ESSAY QUESTIONS
Choose to write on one of the following questions:
I. Compare and contrast parliamentary and presidential models of democracy. Consider the role of Executive, legislative and judicial powers. How are they the same and how are they different? What do both systems have in common? Which is better, in your opinion?
II. In spite of power being monopolized by a ruling elite or an individual, Authoritarian states can sometimes be quite popular. Compare and contrast both the strengths and the weaknesses of authoritarian rule.
III. Why does the text refer to totalitarian regimes as "false utopias?" Outline the basic tenets and 3 stages of totalitarianism. In the effort to create a perfect society, do the ends justify the means? Consider the video on the Secret State of North Korea as the reality check on totalitarian rule as it exists today.
IV. Compare and contrast Authoritarian regimes with Totalitarian regimes. How are they the same and how are they different?
V. Compare and contrast what it means to be a citizen in an authoritarian, totalitarian and democratic system of government. How does political culture influence our definition of citizenship?
VI. Differentiate between the three types of leaders: statesman, demagogue, and citizen-leader. Describe their leadership styles and which, in your opinion, is the most effective.
VII. What is an Ideal Leader? Select one of the statesmen or citizen leaders featured in the text and support why they meet the definition.
HOW TO USE CITATION AND FOOTNOTES
1. BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCES. Refer to the text for the proper format for Citations depending upon where you find it:
BOOKS:
Atwood, Margaret.The Handmaid's Tale.New York: Everyman's Library, 2006
Gilison, Jerome. The Soviet Image of Utopia. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975
JOURNALS:
Bacon, Francis. The New Atlantis and the Great Instauration. 2nd ed. Wheeling, WV: Harlan Davidson, 1989. Bacon's seventeenth-century account of a society blessed by scientific breakthroughs is surprisingly modern.
Berman, Paul. "Terror and Liberalism," The American Prospect 12, no. 18 (October 22, 2001).
Web:
Utopia on the Internethttp://users.erols.com/jonwill/utopialist.htm
New York Public Library: Utopia http://utopia.nypl.org/Pt1exhibit.html
Alchemy Web Site, Francis Bacon's New Atlantiswww.levity.com/alchemy/atlantis.html
MIT, The Internet Classics Archive, Plato's The Republichttp://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature, Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
www.luminarium.org/renlit/tmore.htm
American Studies at the University of Virginia, Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/BELLAMY/toc.html
2. FOOTNOTES
Direct quote: Utopia is defined as "any visionary system embodying perfect political and social order," (Magstadt, p45)
Indirect quote:In Walden Two, BF Skinner, presents a fictionalized account of a small community founded and organized according to the principles of behavioral psychology. ( Skinner, B. F. Walden Two. New York: Macmillan, 1976. )
Both types of quotes MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE SOURCE.
Why?
1. Gives credit to the author/text/theory who created it.
2. Abides by the PGCC College wide Code of Academic Integrity. See syllabus for definition.
3. Give YOUR essay argument support and shows that you have done your research, not just given your opinion.