Remember: A good topic for this paper is one that could be plausibly argued for either side. If only a crazy person would disagree with you ... what kind of an argument do you have to make?
Part I: Sharing Topics
Your first task for the argumentative research paper – due at the end of the day on Thursday, November 8th – is not for yourself. Rather, it is a gift to your classmates.
Your assignment is to post two high-quality possible research topics to the class blog to help your peers brainstorm some new ideas. These topics are going to be fair game for anyone to pursue, so you might not want to post a topic that you are really excited about researching yourself.
In brainstorming areas of interest, consider issues that have already come up in class – problems that you and your classmates identified in the “Mission Possible” essays, questions that came up in the literacy narratives, debates held over 40 Model Essays. Think about your other courses. While you should not recyle a research topic from another class, there might be other questions raised by your studies that you’d like to explore in more depth (please clear any overlap with me in advance).
Then browse headlines and major publications. Skim quality sources – use this as an opportunity to check out some new, great rhetoric in contemporary nonfiction (see suggestions below). Consider electronic databases available through the Media Center and the public library, and visit either or both in person to browse through back issues of magazines (the reading room at Robbins is the more gorgeous thing in town, in my opinion).
For each topic, post the following:
- A short title, for ease of browsing.
- Identify the topic in the form of a synthesis essay question: “Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that . . . ”
- Then include a potential source to accompany this topic – something you saw in browsing the many available resources. Give the full citation information: title, author, publication, date, URL, etc. Then write a one sentence summary of what the article appears to be about (read the first page and skim the rest quickly).
Part II: Selecting & Refining Topics
As you consider which topic you would like to work with, keep in mind that a good topic meets the following criteria:
- It’s interesting to you. You’ll be working with this issue for the next two months. The more that it evolves out of a natural and genuine curiosity, the more enjoyable and satisfying the research and writing will be.
- You will be able to find reliable and authoritative print sources. Try a subject search on the Minuteman Library Network; you’ll soon find out if there are resources available on your subject.
- The scope is appropriate. The topic should be focused enough to be handled in considerable depth in 12-15 pages.
Be sure that you’ve identified a topic of appropriate scope – not too broad, not too narrow. If there are a few possibilities you are considering within a certain topic area, that’s fine too; name more than one. You don’t need to know which side you’ll be arguing at this point, since that’s what the research is for. You just need to establish that there’s a debate worth joining.
Resources to Consider
A) Databases in the Media Center
You may need passwords to access these; get a password slip from the Media Center to keep at home.
Opposing Viewpoints
Articles and papers presenting both sides of controversial social and political issues. Great place to go for early brainstorming. Do be cautious about dated or overly broad topics. Count this database as one source in your arithmetic.
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/arlinghs
Social Issues Resource Series
Full-text articles on social, political, health, mental health, historical, and scientific issues, including special current issues information.
http://ars.sirs.com/
Newsbank/Infotrac Databases
Magazine and newspaper databases.
http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/electronic/arl1.htm
Minuteman Regional Library Database
I adore this database. You can access the historic New York Times, dating back to forever ago (or 1851, which is close). And the Boston Globe, and other great stuff. Does require a public library card, or the passcode from the Media Center.
http://mmrls.org/homeaccess.html
B) A Few Recommended Periodicals
Not only do these magazines have great information, the prose is usually stellar as well.
The Atlantic Online
http://www.theatlantic.com/
The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/
Harper’s
http://www.harpers.org/
The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/
National Review
http://www.nationalreview.com/
FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
http://www.fair.org/index.php
The New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/">
The New York Times Magazine
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
C) Miscellaneous
Other helpful resources to consider.
Supreme Court Decisions
Browse Supreme Court opinions by topic and use the full text of the opinions as a possible source.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
Note: If you come across any great resources as you work, include them in your post to share with the rest of us!
20 comments:
Sample Post:
The first one I did for homework tonight; the second is from a student in last year's AP class. You only need to identify one source, but if more come to mind feel free to be generous!
