ISC 205-01 (A Minerva Course)
Inequality:  Economic and Social Perspectives

Teresa Meade and Eshragh Motahar/Fall 2015

Term Project/Portfolio Guidelines

Due:  Friday, November 20, 2015, 5:00 PM in electronic format (pdf preferred, Word acceptable)

The purpose of the portfolio (or term project) is for you to study in-depth a sharply-focused topic directly related to the course.  Specifically, as you attend classes and read the assigned material, begin to put together for yourself a portfolio of resources around that topic.  Then do more research by going to the resource list that we have provided, and beyond.  Your research sources could include a variety of media--print (books, articles), audio clips, video clips, documentaries, etc.  Similar to the requirements for the midterm and final, you need to make sure that your project addresses at least one of the fundamental goals of this course.  That is, (a) how inequality is constructed, (b) how it is perpetuated, and (c) what are its effects?  All three need not be addressed equally.  Depending on the topic it may be appropriate to emphasize one aspect of inequality (e.g., how it is perpetuated), and not the others. Because we want to allow for creative approaches to the completion of your term project, we are not imposing a page limit.  Your grade will be based on the quality of the work that you submit.  However, to give you a sense of length, if your project in entirely text, we suggest a page limit of 10.   Suggestions for Completing the Portfolio/Term Project These suggestions add to the Portfolio Guidelines that we posted on the course website. As stated in the Guidelines:  “The purpose of the portfolio (or term project) is for you to study in-depth a sharply-focused topic directly related to the course.  Specifically, as you attend classes and read the assigned material, begin to put together for yourself a portfolio of resources around that topic.  Then do more research by going to the resource list that we have provided, and beyond. Your research sources could include a variety of media--print (books, articles), audio clips, video clips, documentaries, etc.  Similar to the requirements for the midterm and final, you need to make sure that your project addresses at least one of the fundamental goals of this course.  That is, (a) how inequality is constructed, (b) how it is perpetuated, and (c) what are its effects?  All three need not be addressed equally.  Depending on the topic it may be appropriate to emphasize one aspect of inequality (e.g., how it is perpetuated), and not the others.” Structuring your portfolio: You may find it useful to think of the portfolio more like a literature review than a research paper.  A literature review identifies, summarizes, classifies, compares and evaluates a segment of a published body of work relating to a topic.  In other words, you will be examining the research and data that other writers have presented on a topic, and you will do so from your point of view. Your point of view must go beyond your "gut reaction" to the work and be based on the knowledge you have gained from lectures, readings, and discussions pertaining to the subject of inequality.  You should not be afraid to make your stand clear at the beginning of your paper, since it will be apparent in the materials you have collected, in your evaluations of specific articles and research, and in your concluding commentary.  It is sometimes useful to consider the words of George Stigler, a Nobel Laureate in Economics:  “People demand much higher standards of evidence for unpopular or unexpected findings than for comfortably familiar findings.” (Memoirs of an Unregulated Economist, Chicago, 2003).  You are therefore expected to present the literature on a topic and draw some preliminary conclusions based on the weight of the evidence, not because it just “sounds right.” Introduce your subject (3-4 pages) Define or identify your topic, issue, or area of concern.  For example, you might be interested in the role of money in influencing the political process, which results in unequal political power.  Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic. You might cite studies that have pointed out the role of money in politics historically, and others that indicate this has become a significant issue in recent years. You might find, however, that some people argue that there is no real change from previous eras.  Assuming there is some debate around this issue, you could point to conflicts in theory, methodology, the collection of evidence, gaps in research and scholarship for the varying points of view.  The body of your portfolio (4-5 pages) Zero in on a single topic, or a few topics if need be.  For example cite articles on the role of money in lobbying for legislation or money given in the form of campaign donations that disproportionately influences the priorities of a society (guns, climate change, housing, racial and gender discrimination, etc.) Present a systematic grouping or hierarchy for the material you have collected.  This can be from the general to the particular, or it can be qualitative analyses as compared with quantitative research. Some of your evidence might be statistical and other studies might be anecdotal. Discuss the weight of one point of view versus another.  A parent who discusses the carnage of a school shooting might be an important anecdotal piece of evidence, but it is probably not enough to convince a reader in the absence of other evidence on gun control legislation, etc.  Thus, you cannot make a case anecdotally, but neither do numbers tell the story alone.  Your portfolio will show that you have collected a range of data, evidence, and opinions. Remember to provide the reader with connections at the start of each paragraph.  For example, you would say, “Contrary to the views of John Doe in this study, Mary Smith persuasively argues that....”  This is a way of showing that you find one article more convincing than another. Provide the reader with "signposts" throughout, even ask rhetorical questions:  “Why would Senator so-and-so deny being influenced by campaign donations, when Jim Murray’s study showed that he consistently voted in favor of looser gun regulations?”  This lets the reader know that you have an understanding of comparisons, contradictions and analyses. The conclusion (2 pages) Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge under review, maintaining the focus established in the introduction. Evaluate the current state of research or the available evidence, pointing out the need for greater methodological rigor in order to reach conclusions, or inconsistencies and areas in need of deeper study. Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the information you have uncovered and the larger area of study into inequality.  For example, you might conclude that you would be interested in carrying out more research to compare the effects of money in politics in societies that are relatively equal and those that are very unequal, but that is beyond the scope of this assignment.  Your portfolio is a review of the literature on a single topic related to inequality.  You are not required to write a research paper that attempts to develop further the research, fill in the gaps in the literature, or provide a sounder conclusion.  If this were a research paper, we would expect you to lay out the evidence and draw conclusions based on that evidence, but it is not.  As stated in the Guidelines:  “Because we want to allow for creative approaches to the completion of your term project, we are not imposing a page limit.  Your grade will be based on the quality of the work that you submit.  However, to give you a sense of length, if your project is entirely text, we suggest a page limit of 10.”

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Last revised:  Wednesday, October 14, 2015