The Legal Regulation of Sexuality and Parenthood



The Legal Regulation of Sexuality and Parenthood

Syllabus and Course Description

Spring 2004 M: 3:15-5:15 pm

Room 5J Gambrell Hall

Professor Kay Levine

Office: Assistant:

G560 Gambrell Hall Ms. Cynthia Jordan

Phone: 712-2422 G571 Gambrell Hall

E-mail: klevine@law.emory.edu Phone: 727-3227

Office Hours: cjordan@law.emory.edu

Tuesdays 2-5 pm or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this seminar we will examine efforts by the United States’ legal system to supervise, limit and control the sexuality and parenting choices of those who live within its borders, and the ways in which assumptions about propriety and morality construct the legal and social meaning of gender. This is not just a class about feminism or women’s relationship to the legal system; our aim is to consider the ways in which all persons’ sexual, reproductive and family lives can be subject to legal regulation and authority. Moreover, this class will focus our attention on identifying the tensions and assumptions the law presents as an institution of regulation, not on documenting the current state of the formal law in any particular US jurisdiction. This course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the subject of sexuality and parenting: course readings will include case law, legal theory, sexuality theory, and social science (empirical and historical) materials relating to regulatory practices. In addition, we will discuss the intersection of gender with other dimensions of inequality, such as race, class, and sexual orientation.

The regulation of sexuality and parenthood is a very broad subject. Although by no means exhaustive, this course will cover central issues such as abortion, prostitution, same sex relationships, statutory rape, the prosecution of drug-dependent mothers, and reproductive technologies. While the focus of the class is the formal law’s impact on these sexual and parenting practices, we will also address the role of other institutions (the family, the school, organized religion, etc.) in maintaining normative regimes of sexuality.

Given the amount and complexity of the material we will cover, this will be a fairly demanding course. You should expect 150-200 pages of reading per week. Class discussions will also be demanding. Student attendance and participation in class discussion is required in this course, and thorough preparation before each class session is essential. You will be expected to relate your comments in class to the materials, and to engage with your colleagues in class discussions in a respectful and thoughtful manner.

COURSE TEXT AND MATERIALS:

Eskridge, William N. and Nan D. Hunter (1997). Sexuality, Gender, and the Law, 2nd edition. New York: Foundation Press (University Casebook Series). ISBN: 1-56662-461-4 (hardcover).

Weeks, Jeffrey (1986). Sexuality. London: Routledge. ISBN: 0-415-03954-1 (paperback)

Delacoste, Frederique and Priscilla Alexander, eds. (1987). Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry. Pittsburgh: Cleigh Press. ISBN: 0-939416-11-516.95 (paperback)

Luker, Kristin (1996). Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN: 0-674-21703-9 (paperback).

Course Reader with supplemental readings, available at Law School Copy Center. Part One of the course reader covers the first two classes of the semester. Part Two (classes 3-7) will be available by January 22, and Part Three will be available later in the semester.

I have placed on reserve in the law school library the following materials:

(1) Eskridge & Hunter text (one copy)

(2) Course reader, part one (one copy)

(3) Weeks, chapters 2-4 (3 copies)

(4) Delacoste & Alexander (4 copies, selected portions to conform to syllabus)

ASSIGNED READINGS:

Readings are listed by date on the syllabus. All readings in the Eskridge & Hunter book are designated as “E & H”; all other readings are referenced by author’s last name. Readings are either in one of the required texts or in the course reader, as indicated. It is essential that you keep up with the required reading so that you may participate meaningfully in class discussions.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a provisional syllabus covering the first 7 weeks of class (up to spring break). Part two of the syllabus will be provided to you later in the semester. Additional supplemental material may be distributed in class, and readings may be revised as the semester progresses. You will be responsible for all materials distributed or assigned in class, whether you were present or not.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Your grade will consist of two components: class attendance and participation (25%) and an original research paper of at least 30 pages (75%). Submissions by law students must conform to the requirements for seminar papers detailed by the Emory Law School Registrar’s Office (relevant portions of which are attached to this syllabus). Non-law graduate students must submit a paper of comparable length that uses social science formatting and citation style. Papers may be either theoretical or empirical in approach. If the latter, the paper should resemble a grant proposal but the student must conduct a small pilot project to determine the feasibility of his or her study.

