Overview
PLEASE DO NOT USE AI. This should be a breeze if you use and request course material. Use google docs please, show true understanding and include interesting and strong perspectives. Follow instructions closely. MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW ALL THE BOLDED CONTENT. THIS WHOLE ESSAY SHOULD BE BASED ON COURSE MATERIAL. Initial price will differ with tip if done according to instructions. The quicker and better you get this done with all instructions followed, and no AI generated content, the better the tip.
Format: 1-inch margins on all sides, double-spaced, font Times New Roman. Submit in .doc, .docx, or .pdf (.pages seems to not work with the bCourses SpeedGrader). Please label answers clearly with the number of the essay question you are answering. Please submit only 1 document with both essays in the same document.
Please do use simple parenthetical citations (no need for works cited page) whenever you refer to a concept or idea taken from a reading! For example: (Marx, 1959, p. 30). You should not be relying on any source outside of course content (i.e. what's on the syllabus and in lectures; please do not use examples from your country papers for this final exam). You may cite lectures parenthetically as well. For example: (Lin, Title of Lecture, Date of lecture).
Submission Information: Submit through bCourses website only! Please do not wait until the last minute to avoid technical issues--please check your submission to make sure it went through. Unless you have DSP accommodations, I will not make many exceptions--even for DSP students, there will be a tighter leash due to grading deadlines. See syllabus for details on submission errors or problems. The main reason is because we have a deadline to submit final grades and this can affect students and their scholarships/graduation.
Exam Details: This is a take-home final, so you may use any resources you have available to complete it--specifically, lecture notes, PPTs, and course materials, as this is what you will be graded on. Outside sources, websites, etc. should not be used.
Although you may discuss the final with other students, you may NOT work with other students directly in writing the answers together (i.e. this is not a group final). Finals with too similar answers will be looked at with suspicion--so please avoid this situation.
Please also put things in your own words, rather than copying what is in readings or on lecture slides. You must cite any idea or sentence that you paraphrase, but whenever possible, please put things in your own words, otherwise you might be deducted due to the reader/grader being unable to see your own ideas clearly.
Two Essays – You will answer both questions with an essay that is no longer than 4-5 pages double spaced each (for a total of 9-pages). You have some wiggle room, but anything that is significantly longer than 5 pages (as in more than 2-3 lines longer) will face a grade deduction.
Due to the confines of space, the essays do not require a long introduction or conclusion--instead, get right to your thesis and use the intro/conclusion to show a level of depth in understanding, rather than just summarizing or meaningless set-up.
You can assume that your graders have done the readings (so no need to summarize generally), but of course, you should provide short explanations of the concepts in answering the questions as clearly and as detailed as you can to interact with course readings and show how those ideas prove your position/support your thesis.
Quotations are not a replacement for explanation. No matter what, if you quote, you will need to explain what the quote means in your own words. If you just quote and move on without explanation, the quote will not really be considered a response to the question. By far, especially in this assignment, paraphrasing will be MUCH preferred over quotes.
Question 1: Defining Development
Main Question: What is "development" and how should it be understood and expressed in the global system?
- In our course, we have seen many debate about what development should be. What do you think development should be? Start from the (1) idealistic perspective. Then move to discuss what this would look like (2) practically speaking. And finally end with considering the (3) problems or barriers to making this happen.
Using course materials, begin by (1) clearly defining what you think development should be. This question asks for the "ideal" definition of development. Defend and explain why you believe this is the "best" definition--convince the reader of it!
Then, given this definition, (2) describe how it would be expressed in the global system. For example, what would the most important "development institutions" be (e.g. national governments, global institutions, social movements, etc.)? What would the global economy look like? You have some flexibility here, as you can choose to describe whatever part of the global system you want to describe, but whatever you choose, be sure it is key to describing this global system. For this part of the paper, you should include at least one reading or example from the class that supports your view of how your definition of development would translate to the global system.
Finally, end your essay by (3) briefly commenting on any problems you foresee in this global system, either in terms of maintaining it or creating it. As this section would be rather brief (towards the conclusion), you do not need to cite readings here, but if some course materials would support your view, I highly suggest citing it simply (in a short phrase or so).
Question 2: Problems and Solutions
Main Question: What is a major problem in development and how do we solve it?
First, (1) choose a major problem area in development/globalization that we have discussed in this course. Choose from the list below:
- Industrialization/Economic Growth (GDP)
- Free trade/markets or neoliberal ideology (all of these, or just one of these)
- Poverty and/or inequality (one or both)
- Environmental Degradation
- Cultural Identity Conflicts
- Multinational Corporations and Labor
- State Corruption
- Regressive Movements for Social Protection (e.g. nativism, populism, etc.)
Once you have chosen the problem you will discuss, (2) define the problem clearly. Do this by identifying and explaining the main factors and/or barriers that perpetuate this problem. Rely on course readings as well as examples from class lectures to help you.
Then, (3) continue to apply course readings/theories/ideas to suggest 2 possible solutions to the problem. You may want to brainstorm all possible solutions from different perspectives discussed throughout the course and then choose two to discuss in your paper. You will likely need to rely on applying earlier theories and course readings to see what some authors would argue is the root of the problem and how to solve it.
I am assuming these suggested solutions will call for certain entities to be of utmost importance--for example, international institutions, nation-states, or global/new social movements, etc. Make sure to highlight these and their role.
Note: Please choose possible solutions that you find convincing or meaningful. Try to avoid "straw person" arguments (i.e., arguments that are very weak) so do not choose solutions that are just not convincing. The two solutions DO NOT need to agree (or disagree), but should be distinct and different from one another.
Finally, (4) conclude by arguing for what you think is the best solution. You may choose out of the given possible solutions you outlined above in (3), or combine a few ideas together. Do NOT come up with a completely different (undiscussed in your paper) solution that has no basis in any course materials. You may have your own ideas, but you NEED to cite them from course material to show that they are validated/justified from course ideas.