Does that make sense? Your paper statement does not have to be ambitious, but it should be clear: give the reader what to expect and should show that you know how to pick out a few key points from scholarship that have to do with power and space, and to hone in on them.
Structure: so: have an essay structure (intro, body, conclusion), with fully cited references at the end of the paper (remember you must have a minimum of 3 scholarly sources but that is a minimum, so feel free to use more articles, or news articles or policy reports if you want and if they are helpful). If you use someone else’s ideas – CITE them everywhere they appear in your paper e.g. (Smith, 2004). Remember to include page numbers where you quote the author directly, e.g. (Smith, 2004: 34). Remember, if I can clearly see what contributions you are making versus what arguments from others that you are applying to make your point, then I can give you credit for YOUR insights and ideas, in addition to your discussion of the ideas in the articles.
a. Have a NARROW focus and a clear argument or thesis statement. You can’t say or explore everything relating to your topic, so what are you specifically going to look at in your paper? The best papers just pick two to three points/issues to focus on and let these provide the structure for your paper. If it helps to focus on a specific city, urban policy, urban social movement or urban campaign, do that. In the introduction, clearly tell the reader what you are going to do/argue in the essay.
b. You are most welcome to combine news articles on your topic with scholarly sources – may students do that and it works well. But again, you don’t have to. It can be a literature review of what scholarship on your topic tells us.
c. Have an URBAN and POLITICAL focus of some kind – so be careful of your 3 scholarly sources, if they are not from an urban geography or urban studies journal, you may not get the urban focus you need. You can ask yourself:
i. How is my topic about power differences between people, different levels of government, associations, corporations, unions, religious groups, or community organizations?
ii. How does my topic raise questions about who has the ‘real’ power to govern the city, and how?
d. In focusing on how your topic is about POLITICS and POWER in the city - think about our vocabularies in class so far if you’re not sure how it’s political. Just a few ideas to jog your memory if it’s helpful – for example does your topic raise questions about:
i. Surveillant power?
ii. Patriarchal, racial or heteronormative power?
iii. Power differences in authority and mobility based on age (i.e. kids and adults)?
iv. Class power? (e.g. is income inequality a factor? are richer individuals hoarding urban resources or creating spaces of segregation? Or does it touch on the power of those controlling private property and people’s access to particular spaces?
v. Non-elected associations’ power? (E.g. BIA’s governance of neighbourhoods through street furniture or by dictating who is in and out of place?)
vi. The power to craft and direct specific policies or planning processes that affect urban residents’ lives?
vii. The power to use force (e.g. military or police power)
viii. The power of one level of government over another (e.g. the Province of Ontario dictating policy in Toronto? The power of a nation state to govern and shape spaces in the city?)
ix. Grassroots power – are coalitions of ordinary people fighting back against something?
x. These are just examples, feel free to craft your insights here on power, in your own words….
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