You will choose a key socio-economic theme, practice, theory, concept, or case (or a combination of these) related to our course readings on workplace, organizational, and economic democracy, and suggest how it is/they are being or could be deployed or impacted during the COVID-19 crisis or another contemporary crisis; or how or what we can learn from your topic in order to address the socio-economic ills posed by the COVID-19 crisis or another contemporary crisis; or how your topic could be deployed or taken up for the post-COVID-19 pandemic rebuilding (or the rebuilding needed for another contemporary crisis) or how it contributes to the re-conceptualization of our socio-economic lives.
Prepare a 2-page (max), single-spaced, 12-point font outline of your Final Individual Paper/Project.
1.You will include an Outline title page, with the unique (albeit likely preliminary) title of your Final Individual Paper/Project, the name of the assignment, your name, and the course ID (this does not count as your 2-pages).
2.Then, on the next page, begin with your “Thesis Statement” – an explicit thesis statement including the major claim and sub-claims that you plan to argue in the final Final Individual Paper or in your multimedia artifact. This is your “what, why, and how” statement, usually stated in 2-3 sentences.
This thesis statement should eventually show up in the Introduction section of your Final Individual Paper/Project.
A thesis statement could be structured as follows (no more than 1 paragraph, please!):
“In this article/[multimedia presentation] I will consider/explore/describe/analyze/assess/investigate/argue for [this and that] as it relates to addressing [an aspect] of the socio-economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic/the rebuilding after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Considering/exploring/describing/analyzing/assessing/investigating/arguing for [this and that] is important because/vital to the [briefly explain why you are doing this/why it is important you do this]. In this article/[multimedia presentation] I will first [do this]. I will then explore [that]. I will then [do this other thing.] I will conclude by suggesting/stating that [describe the main take-away of your project].” Note: You may also include one or two research questions you intend to answer at the end of this statement.
3.You will then lay out your “Major Headings/Sub-Headings Structure” – a listing of the major sections or sub-headings that will appear in the final paper and that will outline or describe your multimedia artifact. Below each section/sub-heading write a brief 50-word or so abstract/statement concerning what will be dealt with in that section. For instance: “In this section I will cover [this, that, and that other thing]”. Hint: You should follow the order of your main points laid out in your thesis statement or your research questions. Each major point of your thesis statement or research questions could be the actual heading of each major sub-section of your final project.
4.Finally, include a “Resources” section, which will include a list of your 4 main sources, including at least (minimum) 2 scholarly resources from the course readings and 2 scholarly resources from outside of the course materials (or from the Supplemental Readings) that you will use in the completion of the Final Individual Paper/Project Output. Under each source provide a very short statement/annotation (around 25-50 words) indicating what the source covers and how it will be relevant to your argument in your final blog-post paper/multimedia artifact. NOTE FOR VIDEO PITCHES: You should still provide a Resources section at the bottom of your Discussions post as just mapped out.
5.Please submit this Outline/Proposal as a Word document (not as a PDF) in the hand-in tool on this page and post it to the Discussions section.
Learning Objectives and Evaluation Criteria for Final Individual Paper/Project
Learning objectives: Development of detailed understanding of a particular social and research problem in the area of workplace or organizational participation or economic democracy in light of a current social challenge; deployment of critically informed ideas and concepts to real-world experiences, problems, and challenges; engaging in informed and ethically positioned social interventions; thoughtful development of scholarly research and analysis skills; development of scholarly writing techniques; communicating complex ideas, social issues, and solutions to social problems in concise and accessible ways.
Evaluation: Quality of understanding of a defined research problem or debate and relevant related literature, including a relationship between this problem or debate and the broader areas of workplace or organizational participation or economic democracy, especially in relation to real-world and rapidly unfolding social and economic problems or challenges; quality of argumentation including demonstrated understanding of the various aspects of the position presented; clarity of presentation (structuring, copy-editing, grammar, etc.); ability to follow all conventions of presenting academic papers (as instructed in the course).