The research paper must deal with a specific issue currently present in France and be on a topic chosen by the student in agreement with the instructor. It should be about 10 pages double-spaced, with at least 8 new academic references in addition to the class materials.
Choose a research topic in consultation with your instructor. You are strongly encouraged to sit down with the instructor to discuss your general idea for the project before starting the actual task of putting together a detailed bibliography, so to avoid redoing the assignment in case the instructor does not approve your paper topic proposal.
Find the type of research question(s) you want to answer with your project. It could be one or more, but remember the questions need to be broad enough for you to write a minimum of 10 pages for the paper. If your question is too specific, it will be more difficult to accomplish that. For your paper topic proposal (due March 1), develop specifically 2 research questions you are trying to answer, followed by a couple of paragraphs explaining your topic and the final goal of your research.
Go to the library, use the library resources (catalogue, databases, academic journals, etc…) to find out what resources you can use. Remember your paper must be based on peer-reviewed references for you to answer your question(s). For your paper topic proposal, you must include a detailed bibliography (complete information for each of your references) with at least 8 new peer-reviewed sources.