Submission Deadlines:

* Some of you may have come to class with a paper topic already in mind; others may need a few weeks to find something of particular interest. On or before our fourth class meeting on February 9, 2004, you must share with me (in writing) your research idea to receive my approval of your topic.

* On or before March 1, 2004, you must submit an annotated outline or annotated Table of Contents that reflects the approach your paper will take, the thesis contained therein, and the principal sources you have identified. I will review these submissions and give you comments by the middle of March.

* If you would like me to read a substantially completed draft of your paper prior to the due date, you must submit it no later than April 9, 2004. Submission of a draft is entirely optional.

* The final day of class is April 19, 2004. Papers will be due on April 26, 2004. No late papers will be accepted for any reason. If your paper does not comply with the requirements listed in the syllabus (i.e., improper citation style, inadequate page length), I will return it to you immediately for re-writing. The paper will then be considered a late submission, and your grade will drop by 1/3 for each day of tardiness.

Accommodations:

If you have particular needs that might affect your participation and/or work in this course, please make an appointment to talk with me early in the semester.

ATTENDANCE AND CLASS PARTICIPATION:

Being prepared for class is essential to the learning process and is critical in a seminar setting. Class sessions provide an opportunity to learn not only from the professor, but also from your fellow classmates and from your own experience speaking in public about ideas, issues and theories. The materials in this course do not lend themselves to simple memorization and recitation, and you will not do well in the course if you rely on this strategy. You should take advantage of opportunities in class to engage in discussion, as this will deepen your understanding of the materials.

For these reasons, I expect everyone to come to every class meeting, to complete the reading assignment before each class, and to be prepared to discuss it. Many classes will feature guest hosts who are specialists in the particular topics, and either I or the guest host will provide some context or framework for our discussion at the outset of class period. However, discussion by all seminar participants will form the core part of each class session.

Each week two students will be on call. The on-call students must prepare and distribute via the class list-serve a list of 8-10 questions to guide our discussion of that week’s materials. Posting of questions to the list-serve should occur no later than noon on Sunday before the appropriate Monday class.

TARDINESS:

We will start each session promptly at 3:15 pm and will go until 5:15 pm. We will likely take a short break after the first hour. Please do not arrive late to class as it is disruptive both to me and to your classmates. (But if your choice is to arrive late or not to come at all, arrive late.)

OFFICE HOURS:

My office hours are Tuesdays from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Please feel free to come by during my office hours to discuss course issues, career questions, or anything else. If you cannot come by during my office hours, you may send an email or phone for an appointment. (Please allow me a few days to respond to emails.)

My office is on the 5th floor of the law school building. For students not familiar with this building, take the elevator to the 5th floor and turn right. I am the second door on the right.

Topic Outline for Sexuality & Parenthood class (Spring 2004)

Class 1. January 12. Introduction, Theories of Law & Legal Regulation

No class January 19 – MLK day.

Class 2. January 26. Theories of Sexuality (Dr. Lisa Rosof, psychoanalyst, guest host)

Class 3. February 2. Parents’ Interests v. Child’s Interests, part 1.

Controlling Fertility (birth control, sterilization)

Class 4. February 9. Parents’ Interests v. Child’s Interests, part 2.

Abortion

Class 5. February 16. Parents’ Interests v. Child’s Interests, part 3.

Parental Altruism and Destruction (Professor Beth Seelig, Emory Dept of Psychiatry, guest host)

Class 6. February 23. Sexual Orientation, part 1.

The Construction of Sexual Orientation

Class 7. March 1. Sexual Orientation, part 2.

The Regulation of Sexual Orientation

Employment, Education, Immigration

No class March 8 – Spring Break

Class 8. March 15. Sexual Orientation, part 3.

The Regulation of Intimate Relationships

Class 9. March 22. Teenage Pregnancy

Class 10. March 29. Constructions of Sexual Consent, part 1.

Sex with Minors (Professor Mary Odem, Emory History/Women’s Studies Dept, guest host)

Class 11. April 5. Constructions of Sexual Consent, part 2.

