POLS 307: Contemporary Political Theory

Spring 2020

Take-Home Midterm

1). You will write two short 5 paragraph essays detailing the conservative and (social) liberal positions on one of the following issues: gun policy, immigration, religious liberty, or military intervention in Iran. You must treat each ideology charitably and engage with the Marietta text to explain the premises, central question, and branches that argues both the conservative and liberal positions. You may also use the notes in class.

To be clear, you will write two separate essays arguing a liberal and conservative position on one of the issues mentioned above. You must have a thesis in each essay and justify it throughout the three remaining body paragraphs and then succinctly state in the conclusion paragraph how you justified your argument.

Note: You may use outside sources to define the topic and describe the contours of the contemporary political issue but remember that this is NOT a research paper but a theoretical examination of the topic at hand.