For full details on both parts of the research paper assignment, as well as for tips on how to choose a good topic and how to do well on the paper, please go to the Research Paper Module which you can find at the bottom of the modules page.
The first deadline is going to be for you to submit to me one or two topics that you are interested in doing. These topics should be directly related to international relations and should be suitable for answering the five questions in the larger research paper assignment.
Don’t just send me a list of topics though. For each of the topics also tell me a bit of background about it and how you think it fits into an introduction to international relations course. Also discuss what kinds of sources you’d imagine looking for to help you answer the questions. You can read more about how to find sources in the very next page after this one titled “Finding Resources for Your Research”. This part of the project should probably be a page or so in length, but I’m really grading this based on quality (signs that you’ve put in some thought and didn’t just write it five minutes before the deadline). You can earn up to 20 points for this portion of the assignment.