Prostitution (Professor Claire Sterk, Rollins School of Public Health, guest host)

Class 12. April 12. Evolving Notions of Parenthood (Professor Martha Fineman, Emory

Law School, guest host)

Class 13. April 19. Reproductive Technologies (Professor Ani Satz, Emory Law School

and Rollins School of Public Health, guest host)

Class 1

January 12, 2004: Introduction, Theories of Law and Legal Regulation

E & H – Preface on legal theories

Duster, Troy (1970). The Legislation of Morality. The Legislation of

Morality: Law, Drugs, and Moral Judgment. New York: The Free Press.

(reader)

Brookes, Barbara (1988). Abortion in the Early Twentieth Century. Abortion in

England 1900-1967. London: Croom Helm. (reader)

Class 2

January 26, 2004: Theories of Sexuality (Dr. Lisa Rosof, psychoanalyst, guest host)

E & H – Theories of Sexuality, Gender and Law (chapter 4)

Natural Law Theories (all)

Modern Theories (all)

Postmodern theories (pp. 584-593 only)

Weeks, Jeffrey (1986). The Invention of Sexuality. Sexuality. London: Routledge. Tyson, Phyllis and Robert L. Tyson (1990). Chapters 3-5, 15-17. Psychoanalytic

Theories of Development: An Integration. New Haven: Yale University Press. (reader)

Class 3

February 2: Parents’ Interests v. Child’s Interests, part 1.

Controlling Fertility

E & H – Chapter 1, section 1 (pp. 3-30 only)

Sanger, Margaret (1997). Prevention or Abortion – Which? In Controlling

Reproduction: An American History (Andrea Tone, ed.). Wilmington, DE:

Scholarly Resource Books. (reader)

Roosevelt, Theodore (1997). On Race Decay and Wilful Sterility. In Controlling

Reproduction: An American History (Andrea Tone, ed.). Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resource Books. (reader)

Gordon, Linda (1992) Why 19th Century Feminists Did Not Support Birth Control

and 20th Century Feminists Do: Feminism, Reproduction and the Family. In Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions (Barrie Thorne and Marilyn Yalom, eds.) Boston: Northeastern University Press. (reader)

Dudziak, Mary L. (1991). Just Say No: Birth Control in the Connecticut Supreme

Court before Griswold v. CT. 75 Iowa Law Review 915-939. (reader)

Albiston, Catherine (1994). The Social Meaning of the Norplant Condition:

Constitutional Considerations of Race, Class, and Gender, 9 Berkeley

Women's L.J. 9. (reader)

Buck v. Bell (1927) 274 U.S. 200. (reader)

Paul, Julius (1968). The Return of Punitive Sterilization Proposals: Current

Attacks on Illegitimacy and the AFDC Program. 3 Law and Society Review 77-106. (reader)

Davis, Angela (1990). Racism, Birth Control, and Reproductive Rights. In

From Abortion to Reproductive Freedom: Transforming a Movement (Marlene Fried, ed.) Boston: South End Press. (reader)

Class 4

February 9: Parents’ Interests v. Child’s Interests, part 2.

Abortion

E & H Chapter 1, section 1C

Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll (1985). The Abortion Movement and the AMA 1850-

1880. Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America. New York: Oxford University Press. (reader)

Reagan, Leslie J. (1991). About to Meet her Maker: Women, Doctors, Dying

Declarations, and the State’s Investigation of Abortion, Chicago 1867-1940. 77 Journal of American History 1240- 1264. (reader)

Luker, Kristin (1984). Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood (chapters 4-8).

Berkeley: UC Press. (reader)

Cannold, Leslie (1998). The Abortion Myth: Feminism, Morality, and the Hard

Choices Women Make (selections). Hanover, MA: Wesleyan University Press.

Ehrlich, J. Shoshanna (2003). Grounded in the Reality of Their Lives: Listening

to Teens Who Make the Abortion Decision without Involving Their Parents. 18 Berkeley Women’s L. J. 61. (reader)

Nathan, Debbie (2000). Abortion Stories on the Border. In Gender through the

Prism of Difference (Maxine B. Zinn, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, Michael A. Messner, eds.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon Press. (reader)

Class 5

February 16: Parents’ Interests v. Child’s Interests, part 3

Altruism and Destruction (Professor Beth Seelig, Emory Department of

Psychiatry, co-host)

Seeling, Beth J. (work in progress 2004) Inhaling Mom: The Atmosphere of

Maternal Altruism. (reader)