Global Library
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that the development of a digitized, global digitized library will make traditional libraries obsolete.
Source: “Future Reading: Dreams of a Universal Library” by Anthony Grafton in The New Yorker, Nov. 5, 2007, p. 50.
In this article, Grafton discusses the possibility of a single “comprehensive index of all the books in the world” (that’s Google’s aim), the benefits such a democratic availability of knowledge would bring, as well as some of the drawbacks of moving away from real books. I also noticed an article in The New York Times maybe last week about major libraries being resistant to letting Google and other services scan their holdings; I didn’t read it but I’m dying to know why!
Minimum Wage Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that raising the federal minimum wage from $5.15 would hurt the economy and drive away jobs.
“States Take Lead in Push to Raise Minimum Wages” by John M. Broder in The New York Times (Jan. 2, 2006).
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/02/national/02wage.html?ei=5088&en=eeaeec91bd31eaff&ex=1293858000&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1162857696-RAJhY6fQGqYUXTgsJqBHLA
This article provides some brief context on the issue of raising the minimum wage and describes how individual states have tackled the issue without federal legislation.
“A Moral Minimum Wage” by Peter Dreier in The Nation (Dec. 2004). http://www.thenation.com/doc/20041220/dreier.
This article is more opinionated than the first; it tackles the ethics of raising the minimum wage. It’s also a few years old so watch out for dated information.
Give Public Access a Chance
• Defend or challenge the American C.I.A.’s treatment of suspected terrorists after the events that occurred on 9/11 and be sure to identify any specific actions that have occurred differently since 9/11.
• Support or challenge the notion of non-western or traditional medicines and their effects and effectivenesses on local cultures.
On a related note, I got the ideas for both of these topics from watching PBS the other night. If these ideas do not interest you or you are having trouble coming up with topics, I suggest that you check out some other PBS programs (NOVA, Scientific American Frontiers, or anything that looks appealing) to broaden your horizon. You could also check out the PBS website (www.pbs.org) for a whole database of ideas.
I Hope this helps! – Aaron
Cuban Embargo
Defend, challenge or qualify the embargo currently held on Cuba by the United States.
The embargo on Cuba, which began as a response to the Cuban Missle Crisis, is an attempt by th U.S. to ecenomically cripple this country. This event, which took place nearly 40 years ago, is hardly relevant in todays society. The most obvious reason for the continuation of this embargo is to force democracy onto Cuba. Is this embargo still relevant and neccesary for the U.S.?
source : http://leler.com/cuba/embargo.html
Net Nutrality
Defend, challenge, or qualify the negeative effects of internet privitization on current internet freedoms. There is so much debate about this topic, and so much information easily avaliable. It is also a very large issue for those of us who care to continue using this very blog. Would privitization of serice pipelines have detremental effects on internet freedom?
Sources: http://www.savetheinternet.com/
and of course, the famous YouTube video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cWt0XUocViE
Hope this is helpful, J-Bigsy
Here are two possible topics:
Affirmative Action
Does affirmative action further the goal of racial equality, or, by favoring one race over another, does it only serve to perpetuate racism in America?
Source: Hill, Anita. "The Affirmitive Action Provocateur." The Boston Globe 5 Nov. 2007: A15.
This article actually deals mostly with the role that affirmative action will play in the 2008 presidential election. The article interested me because it seemed to assume that all democrats support affirmative action. Most democrats do support affirmative action but some feel the idea is flawed. I think a paper about this topic would be interesting but also very provocative.
Gender Divided Classrooms
Are gender divided classrooms a good idea? Are the biological differences between males and females substantial enough to override the benefits of having the two sexes work together academically?
Source: Glaeser, Edward. "Violence, Learning, and the Gender Divide." The Boston Globe 2 Nov. 2007: A17.
Recently there have been groups of people advocating separate classrooms for the genders. They feel that males and females learn in different ways and that separate classrooms would allow teachers to teach more effectively. I think this topic would be great because it is very relevant to the students at AHS and elsewhere in the United States.
