up being is less important to me than that you sufficiently explore your topic according to the guidelines in the assignment. I can imagine a 15-20 minute podcast being very successful, but I can also imagine them being longer. When it comes to citations, think about how people on the radio (NPR, podcasts, etc.) talk about their sources.

You can talk more specifically about how you did your research in the reflection part of the assignment. To make things easier for grading, you should include either a podcast script or a podcast outline (e.g. 0-60 seconds: intro; 1-5 minutes: background; 5-10 minutes, introduce guest and talk about how they got interested in this topic; etc.).