Revolution

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PolA02 Writing assignment

Essay question

It is sometimes said that “revolutions are not made, they happen.” In other words, revolutionary leaders are not primarily responsible for the success or failure of revolutions. Instead, revolutions are the product of broader structural and other circumstances outside of the control of leaders. Assess the extent to which this statement is true in relation to one revolution in the 20th or 21st century.

The essay should do the following:

(1) Take a position on whether the revolution was the product primarily of structural or voluntarist factors.

(2) Assess specific and concrete evidence for both structural and voluntarist positions. What evidence exists that the revolution was rooted in structural and voluntarist factors? Why is one side more convincing than the other?

I suggest that you write about one of the three main social revolutions covered in the course: Russia, China, or Iran. However, if you would like, you can write about one of the following as well: Vietnam 1954, Cuba 1959, Guinea Bissau 1974, Cambodia 1975, or ISIS. If you decide to do the latter, you need to tell me or your TA by September 29.

Bibliographic sources:

You will be required to use at least four scholarly sources relating directly to the revolution in question. Such sources may include but cannot be limited to the required reading in the course. For each revolution, I will provide you with at least one source.

Working Bibliography:

Please list four academic sources (scholarly books and journal articles) on your topic (you may include relevant readings from the course syllabus).

You should annotate all four sources. Such annotation should include a 1-2 sentence description of the article and a 3-4 sentence discussion of what the source reveals about the essay question. In other words, what evidence is provided by the source that supports either a structural or voluntarist approach to the origins of the revolution you are studying?
Please follow this format in your bibliography:

Articles:
Hahmovitch, Cindy. “Creating Perfect Immigrants: Guestworkers of the World in Historical Perspective.” Labour History Vol. 44, No. 1 (2003), pp. 69-94.

Books:
Moses. Jonathan W. International Migration: Globalization’s Last Frontier. London and New York: Zed Books, 2006.

Please refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for tips on citing other sources:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

Criteria for Grading of proposal:

 Is it clearly written, easy to read and free of spelling and grammatical errors?
 Does it present a clear argument in response to the question you have chosen, based on the research you have conducted to date?
 Does the bibliography annotation provide a clear description of the source and what the source contributes to an understanding of the question/essay topic you have chosen.

Requirements for Critical Essay Due last day of class

Your essay (maximum 1,250 words – about 5 pages double spaced 12 point) should do the following:

(3) Take a position on whether the revolution was the product primarily of structural or voluntarist factors.

(4) Assess specific and concrete evidence for both structural and voluntarist positions. What evidence exists that the revolution was rooted in structural and voluntarist factors? Why is one side more convincing than the other?
Outline for paper:

The paper should follow the outline below.

First paragraph (about 100 words) should include the following:
Restatement of main question. Summary of your central argument and main evidence.

Part I (about 500 words):
Summary of argument (voluntarist or structural) that you think works less well in explaining your revolution. Description of evidence that supports this argument. What are the strengths of this perspective? What are its limitations?

Part II: (about 600 words):
Summary of argument (structural or voluntarist) you think better explains the revolution. Description of evidence that supports this argument. What does this perspective tell you that the other one does not?

No conclusion is necessary.

In the paper, you should cite at least four separate sources. These cites MUST include a page number and will not be counted otherwise.

Advice on paragraph construction:

1. Paragraphs should have a clear focus and point that is clear in the first sentence of the paragraph. Anyone should be able to skim/understand the paper by reading only the first paragraph of the paper and the first sentence of each subsequent paragraph.
2. You should avoid paragraphs that (a) have multiple unrelated points in them; and (b) are longer than 150-200 words (1/2 to ¾ of a page)

The following questions will be used to assess your final paper:

 Does the thesis answer the question?
 Does the essay provide clear arguments in favor of the thesis?
 Does the essay provide supporting evidence for the arguments from the academic literature?
 Are the cites relevant to the question at hand?
 Is it clearly written, easy to read and free of spelling and grammatical errors?
 Does the essay follow proper citation procedure and include a proper bibliography?