While your paper must be tied to the specific issues of the course, you will have some latitude in how you approach this assignment. One possibility would be for you to elaborate some more on the details of an issue that we focus on directly. Or, if you wish, you could focus on a related current issue that has been in the news and then compare, contrast or discuss that specific issue in the context of the arguments made in the readings for the course. Another possibility would be for you to elaborate further on an issue that arises in the discussion forum in the context of the discussion we will be having over the semester. In summary, the basic idea is for you to write on some specific aspect of one of the issues at hand that you believe calls for further scrutiny.
It usually works best if you write a relatively narrow paper that focuses on a specific issue or question. The term paper is not meant to be a book review; it is meant for you to explore and follow up on some specific issue that is of particular interest to you
