- Research a specific public policy issue - examples: health care, federal relief, national debt, immigration,
environment, immigration, guns, domestic programs/social welfare, foreign affairs with particular country, etc.
(anything pertinent in the national news) - that you think is very important for today's American national
government to address and discuss background, pros/cons, etc. while backing up any of your own arguments
with convincing evidence. Typically, the more objective one can be, the stronger the paper.
OR - Select a major political philosopher in history (e.g. Aristotle, DeTocqueville, Locke, Montesquieu, etc.) or
Founder (Madison, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, or 50+ others) and provide your own account of how they have
contributed to America's political development and perhaps still influence some American political thought or
processes today whether it's how American institutions were setup/behave, political culture/beliefs, or any
other related topic that might particularly concern American politics today. Do not just focus on their historical
roots, etc. but more on contribution to American political thought. Feel free to be creative and write as if they
were actually speaking and pondering America today from their own perspective.
OR - A thought piece on a pre-approved (by instructor) government-themed movie or documentary that will entail
further research on its veracity, along with your own analysis/creative critique on various (sub)topics portrayed
or discussed. Do not get into the minutiae of all the plots, characters, etc. but focus on the specific political
themes.