I. CHOOSING A TOPIC FOR ESSAY 8

 choosing a topic

The prompt for Essay 8 specifies that you must "write a paper based on research related to a specific aspect of the global exchange of ideas, persons, or products across national borders that takes place, or has taken place here in Southern California, in Orange County, or at UCI."

While the assignment clearly delineates thematic and regional boundaries for you to follow, it also gives you a lot of leeway in choosing the material that you will research.  Your section leader will help you as you search for a good research topic; you can also review the list of POSSIBLE RESEARCH AREAS FOR ESSAY 8 for ideas about subject areas, and specific topics.

There are several important factors to consider when choosing a research topic for this assignment.  The most important one is to CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT INTERESTS YOU.  Doing academic research is a time-consuming and demanding process, so it is invaluable to have a topic that you find compelling -- one that you actuallywant to learn about in-depth.  

There are a number of reasons why a topic might interest you:  

1.  The topic relates to your major or coursework at UCI.

2.  You may have a personal stake in the topic -- for example, you can research and write about  your family's background and history.  This is especially applicable to the assignment for Essay 8.  You might have primary source documents in your family home, or oral histories worth collecting.

3.  It affects your community in some way, or it speaks to your institutional or group identities.

4.  It relates to themes and issues raised in Humanities Core Course throughout the year that you would like to explore further.

5.  Your simply find it entertaining and fun to study.  

Whatever the case, choosing a topic that you find personally interesting will make your research project a much more enjoyable experience, and most likely will lead to a stronger final essay.

After choosing a possible topic, the next step is to think about KEYWORDS -- specific words that relate to your topic.  A good list of keywords is extremely helpful in finding both primary and secondary sources.

For example, if you are interested in Vietnamese refugees who relocated to Orange County, you can come up with a battery of words that connect to this topic.  The most obvious ones, of course, are “Vietnamese” and "refugees.”  However, there are a number of other keywords that also come to mind: “emigration,” “immigration,” “Asian Americans,” “Southeast Asians,” "history," and "Orange County," to list a few.

In addition to helping you think about a specific topic in broader terms, brainstorming keywords can also aid you in narrowing your focus.  If you are interested in an area like art or health, writing a list of possible keywords can get you to pinpoint the topic within that area that you want to research.  

Aspects to consider in narrowing topics:
consumption, production, transportation, delivery, outlets
imports and exports
economics, labor
intersections with national origins, ethnicity, race, class, gender, sexuality
intersections of public and private spheres, government and social/family
cooperation and competition
history, development, evolution, change, current conditions or at a particular moment
regulation, protection, promotion

General Types of Exchanges:
culture/beliefs/practices
bodies, people, labor, families
goods, services, labor
ideas,
money, wealth
power, influence

Subject Areas:
Food—restaurants, fast food, markets, supermarkets, alcohol
Dance—troops, productions, spaces, social, clubs, types,
Literature—groups, movements, individual authors/poets etc, books stores, magazines, specific books
Art—spaces, artists, museums, galleries, studios, fine/commercial, murals, pieces of art
Music—halls, clubs, groups, musicians, concerts,
Film—makers, films, industry, organizations, theaters
Theater—theaters, industry
Entertainment—games, sports spectator and participation, clubs, bars, venues, scenes, teams, marathons, events, tourism, advertisement and promotion, illegal/legal, toys, trends, fundraising
Spaces—architecture, buildings, neighborhoods, districts, parks, rivers, beaches, monuments, issues of protection, development, access
Schools, Colleges,Universities—access, integration, curriculum, funding, leaders, legal cases, individuals, public, private, continuation,        roles
Religion—churches, temples, etc., intersections of cultures, languages, missionaries, as institutions with other functions
Communities—identity, organization, social roles, GLBTS, immigrant
Family—alternative structures, roles, regulation, legal issues, marriage, children’s issues
Politics/government—trade, labor, immigration, transportation, access, schools, funding, policies, grassroots, regulation, social welfare programs, aid, health, healthcare, local and global (wars, disasters, booms, polices, etc.), referendums, amendments, marriage
Health—public, healthcare, accesses, fads, diet, epidemics, regulation, trends, demographics, providers, insurance, workers,
Crime—international, local, justice system, prevention, police, race, gangs
Entrepreneurs, Inventors, Businesses, Companies, Organizations, Non-profits
Labor—movements, unions, organizations, strikes, exploitation, legislation, regulation, sex workers
Immigration—patterns, regulations, and family, legal, illegal

For good advice about how to come up with keywords and how to use them when searching for sources, see:

• "Developing Electronic Research Strategies" in the Writer's Handbook
  
• Discovery Task 6, which gives you practice in finding LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS [LCSH]

  conceptualizing your topic

Even at this early stage, it is important to come up with a provisional THESIS, or major argument about your topic.  Keep in mind that your paper must present an INTERPRETATION about the person, object, artifact, document, form of discourse, organization, community building, or environment you choose.  Simple description or reportage is inadequate: a paper that only "tells the story" of the topic, no matter how well-written and -documented, will not receive a passing grade.

More than likely, the thesis you generate at the outset will look a lot different than the one you present in your final paper. Think of this early thesis as a working hypothesis that will guide your research.

Here are some useful questions to consider.  Your answers can serve as the basis for your provisional thesis:

      WHY do you want to study your topic?  

   What questions do you hope to answer?

   Why is this specific topic worth examining, and why do you think other people should be aware of it?

  What relation does this topic have to the larger themes under consideration by the Core Course lecturers this Spring (and the rest of the year)?

  Who are the experts on this topic?  What issues and questions do these experts argue about regarding the topic?  Where, at least initially, do you stand in this intellectual debate?

  Could you become an expert by the end of this quarter, if the topic were focused enough?

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 This page maintained by Jon Mochizuki.  Please send comments, suggestions and corrections to jamochiz@uci.edu