2nd Fieldwork Assignment

This paper should be at least 550 words in length and is worth 75 points of your total grade. Remember to copy and paste your paper in the space provided. Please do not add it as an attachment. Check the syllabus for the due date. Remember to include appropriate citation of sources. Choose one of the two options below. In the paper, briefly describe your political activity and a basic issue it seeks to address. Next, tell how your activity addresses the issue. Then, speculate on whether community service alternatives would be more effective. (For example, is volunteering at a soup kitchen more effective in dealing with homelessness than protesting to get more money for the homeless or than campaigning to get a politician elected who has promised to pass legislation on the issue?) Finally, be sure to include Balthazar book as a theoretical resource for each paper. Describe how the author would view the activity you observed. How effective was your activity in relation to the ideas of Machiavelli? 

Option 1 - Campaign assignment For this assignment, you will participate in or observe someone participating in a campaign or political party event. While you do not need to actively participate yourself, you will need to observe and interview someone participating in this type of event. Examples could include: passing out flyers for a candidate, getting petitions signed, interning for a candidate, attending a meeting or event sponsored by the Socialist/Green/Libertarian/Natural Law/Republican/Workers World/Democratic party, etc. Again, feel free to ask if your activity is appropriate for this assignment. Let me know if you need ideas.

Option 2 - Protest assignment For this assignment, you will participate in or observe someone participating in a political protest or demonstration. While you do not need to participate actively yourself, you will need to attend the event in order to observe and interview someone participating in this type of event.