Ehrenreich, Nancy (1993). The Colonization of the Womb. 43 Duke Law Journal

492 (excerpt). (reader)

Anecdotes

In Re A.C. (1990) 573 A.2d 1235, excerpted from Mary Jo Frug’s Women and the

Law, 2nd edition (Judith G. Greenberg, Martha L. Minow, and Dorothy E. Roberts, eds.) New York: Foundation Press. (reader)

Whitner v. South Carolina (1997) 328 S.C. 1, excerpted from Mary Jo Frug’s

Women and the Law, 2nd edition (Judith G. Greenberg, Martha L. Minow, and Dorothy E. Roberts, eds.) New York: Foundation Press. (reader)

State v. McKnight (2003) 352 S.C. 635 (reader)

Meadows, Bob (2003). Moms (and Kids) Behind Bars. People, November 3,

2003, p. 117. (reader)

Maher, Lisa (1992). Criminalizing Pregnancy – The Downside of a Kinder,

Gentler, Nation? 17 Social Justice 111-135. (reader)

Levine, Kay L. (2003). Negotiating the Boundaries of Crime and Culture: A

Sociolegal Perspective on Cultural Defense Strategies. 28(1) Law and Social Inquiry 39 (excerpt). (reader)

Class 6

February 23: Sexual Orientation, part 1.

The Construction of Sexual Orientation

Smith, Dinitia (2004). Love that Dare Not Squeak Its Name: Homosexuality

Among Animals Is Common. New York Times, A17 (February 7, 2004).

Foucault, Michel. The Repressive Hypothesis. The History of Sexuality: An

Introduction, Volume 1. New York: Vintage Books. (reader)

Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll (1985). The Female World of Love and Ritual:

Relations Between Women in Nineteenth-Century America. Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America. New York: Oxford University Press. (reader)

Katz, Jonathan N. (1995). The Debut of the Heterosexual & Before

Heterosexuality. The Invention of Heterosexuality. New York: Dutton. (reader).

Messner, Michael A. (2000). Becoming 100% Straight. In Gender through the

Prism of Difference (Maxine B. Zinn, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, and

Michael A. Messner, eds.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon Press. (reader)

Rich, Adrienne (1983). Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, in

Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality (Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson, eds.) New York: Monthly Review Press.

Optional: Weeks, Jeffrey (1986). The Meanings of Sexual Difference. Sexuality.

London: Routledge.

Class 7

March 1: Sexual Orientation, part 2.

The Regulation of Sexual Orientation: Employment, Education, Immigration

E & H Chapter 2, section 2; Chapter 5, section 3; Chapter 6, section 2C

Weeks, Jeffrey (1986). The Challenge of Diversity. Sexuality. London: Routledge.

Giuffree, Patti A. and Christine L. Williams (1994). Boundary Lines: Labeling

Sexual Harassment in Restaurants. Gender and Society 8(3): 378-401. (reader)

Canaday, Margot (2003). “Who Is a Homosexual?” The Consolidation of Sexual

Identities in Mid-Twentieth Century American Immigration Law. 28 Law and Social Inquiry 352-386. (reader)

Berube, Allan (1983). Marching to a Different Drummer: Lesbian and Gay GIs in

World War II, in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality (Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson, eds.) New York: Monthly Review Press.

Dworkin, Shari Lee and Faye Linda Wachs (2000). Disciplining the Body: HIV-

Positive Male Athletes, Media Surveillance, and the Policing of Sexuality. In Gender through the Prism of Difference (Zinn, Hondagneu-Sotelo, and Messner, eds.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon Press. (reader)

Peterson v. Hewlett-Packard Co. (2004). 2004 WL 26580 (9th Cir. Idaho).

(reader)

Associated Press. 1st Public Gay High School Set for NY.

(July 28, 2003). (reader)

Neff, Lisa (2003). Suit Filed over N.Y. GLBT School. Chicago Free Press,

August 20, 2003, p. 1. (reader)

Taylor, Frances G. (2003) Episcopalians Face Divisive Vote on Gays: National

Church Split over Bishop’s Affirmation. Hartford Courant, July 27, 2003, p. A1. (reader)

Vincent, Lynn (2003). A Growing Mainline Movement Seeks to Affirm

Homosexuality as Biblical. 18(29) World Magazine, August 2, 2003.

