Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

You will imagine that you are producing a proposal for the Lambacher Global Foundation, an organization that seeks to give seed funding to interesting interdisciplinary research projects that address important themes of global justice and activism.  The proposal allows you to explore a research question of your choosing by outlining (but not writing) a 20 page project.  The paper can be theoretical, empirical, or some combination thereof, but it must strongly relate to the theme of our course – global justice and activism, or some suitable topic pertaining to your IAS major.  A helpful way to begin might be by asking, What is relevant to the problem I’m trying to address?  Who are the actors?  Why is there a problem in the first place?  What should be done about it?  In doing so, you can look at an issue, an idea, or an institution, or set of relationships between stakeholders.  Whatever your approach, don’t be merely descriptive or historical.  Rather, aim for an analytical and reflective approach that culminates in an argument.  In other words, papers should express your own thoughts on the topic, not just what you have found in the writings of others.  Moreover, a good strategy would be to lay out the terrain of debate by emphasizing diverse ways to understand the idea or the issue in question.  Dive into these controversies and articulate the standpoints of diverse perspectives, even if they challenge your own views on the topic.  Whatever your approach, be sure to ultimately take a clear position, present evidence and reasoning to support your views, consider challenges to your argument, and revise your claims in light of counterarguments.  Successful proposals may get funded by the Foundation! 
Students will be able to:
Think and write critically as individuals capable of posing, answering, and reposing a variety of critical questions.
Research effectively as an individual capable of using the resources at UWB effectively and efficiently.
Speak effectively as an individual capable of communicating clearly and engagingly about complicated topics, arguments, and issues.
Collaborate effectively, as both a learner and researcher.


Your proposal will break down the research process by giving students practice in producing the following:
Research question
Title
Abstract
Key words
Introduction (2-3 pages)
Thesis statement
Methods (1-2pages)
Literature Review (3-4 pages)
Outline
Subheadings
Counter-arguments
Elevator pitch practice
Bibliography/Scrapbook

Prospectus
Please write a (1) page prospectus that includes the following:
A clearly articulated and succinct research question.
A statement on why it is an interesting and relevant topic
A statement on why it fits under the rubric of “global justice & activism” (if relevant to your project)
A description of methodology (i.e. how you will answer your question)
A list of (5) sources, (3) of which are academic in nature.
The prospectus is intended to be a starting point for dialogue about the project.  It is also intended to get you started on the project sooner rather than later.  Please know that the project can change and evolve as needed as the research develops.  Consider this an open-source living document that will serve as a good platform for the excellent research prep you will do this quarter!
Research Scrapbook
After you have chosen the topic for your research proposal, you will keep a scrapbook of artifacts that pertain to the project.  The Scrapbook is intended to help you think creatively about your project and you are encouraged, like good students doing interdisciplinary work, to consider a wide range of sources that help you put together a research project.  Books, articles, films, websites, art projects, interviews, and other content will be archived in this Scrapbook throughout the quarter.  Think of it as an interdisciplinary annotated bibliography.  How to do it?
One page / week
Three sources / week
Include 2-3 sentence description of each source indicating:
What it is, why it matters, and how it connects to your project

Scaffolding of project due dates in November.  Details TBA.