-Galen
1. Defend, support, or qualify the statement that the United States Government should outlaw or restrict the practices of the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints.
This article in Time magazine mostly focuses on a rape case, but it addresses several issues that the government and some religious groups are battling over or have disagreements over. Essentially there’s the debate over religious beliefs versus attempts to protect citizens from such practices as child marriages (which potentially leads to rape). There’s the conflict of freedom of religion versus the law against polygamy, suspicions of child abuse, the pressure on members of the religious community to obey their prophets’ laws or be kicked out, legal aspects of polygamy (since the law doesn’t recognize the marriages, multiple wives are treated as single mothers and get legal benefits), etc.
2.The article is “The Polygamy Paradox” by Nancy Gibbs, on page 48 of Times, Volume 170, number 14 from year 2007.
Defend, support, or qualify the statement that early college recruitment stifles teenagers’ development.
This article was about how college coaches were recruiting kids around middle-school age to their teams. There’s a debate about whether this is good for the kids – who doesn’t want to be offered a scholarship?- or if it limits kids’ options in discovering other interest, etc.
The articled is from Times, volume 170 number 15, year 2007. The article is on page 57 and is “Courting Eight-Graders” by Sean Gregory.
-jule
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that international companies should comply with authoritarian governments.
Source:
Werner, Erica. "Yahoo Executives Defend Role in Arrest". http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_YAHOO?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-11-06-03-52-59
The specific article I found deals with Yahoo's role in the jailing of a Chinese journalist who opposed the Chinese government. Expressing anti-government sentiments isn't a crime in the U.S., but it is in China. This raises the broader question of whether or not companies that have dealings in countries with authoritarian governments can morally justify complying with those governments in situations like this.
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that the U.S. government has the right to run a warrantless wiretapping program for national security.
Source: Boles, Corey. "Senate Panel To Delay Vote On Telecom Immunity Issue". http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200711071756DOWJONESDJONLINE001075_FORTUNE5.htm
This article deals with the telecoms that were involved in the U.S. government's wiretapping program following September 11th. The program has been called unconstitutional by many and widely opposed for its alleged privacy infringements. Is such a program justified in order to locate terror suspects?
Oops. That last comment was from Daniel N.
Foreign Aid
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that the United States should stop sending foreign aid to nations.
Source:
Pro Foreign Aid
http://www.usaid.gov/fani/
This link is a government sponsored
site with six chapters worth of information on the highlights of foreign aid and why the United States should continue aiding other nations.
Against Foreign Aid
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0309q.asp
This link provides an article with the moral, political, and economical reasons against sending aid to nations. The article sites some more links that are rather interesting. I did not look at any of them, but from the titles they looked like feasible sources.
African Situation
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that European powers, and other nations have a moral obligation to aid African nations because of their prior involvement in Africa.
Source: http://www.africaaction.org/campaign_new/debt.php
This site has some campaigns for canceling the accumulated debt of Africa. Looking at the argument there is not one solid source I could find that completely supports the statement. However, multiple sources citing the conditions and previous actions of other nations in Africa would probably be more conducive to supporting the argument.
-Steph
Westernizing Indigenous Tribes
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that advanced civilizations such as the United States should bring their technology and recourses to indigenous tribes that have not been previously disturbed in order to save lives and make their lives easier.
Roach, John. "Amazon Tribes: Isolated by Choice? ." National Geographic News 10 Mar 2003 1-2. 06 Nov 2007 < http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0310_030310_invisible1.html >.
This article is from 2003 but I think it is still a relevant article. It discusses the Amazon Tribes’ choice to be isolated from Western Civilization. The article describes how people know that these indigenous people are in certain areas and argues that the tribes should be protected from loggers and others infringing on their land. Although it does take the side that the outside world should leave these people alone, it provides some good facts for both sides and also some names of organizations formed to protect the isolation of these groups. I think this article would be useful in providing information that one could research further in other places.
