This seminar will balance the needs of students who have to conduct original academic research and writing in DC with the reality that students at UCDC come from a wide range of majors, intern in a broad spectrum of workplaces and have very diverse topic interests. The course would be conducted in various formats over the term, including lectures, class exercises and discussions and individual tutorials. We also will cover the basics of primary research, fundamentals of writing, and research methods including case and content analysis and quantitative/statistical analysis. Students will submit various shorter writing assignments that ‘build’ on their work conducted in stages that lead to a final substantive, original research paper. One primary goal of the seminar will be for students to utilize their time and internship work in DC to produce a final research product that is superior to anything they could produce at their home campus. Washington offers a wealth of opportunities for primary research including original, unpublished documents, participant observation, and interview subjects (among other primary sources) that can enliven their individual research projects in ways that will benefit them academically and professionally.
Taught by Michael Danielson