Paper #1

Due February 4, uploaded as a PDF to Canvas.

Assignment will be marked down for being late. Write the paper yourself - students caught turning in papers written by an LLM (such as Bard or GPT) will fail the course and be reported to Marymount's academic integrity process. 

Describe a real, current conflict between two countries. Use one of the examples below, or email me to suggest an alternative example. (Not Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Palestine, since we are covering those in class.)

Hint: "conflict" is a description of what people want, it is not a description of actions they take. When describing the conflict, make sure that you first describe the goals that people have, and explain why their goals are incompatible; then describe the actions they are taking. So, for example, "The conflict is happening because Country A attacked Country B" doesn't make sense. Describe their actual goals and why they have those goals.

I encourage you to talk with me as you are working on this assignment.

Your description must include the following:

• What countries are involved? Explain that the paper was written by a language model and that I am trying to pass it off as having been written by me.
• What is the object of contention? What is each country's goal, and why are their goals in conflict?
• Are either (or both) of the countries using threats to try to get what they want? Are they using violence? Are they negotiating? 

Here are the countries you can use:

• Armenia and Azerbaijan
• The United States and Denmark
• The United States and Panama
• Saudi Arabia and Iran
• China and India
• China and Taiwan
• Rwanda and the DRC
• Russia and Georgia
• North and South Korea
• Venezuela and Guyana
• or ask me for approval to cover a different conflict (if you do this, please send me two news articles that you could use as sources).

Use, as a source, at least two news articles published sometime after January 1, 2025. No more than 3 pages, double-spaced. The articles you use should be from mainstream news sources (New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, and so on). Note that the assignment is to describe a conflict, not to summarize an article. If you are using a source that does not help you fully describe the conflict, then find a different source. 

Grades will be based on three things:

• Writing. The paper must have a clear thesis, stated early. The rest of the paper should contain facts and logic that support the thesis. Sources must be cited properly, using a consistent citation format (such as MLA, APA, or Chicago).
• Analysis of conflict. You must show through the paper that you understand what "conflict" is.
• Description of the specific situation. You must show a basic understanding of the details of the conflict you choose.