Day Two Assessment: Working Hard & Having Fun! Happy 4th of July to Everyone!

Today's session began with a discussion of what happened in the article groups. Everyone was very active in the discussion and as a result, the students were impressive with their critical analysis of the topic. Our focus became a study on the obligations states have towards their citizens. More specifically, we analyzed how theories on the social contract, were applicable to the topic. John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean Jacques Rousseau were the main social contract theorists we used. Locke argued for life, liberty and property, while Hobbes argued for ensuring the state maintained its power. Rousseau took a considerably more individualistic approach which Gary made sure to explain to the lab. When going over contemporary theorists worth exploring, Brandon made a particularly useful contribution in mentioning Kramer and Tushnet. Also, by reminding us about Nozick's theory of the minimalist state, Nauman took the lab in the direction of exploring a libertarian's approach to the topic. This gave us an entirely new perspective from which to analyze the topic! Great job guys! That sort of sums up the lab session as it was a bit shorter today. In case you forgot its 4^th of July! We celebrated! The entire camp indulged in an ice cream social in place of lab which was closely followed by a movie night. Good fun for everyone!