Also my mom said there is an article in a recent New Yorker (Colapinto, John. "The Interpreter." The New Yorker 16 Apr 2007: 118-137.) that talks about the language of an Amazon Tribe that does not follow the rules of linguistics of any other languages known today. They are very resistant to any outside communication as well. This article is a sort-of side path to the argument suggested above but I think this could be very relevant to our course this year.
Banning Plastic Surgery
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim plastic surgery should be banned from the United States.
Yu, Jessica. "Ban lifted on silicon breast implants." The Stanford Daily 21 Apr 2005 1. 06 Nov 2007 < http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/4/21/banLiftedOnSiliconBreastImplants >.
This article from the Stanford University newspaper provides a qualified look at Breast Implants. Although there are many types of plastic surgery this type seems to be focused on quite a bit in other publications as well. As a whole, the author is distressed by the amount of young people who are getting breast implants because they think it will enhance their figure but the author also acknowledges that sometimes breast implants are necessary for women who have had surgical procedures. It has some good facts and examples and is a nice overview of the arguments for and against breast enhancement so if you were considering this topic you could start by looking here for one type of plastic surgery and keep searching for a few other types as well.
-Zoe
V-22 Osprey
Defend or quantify the claim that the V-22 osprey aircraft is a engineering marvel or a military failure (will it revolutionize military operations, or is it flying death-trap?)
Source: "Flying Shame" by Mark Thompson from Time, Vol 170, No. 15 (Oct. 8, 2007) p.34
This article explores the controversial development of the V-22 osprey, detailing all the compromised features and liabilities. It's rather biased, but Google will find you pro-Osprey results as well.
Politics with the 2008 Olympics
Defend, challenge, or qualify the statement that the 2008 Olympic Games are an appropriate venue for pressuring China towards political reforms.
Source: "China Comes Out to Play" by Simon Elegant from Time magazine, Vol 170, No. 14 (Oct. 1, 2007) p. 38
This article discusses how China hopes to use the Olympic games to showcase its entry as a major player on the world stage, but many protest groups seek to use the games for political pressure to force China towards reforms, including but not limited to freeing Tibet.
The FEMA and New Orleans�s Slow Recovery
Defend, challenge, or qualify the FEMA�s (Federal Emergency Management Agency) reasoning for a slow rebuilding process.
Source:
Eaton, Leslie. "Critics Cite Red Tape in Rebuilding of Louisiana Public Works." The New York Times (Tuesday, November 6, 2007): A18.
This article looks at and investigates why the FEMA is prolonging New Orleans�s recovery, and its effects. The article states that although �the federal government has agreed to pay $2.3 billion so far for rebuilding Louisiana public works�only $650 million-28 percent- of that money has been spent.� The reasoning behind the slow pace is due to the antagonism between state and federal officials, and the difficulty some local leaders have had deciding exactly what to rebuild and where and how. Critics have also blamed the �public assistance� program, which forces the process to be dragged out over a long period to prevent flaws, and to ensure that money is being wisely spent. The article questions the morality of a money beneficial system even when more than half of Louisiana is still destroyed.
A Crisis in New England�s Marine Economy
Defend, challenge, or qualify New England�s fishing methods and their economical and/or environmental impacts.
Source:
Baker, Peter, and Ray Kane. "Small Fish in Big Trouble." The Boston Globe (Tuesday, November 6, 2007): A13.
This article explicitly examines the effect of New England�s industrious ships (mid-water trawlers) on herring. Herring are small fish that play a monumental role in the marine food web, and these industrial ships are taking enormous amounts of the fish. The result is that the herring begin to leave the area, and other marine creatures like dolphin, whales, tuna, est., are beginning to starve. The ships� nets are huge and destroy everything in their path, killing even more dolphins, whales, and seals. The article also reflects on how the ships have severely affected the region�s traditional fishing businesses.
