Paper topics for APLS 373 and Instructions for Writing Your Paper

I. Topics:

Khadijah Abdullah – women in workplace; equal pay issues

Corey Adamson – abortion

Domonique Brown – domestic violence

Andrew Doran – women as criminals

Kiri Dunlap – single-sex education on learning styles - influence

Nicole Ford – domestic violence

Matt Giftos – Title IX and athletics

Ashton Hall – women and work – policies for new mothers

Justin Horton -

Jameka Jackson – abortion

Andrew Josey – domestic violence

Kevin Loman – domestic violence (history and comparison of US and another country)

Tamelia Mack – health care – reproductive policy – Medicaid

Johnny Maldonado – discrimination against women; political representation

Lauren Myers – Title IX and collegiate athletics; women in athletics at university level

Kala Roberts -

Logan Sharpe – gender roles in workplace

Lakeshia Thomas –employment policy – salary differentials

Megan Thompson – sexual abuse against women

Angela Williams – health care policy - Medicaid

Adam Wise – abortion

II. Term Paper Instructions:

The paper should be focused around a research question that you would like to explore. You should be looking at some policy area and how policy is or is not made in that area, using the framework of one or more policy models.

I would like you to do more than write a general paper where you look at some of the research on a topic, although looking at that research presents you with an idea of what other people have found and gives you a theoretical basis for your paper. Since so many of you have expressed an interest in doing papers on a limited set of topics, primarily topics we have covered in the first portion of the course, I am going to limit my suggestions to those areas. You can compare two states from the same region with similar political cultures or two from different regions, see how they differ, look at variables that affect policymaking like interest group activity, party competition, strong vs weak governors/legislators, role of various political actors (this is redundant of some of what I have already said), role of the media, how the mass public can initiate policy, amount of policy innovation in the states. Look at some of the literature that gives you some idea of why different states move forward on different kinds of policies. Look at political culture, attitudes about government and how much or what it should do. You may want to look at how “woman-friendly” those states are, ie percentage of women serving in the legislature, statewide office, other policymaking positions, now and historically, and how this fits in with the political culture of the state. Or look at national policy in some area, either alone or comparing it to the states, which are often more innovative (why?) or other nations. You can apply some of the same criteria we used for the states here. There are also many resources in your text at the end of each chapter to help you get started, and much of the discussion in the text focused on national policy. You can do a case study of a state, or even simply look at newspaper coverage of an issue over a certain time period, and perhaps do a content analysis.

Domestic violence: You could compare laws on spousal abuse or domestic violence in different states, or look at national policy and how and why it developed.

Health care and reproductive issues:

Compare plans in different states or compare the US to other countries to see what the laws are and whether it is mandated to cover birth control, Viagra, women’s routine gynecological exams vs. men’s routine prostate exams and tests. Or compare two states from the same region or from different regions. Or look at health insurance plans and what they cover.

Look at differences in Medicaid coverage of women’s reproductive health, and compare. Or look at what women’s health problems states cover, and what they choose to cut when budgets get tight, and how they make those decisions.

Compare state laws on abortion.

Examine the negative rights approach to infertility and/or look at the issue of multiple births and in vitro fertilization, who pays, the issues surrounding this.

Look at state laws concerning emergency contraception and whether pharmacists can refuse to dispense. How should policy address ethical concerns of professionals?

Look at differences in federal laws and policies under various administrations and why.

Title IX:

Look at issues surrounding this law, who is helped and hurt, what changes have occurred since the law went into effect.

Employment:

Compare salaries in various occupations, examine to what extent we still have a “pink collar ghetto.” See to what extent public policy has affected this and how policy is made in this area.