Gender, Law, & Politics 2011
Midterm Exam Materials and Instructions
DUE VIA EMAIL ON 10/31/11
You must summarize the main ideas presented in two of the sources listed below. Each of your summaries must be at least two pages long (double-spaced, one-inch margins, eleven- or twelve-point type). Although you may quote from the texts if it is absolutely necessary, the purpose of the excercise is to test your ability to synthesize and convey ideas and information. Consequently, you must summarize the central ideas presented in each source in your own words.
Remember that you will be graded according to your ability to write college-level prose. Thus your work should be factually accurate and free of grammatical and logical errors. Please consult the Term Paper Checklist to find and correct common errors before you submit your exam. Minor mistakes will not be held against you, but if your exam indicates that you did not proofread carefully, your grade will be much lower than you might have expected. If you have writing problems, please visit the Writing Center and arrange for a tutor to help you correct your exam before you send it in. Students whose summaries indicate that they put considerable time into reviewing and proofreading can expect to earn the highest grades.
Please e-mail your completed exam as one attachment, with both summaries included in one Word.doc (.doc or .docx extension). Since each summary must be at least two pages long, the single document that you will send must be at least four full pages.
You must use your name in the title of your document (YourName.doc or YourName.docx) and also include it on the first page.
The midterm is due via e-mail on Monday, October 31. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at Susan_Gallagher@uml.edu.
Note: If you have trouble formulating an approach to summarizing any of the decisions listed below, it might be helpful to look it up on a legal studies site such as The Oyez Project, where you will find a statement of the central question at issue in major cases such as Bradwell v. State of Illinois. For information on lower court rulings, it can sometimes be helpful to look at educational sites; however, you must be careful to rely only on apparently unbiased perspectives, and you must not copy any materials from any source.
1. Bradwell v. State of Illinois, 83 U.S. 130 (1872)
2. Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
3. Weinberger v. Weisenfeld, 420 U. S. 636 (1975)
4. Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
5. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
6. Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
7. Roe v. Wade
, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)9. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
10. Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
11. John Cloud, "The Pioneer Harvey Milk," Time Magazine, June 1999.
12. Lawrence et al. v. Texas, Certiorari to the Court of Appeals of Texas (2003)
13. Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, (2003)
14. Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007)