During this course, you are required to complete an interdisciplinary writing assignment for 15% of your overall grade.

I have identified 5 topics from the first half of the course that you can choose to write your essay about. Each topic has its own unique set of interdisciplinary perspectives and sources of material. You must select one of the five topics listed below (Scarcity, Taxation, GDP, Economic Growth, and The Labor Force) and one of the available perspectives from an alternative discipline. Then, write a 3-5 page (double spaced) essay answering the reflection question for that topic.

For example:

You may select to write your paper on the topic of Scarcity. Then, choose one of the three alternative perspectives (sociology and political science, ethics and public health, or psychology) and answer the reflection question:

"In our class, scarcity is presented as a fundamental part of the world we live in. Do you believe scarcity is an unavoidable part of life, or a hurdle to be overcome? Use insights from your chosen alternative field and information presented in class to answer the question."

Please be sure to answer the reflection question based on the perspective of only one chosen alternative perspective alongside the material you learned from the point of view of economics during my class. A list of materials (videos, articles, podcasts, etc) is presented to you for each topic and alternative perspective, but you can feel free to include additional materials that you find on your own.

The goal of this assignment is for you to integrate knowledge from multiple academic disciplines into one cohesive essay. A successful essay will not just compare/contrast the different perspectives of a topic within economics and an alternative field of study. Instead, the essay will discuss how the chosen alternative field can contribute to the economic understanding of a topic or idea, how the economic understanding may be preferred in some contexts but limited in others, and how the inclusion of alternative perspectives shapes your understanding of the course material.

Often these reflection questions ask that you express an opinion or belief about a topic we have learned in class. I want to be clear that I am not seeking a "correct" answer to these reflection questions, and I will only be evaluating an essay based on how successfully the knowledge between economics and the chosen alternative perspective are discussed and integrated.

The drop down menus below will help you explore the topics available for writing your essay. There you can find a list and quick summary of the alternative disciplinary perspectives you can write about. Within this quick summary, there is a link you can follow to a webpage dedicated to that specific topic. On this page you will be able to access the necessary materials to write your essay. I encourage you to explore multiple potential topics and perspectives, choosing whichever one you feel the most personally interested in .

I am available to chat about the essay any time in my office hours (www.calendly.com/gardn366) or over email. I am also happy to read early outlines/drafts of the essay. The tentative final due date is March 30th. Turn your essay in via email.