-Alisha
#1
New York Diabetes Test Result Directory
Defend, qualify, or oppose New York’s mandate that diabetes patients must send their test results to a database for monitoring by the Public Health Bureau.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15939543
If you follow the link you can listen to a great report that covers both sides of the issue, that I listened to a few days ago. It’s an interesting controversy, should the state be allowed to do this, does it violate patient privacy. Or is it informing people who did not already get tested often enough, or have enough money to get to the doctor?
#2
Striped Bass Gamefish Status
Defend, qualify, or oppose the current movement to make Striped Bass a gamefish.
http://www.easthamptonstar.com/DNN/Default.aspx?tabid=3946 (opposing)
http://www.stripersforever.org/Info/Stripers_Research/ (for)
Gamefish status would make the stripers not legal for commercial sale. Basically it’s recreational vs. commercial fishing. Very hard to come to a conclusion about this subject, really intriguing. Tons of information out there, just be careful of “bush’s executive order”, because it really accomplished nothing, just a symbolic gesture, and of course I think he overstepped the presidential boundary. But that’s a different topic.
If you choose one of my topics you will make me very happy.
_TIMr
Should birth control be provided for middle school girls at school?
Defend, challenge, or qualify the decision of one school to make birth control available to girls starting sixth grade?
This article states what started this program, talks about the vote, and what could possibly change the lives of young girls in Maine. Does providing birth control to pre-teens make girls more likely to have sex at a young age, or does it discourage it?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/18/middleschool.contraception.ap/
Banning Affection
Recently, in many schools, affection has been banned and can even lead to punishment. Is this ban appropriate or will this lack of contact in students lead to problems in later life?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19293872/#storyContinued
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_on_fe_st/odd_detention_for_hugging_2
-michelle
Genius Dropouts
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that American school systems are not encouraging their brightest students.
Source: “Failing our Geniuses,” by John Cloud from Time, Vol 170, No. 9 (August 27, 2007) pg.40
This article is basically defending the above statement…the article looks at the stories of a few young American geniuses and their issues with the school systems. The article explains that the very gifted are often not challenged enough in school, which makes them uninterested in school. Also, the article mentions that children with IQs of over 160 are often socially isolated because their thoughts are too complex for children their own age, and they consequently have very bad experiences in school. It also explains that people in the school systems just assume that the smart kids will figure out what to do because they are so smart, but that is much more difficult than it appears.
Supermouse?
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that genetically enhancing tests on mice will affect humans in a positive way.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7070000/newsid_7075400/7075429.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1
The above video clip talks about researches who have successfully genetically enhanced approximately 500 mice and in testing they discovered that these “super mice” were able to run 5-6 kilometers at a time. The issue is whether the experiments that went on with the mice will be translated to humans and that brings up the possibility of genetically enhanced humans, which can either be positive or negative—pretty controversial.
-Susannah
Defend, challenge, or qualify cloning and if we should be learning how to clone organisms or organs or cells in general. What are the possible outcomes?
Defend, Challend or qualify stem cell research and the moral issues behind it.
#1. Is Deafness an Impairment?
Defend, challenge, or qualify the statement that people that are born deaf should not receive a "bionic ear" to help them hear before they are old enough to have a say.
Source: I got this from the Psychology textbook- "Psychology: 7th edition" by David G. Myers, page 217.
Cochlear implants are "bionic ears" that have the potential to restore deaf children's hearing, however there is great controversy over whether children should be given the implants before they are old enough to have a stance. Advocates for Deaf Culture say that deafness is not a disability because Sign Language is a language comparable to any other language and so does not inhibit communication with others.
#2. The Direction of the Music Industry
Defend, qualify, or challenge the claim that increases in technology in the music industry are beneficial to modern artists.
Source: p. 113 in the Rolling Stone, November 15, 2007 issue. An interview with Dave Matthews, by Anthony DeCurtis
There are actually several interviews in this issue of the magazine that give varying pros and cons to the direction of the music industry- for example, Dave Matthews describes the convience of being able to create and release a song on iTunes in one day. However, rapper David Banner points out that with so many people constantly making small breaks over the internet, it's going to be much harder for any major breaks to happen.
