Liberalism Proposal: "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill

Book: On liberty----john stuart mill (pdf)
https://socialsciences(dot)mcmaster(dot)ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/mill/liberty.pdf
Wollstonecraft------in files

Proposal

Proposals come in many forms; a formal proposal for a book contract, a proposal to present a paper or talk at a conference, or as an answer to a solicitation. No matter what shape the proposal takes, the purpose remains the same: to convince a reader to take an interest in a topic and that you are the person to write about it.

Topic: Liberal political philosophy as developed by figures like Locke, Wollstonecraft, and Mill went from a challenge to the privileges of rank and the arbitrary power of rulers to the political air we all breath. Write a 1 to 2-page proposal for a larger project (a paper, presentation, or article) that would present the central arguments of liberal political thought as you see them and their significance. You may choose one philosopher to focus on or you can group several together.

Your proposal will have four parts:

1. A Title: Try to think of a catchy title for the larger piece you plan to write, or at least something that explains the purpose of the piece. Don’t worry, you’re not going to lose points if you can’t think of something pithy.

1. Introduction: This is where you must try to convince the reader that this is an important/interesting/new topic. Give some context for your proposal, what aspects of social and political philosophy are they criticizing? What did they propose as alternatives? Were these arguments influential? Conclude by giving a firm research question/thesis. If the audience aren’t interested in the introduction, they’re not going to keep reading, so be as persuasive as possible. This should be no more than 1/3^rd of the proposal.

1. Outline of your project: How do you plan to approach the topic? This is a place to explain the particular topics you’ll be covering in your larger work. For our purposes, choose 3 to 5 specific areas where Locke, Wollstonecraft and/or Mill draw their differences with previous political philosophers we’ve looked at or lay down ideas that remain influential in contemporary political thought. Then give a brief explanation. Establish why these are important and connect them with your thesis. Discuss how you would expand on these topics in the article/paper/presentation. This should be most of your proposal.

1. Conclusion: Summarize your research question, the areas you’ll be covering in your work, and why it’s important. This should only be a few lines.

Requirements

• The paper must be uploaded to Canvas by 11:59 pm on November 5.
• The paper must be in Microsoft Word format. This makes it easy for me to check to see if you’ve followed the style guide and to make comments you can read.
• The paper will be between one and two pages. Do not go over two pages.
• Style Guide:
  • Margins should be 1" on left and 1" on top, bottom and right.
  • Use a plain font (preferably Times New Roman) and set font size at 12. Do not add a title.  Never use graphics or photos and use bold and italics sparingly.
  • Put “your name: Proposal” in a header.
  • Use page numbers, I prefer them to be in the middle of the footer.
  • Organize the proposal in three sections (Introduction, Outline, Conclusion) and make sure to label them.
  • You’re only going to be citing books we’re using in class, so simply put the page number in parentheses for citation purposes