n no more and no less than 4 pages please answer the following question:
Is the movement towards human security a true paradigm shift? In answering this question make sure to consider which of the authors whom you have read in Weeks One to Four of the course support your view and which do not.
In university courses, assignments (or assessments) are meant to give students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have been learning in the course – and give instructors evidence that such learning is occurring. Because of these objectives, it is imperative to incorporate the specifics of what you’ve been studying in the course into writing your assignments. You accomplish this by answering the question in the assignment in terms of the readings for the course.
The format: An analytical essay
One assignment that you will see often as an assessment of what you’ve been studying is the analytical essay. This type of essay is very stylized and may be different from any type of writing you’ve done before. The reason this style of essay is so popular within the field of IR is that it has a very practical purpose.
In the practice of IR (out there in the “real world”), problem-solving is routine. As a university graduate and a critical thinker, you may be asked to look at an issue, figure out what is going on, and solve a problem. So think of an essay question as you would an assignment from your boss: “I need you to take a look at this problem and solve it for me using things from your IR toolkit. Present a well-written, concise answer to me in four pages. I need it by tomorrow morning.”
This is how it happens out in the world – and this is what your university education is preparing you to do. The trick in presenting an effective analytical essay is in its structure. To achieve structure in the essay, you need to follow an outline that organizes your thoughts and presents the analysis in a symmetrical, logical fashion. Your answer should be unique.
How should you proceed with the midterm assignment?
1. The first thing is to make sure that you have an accurate list of all the readings for the first four weeks of the course. You may want to make some notes about each reading – noting the author and date especially so that you can refer to them as if they were friends you’ve been talking to about a particular subject.
2. Think about the question you are being asked and how you can best answer it in terms of all the readings for Weeks 1-4 of the course. Remember, it is an assessment of how well you are learning the material so you want to show off what you know.
3. Focus on supporting your arguments (or reasons why) rather than worrying about whether you are right or wrong. Let’s go back to the example of solving a problem for your boss in the real world. It doesn’t really matter whether you are offering the best solution to the problem, or one that should be the answer. Who determines that, anyway? Your boss, of course! What you want to be able to provide is sound and convincing arguments to your way of thinking. You may end up being right or being wrong. But as long as you’ve given it your best shot in supporting those arguments, you are on solid ground.
One last thing. Remember that an analytical essay is highly-structured. That means each paragraph should look like all the others in terms of style and substance. Make sure that your introduction and conclusion are as substantial as the interior parts of the essay. Writing to the limit (four pages) is an art and something you need to learn to do. So don’t write fewer than four pages and don’t write more. You may need to write over a just a little and then edit away the extra parts to bring the essay to four pages.
Setting up your essay, turning it in, and seeing feedback:
1. Do not use a cover page. Your name and assignment name, date, page numbers, etc. should be in a header. In Word, go to “insert” and then “header.” Use the “help” function to learn more about inserting a header in Word. This professionalizes your work.
2. Prepare a References List (which will be the fifth page of the assignment). For the midterm assignment, you will need to list the sources you used within the essay in a References List. See the “Writing Resources” in Lessons for more details on how to cite sources in your assignments.
3. Put your name on the file and the assignment name, too.
4. Use standard Word settings for the assignment. Double-space, 12 pt. font, 1” margins. Use subheadings to set off the various sections of the paper, giving the subheadings a catchy title to let the reader know what’s in the section. In your midterm, there will be five section subheadings.
5. Upload the document to the correct folder in Assignments. To see feedback on the assignment once it is graded, go back to the Assignment folder and find the uploaded document with comments. You will know the document with comments because it will have the instructor’s initials at the end of the file name. There also will be a rubric with your score in comments.
Resources for Essay as per the instructions:
Week 1
- Alexandra Amouyel, “What is Human Security?,” Human Security Journal.
- United Nations, “Final Report of the Commission on Human Security” Chapter 1
- Week 1 Lesson Notes
Week 2
- Bora, Saswati, Iride Ceccacci, Christopher Delgado, and Robert Townsend. “Food and Security Conflict.”
- Carolan, Michael. “The Food and Human Security Index: Rethinking Food Security and ‘Growth’.”
- Lander, Max. “School Garden Programs and Food Security | Pulitzer Center.”
- United Nations, “Final Report of the Commission on Human Security.” Chapter 3
- Week 2 Lesson Notes
Week 3
- Kettemann, Matthew . “The Conceptual Debate on Human Security and its Relevance for the Development of International Law.”
- “Migrants in Times of Crisis: An Emerging Protection Challenge.” Interantional Peace Institute.
- United Nations, “Final Report of the Commission on Human Security.” Chapter 2
- Walt, Stephen. “A grand new strategy for American Foreign Policy.”
- Week 3 Lesson Notes which includes Mary Kaldor’s response to Stephen Walt.
Week 4
- “Human Security, Climate Change and Environmentally Induced Migration.” Institute for Environment and Human Security.
- Tipson, Frederick. “Natural Disasters as Threats to Peace.”
- United Nations, “Final Report of the Commission on Human Security.” Chapter 4
- Week 4 Lesson Notes