-Emily
Zero-Tolerance policies
Defend, challenge, or qualify the idea that zero tolerance policies are fair and practical in schools for children of all ages.
Source: http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/zerotolreport.html
This article adequately describes what the policy is and gives many examples of how it had been used against students. While the article highlights the harshness of the policy in some instances, it also provides alternatives to the rule and mentions statistics about how school violence has decreased since many schools adopted the policy. I think both sides of the issue could be argued and this is a good place to start.
Right to the North Pole
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claims of many northern countries that they have more rights than are being recognized by the world to land and water passages in the North Pole.
Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1663848,00.html
I read the above article last month and found it to be very informative on the current standings of many countries regarding the North Pole, including Russia, Canada, Denmark, and the U.S. It would also be helpful to go to the Time Magazine website and search the words “north pole” to be shown many related and useful articles. In addition, you would probably be able to find much more information from other sources.
-henrietta
Abortion
Defend, challenge or qualify the Supreme Court decision to make abortion legal in the US.
Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision." Women's History. 2007. About. 7 Nov 2007 http://womenshistory.about.com/od/abortionuslegal/p/roe_v_wade.htm
This article talks about the 1973 Supreme Court decision to make abortion legal in the US. Although the case itself was a long time ago, the issue is still relevant today. Many people believe that abortion is murder, and should not be legal. Others believe that abortion saves pregnant women's lives and can save the baby from having a difficult life. The article also has many links to other sites discussing abortion.
Women in Military
Defend, challenge or qualify the idea that women should be allowed to fight in the military with equal responsibilities and environments as men.
Schmitt, Eric. "Role of Women in Military Is Again Bringing Debate." Books. 1996. NY Times. 7 Nov 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/15/reviews/military-role.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
This article explains how some women have been mistreated and assaulted by their drill sergeants and fellow soldiers simply because they are women. Because of these incidents, many people believe that women should not be allowed in the military, or should at least be more separated from the men. The argument against this logic is that the women are being mistreated because the men think of them as unequal, and the only way to change this is to make the women more equal to the men in the military.
-Eliza
Sabotage for Environmental Protection
Defend, challenge, or qualify the right of sabotage for the purposes of protecting the environment.
Source: Khatchadourian, Raffi. "Neptune's Navy." The New Yorker, 5 Nov 2007: 58-72.
This article is about a man, Paul Watson, who is part of a vigilante organization, designed to save the oceans from "the destructive habits and the voracious appetites of humankind." This article basically describes this man's crusade against all the damage happening to the oceans. The issue that this article raises is whether or not it is acceptable to oppose authority (even if it means damaging property and violating customs) if it means protection of the environment.
Questioning the Value of Religion
Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that religion (in general) does more harm than it does good.
Source: Gottlieb, Anthony. "Atheists With Attitude." The New Yorker 21 May 2007: 77-80.
This article is a collective review of several books which question religion. These books basically come to the conclusion that general religion does more damage than it does good. I know this topic is much more controversial than the last one but I think it could be very interesting to research all the same, and it could really go both ways, for there are countless examples defending/challenging each side to this argument.
-Dan F.
The War in Iraq and Oil
1. Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that the oil reserves in Iraq played an important role in the war with Iraq.
"Benchmark Boogie: A Guide to the Struggle Over Iraq's Oil"
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/56672/?page=1
This article is about how the War in Iraq served as a base to enter Iraq and take advantage of the oil there. There is also a lot of information about the Congress' reaction and the Bush administration's attempt to pass a law that lets U.S. benefit from the oil.
http://www.thebushagenda.net/
This website has the information and background to the petrolium status in Iraq before and during the war.
2. Defend, challenge, or qualify the claim that euthanasia should not be allowed in the U.S.
"Whose Right to Die?"
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199703/euthanasia
This is a really well-written article against the idea of euthanasia. The article informs the audience about what euthanasia is and addresses opposing points.
Hopefully, these will help you if you're stuck.
~Mary
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