BE-LE Colonialism in Canada

Final Term Paper (20%) 345-BE-LE Colonialism in Canada

Due Date: 15 April 2020
Length: 1000-1500
Weight: 20%

Objectives: The term paper is an opportunity for students to delve more deeply into the ethical issues presented in this course. The student will conduct individual research and use academic sources, along with course materials, to develop a personal position in relation to a major ethical issue surrounding colonialism in Canada. The final paper will be 1000-1500 words (4-6 pages) in length and will answer an ethical question related to a specific theme from a list of provided topics. All papers must have a clear, arguable thesis statement and must be supported by research. Students must incorporate ethical theories as developed in the first part of this class into their arguments.

Learning Outcomes (Students will be able to):
to speak and write formal English with grammatical precision and in particular to engage in oral debate of controversies related to ethical issues;
to write a coherent and lucid essay of 1000-1500 words which demonstrates the ability to articulate, organize, develop, support, and critique a number of different viewpoints on a controversy related to an ethical issue;
create an original research question that is answerable;
write a clear thesis statement that is defendable with relevant support;
conduct independent research and distinguish between academic and non-academic sources;
read and analyze texts critically, including identification, analysis, and evaluation of the principal ethical theories within these texts;
develop a personal position in relation to a major ethical issue surrounding colonialism in Canada.

Assignment Description

Your final paper is the summation of what we have been developing in this class. This paper is an exploration of one specific topic relating to colonialism in Canada. I expect that you have become knowledgeable in this area by utilizing quality academic research. In your paper you will be developing an ethical position in relation to this topic. You must use ethical reasoning to make your case. For this, you may wish to apply one of the major ethical theories that we have used in this course. You may, on the other hand, wish to borrow from more than one of these theories in a way that makes sense to you. The point is that you are clear in how you are deciding what is right or wrong – what criteria you are using, what values you are emphasizing- in the case that you are approaching.

To recap. You are expected to:

Explore an issue of ethical importance related to colonialism in Canada
Apply ethical reasoning to this topic to come to a personal position regarding this issue

Specifications

Your final paper must contain the following:

An introductory paragraph that sets up your paper for the reader;
An explanation of the relevant ethical question that you are answering in your thesis;
A clear thesis statement that is defendable (with relevant support) within the introductory paragraph. This thesis must answer an ethical question related to your paper topic;
A discussion of the context that your paper is focused on. This discussion must be based in academic research;
The application of ethical reasoning to your research question (the adoption of an ethical stance);
A well-developed personal position regarding the ethical situation discussed in your paper;
A conclusion that restates the key argument (ethical position) that you are making in this paper;
A reference list in APA or MLA form that contains at least 6 sources and at least 4 academic sources.

All papers must be written in paragraph form using formal English.

NOTE: this is a continuation of the paper proposal that you already submitted for this course.