Each paper cannot be shorter than 5 pages. Each can be longer.
Papers are due: May 3, no later than 5 pm, my office. I will not accept email submissions. If your papers are late, i.e., submitted at any time after 5 pm, your grade will drop 1 whole grade for every day your paper is late until it reaches F, in which case, I will not accept your paper. You must hand in both papers to pass the final exam (and class).
You are required to have a thesis statement in your first paragraph, telling the reader what you plan to do. The best way to write a paper is to: a) tell us what you are going to tell us; b) tell us; and c) tell us what you just told us.
Reminder: Use Times New Roman, 12 point typeface, 1" margins, double spaced. Do not quote excessively; do not plagiarize. Put your name, class, and if you have a title on a separate page.
The bibliography or works cited goes in the back, on a separate page. Make sure you consult the Writing Guidelines on Canvas. There should be no large spaces of white paper between paragraphs, nor excessive indenting. Extended quotes are to be avoided.
Paper # 1:
In PGA Tour v. Martin, Casey Martin was a disabled golfer who requested that he use a golf cart to play golf.
Martin suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome, a congenital and degenerative circulatory disorder that, in Martin's case, obstructs the flow of blood from his right leg back to his heart.
The consequences of this for Martin are that his right leg has atrophied, that he suffers from severe pain in that leg, and that he consequently has great difficulty walking significant distances. Moreover, walking for an extended time subjects Martin to a heightened risk of hemorrhaging, blood clots, bone fractures, and, conceivably, having his right leg amputated. Martin argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that the PGA Tour "make reasonable modifications" for disabled individuals, otherwise they would be in violation of the ADA.
The use of golf carts is prohibited during tournaments by the governing agency, PGA Tour.
Martin sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor. In philosophical terms, the Supreme Court held that the individual right denied caused greater harm than the need for uniformity in practice. Rights, in other words, are superior to conventional arrangements of justice established by majorities.
Using the Supreme Court case, the understanding of justice from Sandel, including Aristotle and his notion of Ethics as discussed in class, the modern understanding of what liberalism stands for, and Rawls's understanding of justice as fairness, and any number of authors we have read on equality, compassion, and justice, state which side has the better argument.
You are encouraged to consult the Casey Martin case, which is posted on Canvas, but it is not required. Should you cite Casey Martin, the citation will be to the page in Word and not to the actual page numbers of the case. So cite the case like this: (Martin, 5). In the text, the reference goes like this: Casey Martin v. PGA Tour.
Thus, you can write: In University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court held that blah blah blah (Bakke comma followed by a page number in the Word document). All citations to cases in Sandel's book are to be cited as: (Sandel, followed by a page). There is no need to repeat the full name of the case after your first mention. So, write it this way: In Casey Martin, blah blah blah - not: in Casey Martin v. PGA Tour, blah blah blah. But you should know this, because it is in the Writing Guidelines.
Do not write an essay on your feelings about this subject without reference to any thinkers discussed in class or in Sandel's book. Do not rely exclusively or extensively on authors not found in Sandel. It is acceptable to use outside research, but not at the expense of Sandel's book.
Paper #2:
In the United States, African Americans have historically been disadvantaged because of slavery and racial segregation. Is affirmative action in college admissions an acceptable form of compensation for historical disadvantage? Relying on the cases excerpted in Sandel, as well as the dialogue between Ronald Dworkin and Jefferson Morley, and considering Rawls and Aristotle on the subject of merit and distributive justice, write an essay examining the problem of affirmative action.
You are encouraged to consult the case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which is posted on Canvas, but it is not required. Should you cite Bakke, the citation will be to the page in Word and not to the actual page numbers of the case. So cite the case like this: (Bakke, 5). In the text, the reference goes like this: University of California v. Bakke. Thus, the first time, you can write: In University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court held that blah blah blah (Bakke comma followed by a page number in the Word document). All citations to the cases in Sandel are to be cited as Sandel, followed by a page. There is no need to repeat the full name of the case after your first mention. So, write it this way: In Bakke, blah blah blah - not: in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, blah blah blah. But you should know this, because it is in the Writing Guidelines.
Do not write an essay on your feelings about this subject without reference to any thinkers discussed in class or in Sandel's book. Do not rely exclusively or extensively on authors not found in Sandel. It is acceptable to use outside research, but not at the expense of Sandel's book.