ESSAY QUESTION #1
Introduction to Comparative Politics, Fall 2004
† Imagine that you have invited Samuel Huntington and John Stuart Mill to dinner. After some friendly chit chat, they get into a fiery argument about the best way to promote liberal-democracy in America. Their principles are embodied in the quotations below.
Huntington: "There is no Americano dream. There is only the American dream created by an Anglo-Protestant society. Mexican-Americans will share in that dream and in that society only if they dream in English" (12).
Mill: "The beliefs which we have most warrant for, have no safeguard to rest on, but a standing invitation to the whole world to prove them unfounded" (28)
After fixing the furniture and sweeping up the broken glass, write an essay in which you address the following questions:
1. Whose argument do you find the most persuasive and why do you find it so?
2. What arguments will be raised against you by the other side?
3. How would you defend your opinion?
Please respond to the above questions in a typed essay of no more than four (4), double-spaced pages (normal font). This assignment challenges you to make and defend an argument. Therefore, it will not be sufficient for you simply to describe what you have read. We will evaluate your essay according to three criteria: the clarity and consistency of your argument; your use of readings, lectures, and discussion sections to back up your points concretely; and, importantly, your ability to think for yourself.
When referring to your readings, feel free to use an easy citation form (e.g., author and page). It’s fine to use quotations, but indicate why you are using them. Quotations do not speak for themselves. If you come to a point where you are not sure what you are saying, we will likely not be sure what you are saying either. Explain yourself! Finally, don’t forget the Protestant hymn: “’Tis a joy to be simple…”
I have no objection if you want to discuss this assignment with your classmates. However, your essay must be absolutely, completely, and unmistakably your own work.
Deadline : You must hand in your essay to your TA no later than Friday, September 24. Because there are no discussion sections on this date, your TAs will let you know directly where and by what time you must turn in your papers. Late papers will be docked 1/3 of a grade for each day they are late.
Good luck!
AJM