Final paper guidelines, LJST 29, Natural Law:
As noted earlier, your final paper may be, if you wish, an expanded inquiry into the topic of your first paper, orit may address fresh concerns; regardless of which you choose, you should formulate your final paper’s topic in terms of one or more of the three options below. Remember, crafting an originalanalytical argument which moves beyond class work is the goal here once again, this time in a deeper research context (feel free to use or re-use the shorter paper’s suggested prompts for inspiration).
I. “Historical” topic (i.e., concerning one or more pre-19th-century natural-law thinkers; also possibly concerning pre-19th-century law codes and/or legal history issues):
Research will consist largely of any or all of the following:
- additional reading in primary texts (number of authors addressed is up to you – be conservative)
- related secondary readings in legal/political theory, legal history*
- reading in legal materials (codes, case law, etc.) from the relevant period (as Andreas Roth’s piece highlights, these exist!, but often take a little extra searching)
II. “Present-day” jurisprudence topic (i.e., concerning post-18th-century natural law debates):
Research will consist largely of any or all of the following:
- U.S. or other court opinions (case law) and/or other legal materials*
- related secondary readings in legal/political theory, legal history*
This research should be in an area that has historically producedsome natural-law interest. These areas include, but are not limited to:
- “due process of law” (e.g., as guaranteed by the 5th and 14th Amendments)
- privacy (incl. issues of religious practice, sexual freedom, contraception, abortion, etc.)
- slavery
- war crimes
- torture
- powers of the states vs. federal powers (e.g, as reserved by the 9th Amendment)
- assisted suicide/euthanasia (“right to die”)
III. Some combination of (I) and (II) (might be a bit more work, but may well be the most interesting!)
(*if searching case law and/or law review articles specifically, use Lexis or Westlaw; to access law review articles, using HeinOnline is recommended [Lexis format for review articles is difficult to read and cite]. These databases are available via Frost at Library » Course & Subject Guides » Subject Guides» Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought.)
This paper (15-20 pgs.) is due on Wednesday, May 5, at 2 p.m., in hard copy, either in class, in my Clark 208 mailbox, or under thedoor of Clark 203. As before, all papers must adhere to the course style sheet.
Late papers: For every 24 hours (or fraction thereof) that a paper is late past the deadline, one third of a letter grade will be deducted from the paper’s final grade (e.g., a B+ paper turned in on March 11 at 4 p.m. becomes a B-). Late papers turned in over the weekend (and only these) should be e-mailed, since Clark House is usually locked at that time. All other papers must be received in hard copy (please note that papers not thus received also incur a one-third-grade penalty).
Needless to say, not all potential topics are areas of specialty for me, but I am happy to advise on all as best I can, and I will direct you to sources for answers that I do not have myself. (Another terrific resource is LJST’s liaison at Frost, librarian MargaretGroesbeck.)
I cannot stress enough the importance of strongly formulating your topic/prompt(to which some can attest from writing the short paper). While I am not policing your progress in any formal way, I encourage anyone at any time to speak with me about topics, outlines, or a couple pages of a draft; and don’t forget about theWriting Center!
You have well over a month to generate a strong topic, research it, and write this paper — my advice is, do not squander this time and write the paper in the last several days. Make the best use of all the resources mentioned above to produce something that will beworthwhile for you, and impressive as a written argument.