1. Read Corey Robin’s The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump (*2nd edition*) (Oxford 2018)and write a critical review essay of between 850 and 1500 words. Essays should connect (compare/contrast) the ideas and arguments presented in this book to the arguments made by other assigned thinkers in the course (at least one thinker must be an author of an assigned reading, not just one mentioned in lecture or included in the additional reading).
2. First, very briefly summarize the reading. Prove to me that you actually read and understood the additional reading you chose (roughly 1/3 of the paper). You may also listen to the two lectures on conservatism previously recorded from the past semester I taught this course that are available to you through our course Canvas page. Please make sure you cite the lecture according to the discussion post guidelines if you use it for your paper (meaning you must include the title of the specific slide being referenced in your in-text citations). Please note, lecture cannot be used as a replacement for your reading of the book. Lecture should be used as a supplementary source only.
3. Second, critically analyze the reading: connect The Reactionary Mind to another reading or topic from class and you may also, additionally, connect the ideas you’re discussing in the paper to something going on in contemporary politics or something from your personal life. Use what you read to go beyond what you read (roughly 2/3 of the paper).
