Core 102

Roger Williams University

Section 01 LLC

GHH 106

TTH 12:30 - 1:50

Fall Semester, 2016

Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.

Office: GHH 215

Hours: Hours:  M,  12:00-1:00

T-Th 9:30-10:50 or by Appointment

Phone:  ext 3230

E-mail:  mswanson@rwu.edu

Due: Last Day of Final Exams, Thursday, December 15, by 11:00 p.m.

  Using Bridges under Assignments

The Idea of Democracy

Since the middle of the semester, we've followed the battles for equal democratic rights for two groups.  We began by investigating the battle for rights for Women, the week of October 25.  We concluded with a look at the battle to end slavery and to provide equal rights for African Americans and other  minorities.  I also showed a video entitled Half the People.   We mashed them up, showing how they related to each other.  Now I'd like to see you un-mash them.

Option One:  Equal rights for Women  ( Five pages.  I will read more, and don't be afraid to add pictures if you wish.)

• According to the documents we read and the video we watched, what were the chief ways men discriminated against women in the age before the passage of the Women's Suffrage Amendment?  What were some of the arguments the women and their supporting men used to counter the arguments against equality.  In your opinion, which were the best of these?
  

• Considering the situation now...has complete gender equality been won here in the United States, or Elsewhere, depending on where your home country is.  What still needs to be accomplished and what are the principal causes of opposition today?  Is true equality a possibility or is it just a dream.  What do you think?
  

Option Two:  Equal rights for African Americans and other minorities

( Five pages.  I will read more, and don't be afraid to add pictures if you wish. Pictures will make the paper more than five pages long.)

• According to the documents we read and the videos we have watched, what were (and perhaps are) the reasons Anglo-Saxons discriminated against African Americans, other racial or ethnic minorities or religious minorities in the United States?  Give examples of these from the readings, the videos, and things you might have seen recently in the news.  You might consider some of the arguments being made in the current electoral cycle if you wish.  If you use current examples from the Internet, please include a link (just add it to the body of the paper.
  

• Considering the situation now, though the situation may have improved, are there still things which need to be improved.  If so, what are they, and how can we improve them?
  

For extra Credit,

Do both of them

• You can use any of the documents or links on the class website (you may find it useful to review the discussion points I made, as well as your markups. )  You may also use Contemporary links from news sources if you wish to think about the situation in contemporary America.  Do not use links to papers or materials from pages which offer to help write papers for a fee.  This would be counted as plagiarism.  I don't need footnotes, just links in the body of your paper to indicate the sources for your assertions.
  

• I will offer a chance for you to send me a draft for me to preview.  I will have this done by the last class.   I will send you an email about it, when it will open and when the assignment slot for the final draft will open.  I don't like to have them open at the same time, because some students have placed the "final" in the preview box, and vice versa.  PREVIEWS ARE ENTIRELY OPTIONAL.
  

Remember to send the paper in .doc, docx, or .pdf formats.  My Microsoft Computer won't open Macintosh pages format.