Mini-Research Papers
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the mini-research paper is two-fold. First, the process of
researching your country should develop competence in accessing scholarly
information on the courts and the judiciary across a broad range of countries and
regions. Second, the research itself will enrich both the individual researcher’s
understanding of the course material as well as that of his or her fellow students.
OVERVIEW:
Twice during the second two-thirds of the semesters students will be assigned one of
the country chapters in the particular unit we are studying at the time. While all
students in class will be required to read each chapter, the student assigned the
chapter will also do additional research, finding appropriate scholarly articles to
supplement their reading. Students will be prepared to present their findings and to
lead the discussion on that particular topic either in small group discussion or in full
class discussion. Papers should be emailed to the class TA by the beginning of the
class on the day the papers are due. Students should bring a paper copy for their own
use in class discussion. We will post electronic versions of the papers on the class
website.
Ultimately, what I want to see in these papers is that students are able to access
scholarly work on the courts and to synthesize and put into perspective with the
course material that additional scholarly work. The work that each student produces
should supplement and enrich their fellow understanding of the courts or
constitutional system of the assigned country.
SCHOLARLY ARTICLES: Articles must be scholarly work from a peer-reviewed social
science journal or a law review article. You should be able to make this
determination quite easily given the presentation by Dr. Safley. If you have any
doubts, you should consult me or the class TA.
The article that you chose may several one or more of several links to the country you
are assigned:
1) The article may be an additional scholarly piece on your particular court and in your
paper you would draw connections to the material in the county chapter assigned to
you.
2) The article may examine constitutionalism, rule of law, or human rights issues in
your country and in your paper would draw links to the courts chapter material.
3) The article may examine another country within that set of country (for which there
is not a chapter in the T&V or P books) and you would compare and contrast that
country’s courts with your assigned country. For example, when are studying Roman
or civil code countries, I would allow you to compare your country with Japan’s court
system. Or when we are studying rapidly changing countries you could use almost any
African country. If you want to do an article that falls under this category, it would be
wise to run it past me or the class TA first.
PAPER CONTENT:
PAPER FORMAT: The papers should be three to four pages long, single-spaced, 12point font, with one-inch margins. You should include a title page that contains your
name, date and course info, the country and chapter assigned, and the full citation for
the article you read.
In the first half of the paper, you will summarize briefly the themes of your chapter,
and more importantly, you will place that material within the context of the themes
and theory we are examining the class. This part should be about one to one and a
half pages. The second half should be slightly longer and should meet one the three
objectives above.
Remember, the papers will be posted electronically for other students to read!
SUBMISSION PROCESS: You should email both me and the TA a copy of your paper by
3:30 pm on the date the papers are due.
IN-CLASS DISCUSSION: In class as we cover the various country chapters students who
have written the paper will be asked to lead discussion either in small groups or in the
class generally, and students will be asked to informally present their particular
findings.
PAPER ONE: All students will be assigned one of the following countries from these
two sets.
1) WESTERN COMMON-LAW DEMOCRACIES
The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada
2) EUROPEAN ROMANO-GERMANIC DEMOCRACIES
Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Israel
PAPER TWO: All students will be assigned one of the following countries from these
two sets.
1) LATIN AMERICA
El Salvador, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile
2) RAPIDLY CHANGING NATIONS
USSR, Philippines Namibia, Nigeria