March 8 – Spring Break – students interested in exploring more fully the ways in which US federal law has regulated the rights of gays and lesbians in the workplace are encouraged to read E & H Chapter 6 in full.

Class 8.

March 15. Sexual Orientation, part 3.

The Regulation of Intimate Relationships

E & H chapter 1, section 2 (includes Bowers v. Hardwick, Lawrence v. Texas

and commentary); Chapter 8, section 1B & C; Chapter 8, section 2A-C; Appendix pp. 1553-63 (Goodridge v. Dept of Public Health).

Lawrence v. Texas: 3 amicus briefs (Pro Family Law Center, et al.; American

Psychological Association, et al.; Professors of History, et al.)

Goldberg-Hiller, Jonathan (2002). A Trip to the “Alter”; Sovereign Rites, Civil

Rights; Global Wedding Bells. The Limits to Union: Same-Sex Marriage and the Politics of Civil Rights. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

Appleton, Susan F. (2004). Transgender Tales: Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex

and Other Stories of Popular Culture, Sex, and Law (excerpt from working paper).

*the five news articles that follow are optional reading

Stout, David (2003). Bush Looking for Means to Prevent Gay Marriage in U.S.

New York Times, July 30, 2003.

White, Gayle (2003). Vatican: Bar Civil Union of Gays. Atlanta Journal-

Constitution, July 29, 2003, p. A1.

Paulson, Michael (2003). The Gay Marriage Ruling Reaction Pro and Con.

Boston Globe, November 19, 2003, p. B6.

Von Drehle, David (2003). Same-Sex Unions Move Center Stage: After a Decade

on the Fringe, Gay Marriage Enters American Consciousness. Washington Post, November 23, 2003, p. A1.

Lack of Love Never a Barrier to Marriage (2004). Atlanta Journal-Constitution

January 31, 2004, C2.

Class 9.

March 22. Teenage Pregnancy

Luker, Kristin (1996). Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy.

Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 71- end.

Zimring, Frank (1992). The Jurisprudence of Teenage Pregnancy, in Early

Parenthood and Coming of Age in the 1990s (Margaret Rosenheim and Frank Testa, eds.) New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

Males, Michael (1994). Poverty, Rape, Adult/Teen Sex: Why ‘Pregnancy

Prevention’ Programs Don’t Work. Phi Delta Kappan 75(3): 407-410.

Bernstein, Nina (2004). Young Love, New Caution: Behind Fall in Pregnancy, a

New Teenage Culture of Restraint. New York Times (March 7, 2004).

TANF and teenage parents:

Reauthorization:

Class 10.

March 29. Constructions of Sexual Consent, part 1. (Professor Mary Odem, Emory History & Women’s Studies Department, guest host)

Sex with Minors

E & H Chapter 1, section 3C1 & 3C3

Levine, Kay (2004). Harnessing the Rhetoric of Statutory Rape (working paper).

Odem, Mary (1995). This Terrible Freedom: Generational Conflicts in Working

Class Families. Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing

Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920. Chapel Hill: UNC Press.

Phillips, Lynn (1999). Recasting Consent: Agency and Victimization in Adult-

Teen Relationships, in New Versions of Victims: Feminists Struggle with

the Concept (Sharon Lamb, ed.) New York: NYU Press.

Leahy, Terry (1996). Sex and the Age of Consent: The Ethical Issues. Social

Analysis 39: 27-55.

Espiritu, Yen Le (2000). “Americans Have a Different Attitude”: Family,

Sexuality, and Gender in Filipina American Lives. In Gender through the Prism of Difference (Maxine B. Zinn, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, and Michael A. Messner, eds.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon Press.

Olsen, Frances (1984). Statutory Rape: A Feminist Critique of Rights. Texas Law

Review 63(3): 387- 432.

Class 11.

April 5. Constructions of Sexual Consent, part 2. (Professor Claire Sterk, Rollins School of Public Health, guest host)

Prostitution

E & H Chapter1, section 3B

Hobson, Barbara (1990). Prostitutes. Uneasy Virtue: The Politics of Prostitution

and the American Reform Tradition. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

Luker, Kristin (1998). Sex, Social Hygiene and the State: The Double-Edged

Sword of Social Reform. Theory and Society 27: 601-34.

Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry (Frederique Delacoste and

Priscilla Alexander, eds.) (1987). Pittsburgh: Cleis Press. Selections: pp. 39-40; 53-55; 104-105; 158-174; 266-321.

Maher, Lisa (1997). A Hard Road to Ho: Sexwork. Sexed Work: Gender, Race,

and Resistance in a Brooklyn Drug Market. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Hobson, Barbara (1990). The Search for Alternatives. Uneasy Virtue: The Politics

of Prostitution and the American Reform Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bernstein, Elizabeth (forthcoming). Desire, Demand, and the Commerce of Sex,

in Regulating Sex (Elizabeth Bernstein and Laurie Schaffner, eds.) New York: Routledge.

Class 12.

April 12. Evolving Notions of Parenthood

(Professor Martha Fineman, Emory Law School, guest host)

E & H Chapter 9, pp. 1159- 1240.

Sanger, Carol (1992). M is for the Many Things. 1 S. California Review of Law

and Women’s Studies 15 (excerpt).

Fineman, Martha (1995). The Sexual Family. The Neutered Mother, the Sexual

Family, and other Twentieth Century Tragedies. New York. Routledge.

Fineman, Martha (forthcoming). Mothering in a Gender-Neutral World. The

Autonomy Myth. (publication info?)

Class 13.

April 19. Reproductive Technologies

(Professor Ani Satz, Emory Law School & Rollins School of Public Health, guest

host; Dr. Susan Chance, fertility psychologist, guest host)

Shanley, Mary L. (1993). “Surrogate Mothering” and Women’s Freedom: A

Critique of Contracts for Human Reproduction. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 18(3): 618-39.

Field, Martha A. (1988). Exploiting Women and Commercializing Childbearing;

Do New Reproductive Techniques Threaten the Family? Surrogate Motherhood: The Legal and Human Issues. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Pence, Gregory E. (2000). Re-Creating Motherhood. Re-Creating Medicine:

Ethical Issues at the Frontiers of Medicine. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield.

Dolgin, Janet L. (2003). Embryonic Discourse: Abortion, Stem Cells, and

Cloning. 31 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 101.

DeLair, Catherine (2000). Ethical, Moral, Economic, and Legal Barriers to

Assisted Reproductive Technologies Employed by Gay Men and Lesbian

Women. 4 DePaul J. Health Care L. 147.

Robertson, John (1994). Selection and Shaping of Offspring Characteristics:

Genetic Screening and Manipulation. Children of Choice: Freedom and

the New Reproductive Technologies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Buchanan, Alan (1996) Choosing Who Will Be Disabled: Genetic Intervention

and the Morality of Inclusion. Social Philosophy and Policy 13:18-46.

GUIDELINES FOR SEMINAR PAPER

Content:

I. Introduction/conception

a. Is the topic novel and original?

b. Do you state clearly the purpose, problem, or question at hand?

c. How well do you convince the reader that the topic is worth caring about?

d. How do you introduce or preview the subject in the first few paragraphs or pages?

II. Body

a. Are your arguments warranted, convincing, logical?

b. Presentation of support for thesis

1. deal with contradictory evidence

2. thoroughness of research

3. staying focused – inclusion of only relevant information

4. keeping consistent

5. examples or illustrations, if needed

c. Suitability

d. Supply, if needed, of background information

1. providing what’s necessary

2. omitting what’s not necessary

e. Organization and order of information

III. Conclusion

a. Sense at the end you’ve delivered on your promise

b. Adequacy of summary

c. Identification of future work that could be done, if helpful

Form:

I. Citation consistency – for law students: blue book format; for non-law students: social science format. [Note: Blue book is NOT Allwood.]

II. Spelling and grammar

III. Use of footnotes, not endnotes

IV. List of References at the end*

V. Diction and word choice

VI. Paragraph form and transitions

*Your reference list is a bibliography of sources you've used throughout. It should be alphabetical, but you can separate it into sections (scholarly works, cases, statutes). Journal articles, news articles, books should all be together in scholarly works.

For format, I would suggest using the style that is used by Kristin Luker in the Teenage Pregnancy book. Each entry should basically include the following: last name, first name (date). Title. Publication location: publisher.

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