Assignment
A research proposal provides a description of your plans for the PowerPoint Research Presentation at the end of the quarter. It is more like a plan of action/ roadmap. You can present on virtually anything related to "Politics of the Middle East." The proposal itself is ONE page in length, plus a bibliography of at least 8-10 books and/or articles (peer-reviewed) that you plan to consult for this research.
• Research Presentation Proposal should detail the research presentation that you will be delivering at end of the quarter (the question you are asking, and the research you would like to conduct). This is important as I can evaluate whether your presentation is realistic in its scope and can actually be done in a few weeks time. You also need to turn in a bibliography of sources you will be using as well (8-10 peer-reviewed articles/books).
• (Unlimited Topics to Explore: Iraq war, women/gender in the Middle East, Youth in Gaza, Orientalist tendencies in media, the Six-Day War, Palestinian Refugees, Arab Nationalism, Israeli Occupation, Art as a form of resistance in Palestine, Arab Revolts, Iranian Revolution, the Hostage Crisis, Nakba, Political Islam, role of oil in state structures, causes for lack of democracy in Middle East, Human Rights in the Middle East....etc). Be creative! What sparks your interest?
Helpful Hints:
Generally a good research proposal has specific characteristics. It addresses a particular puzzle or research question.
Some of these characteristics are:
1. Research Puzzle: what is the central issue to study and why it is theoretically important? Clearly state all of your questions clearly (questions should be related, but there needs to be ONE major question).
2. Literature Review: What does the existing scholarly literature say about the issue you are interested in studying? Why do you think your research is uniaue/imoortant?
Helpful Hints:
Generally a good research proposal has specific characteristics. It addresses a particular puzzle or research question.
Some of these characteristics are:
1. Research Puzzle: what is the central issue to study and why it is theoretically important? Clearly state all of your questions clearly (questions should be related, but there needs to be ONE major question).
2. Literature Review: What does the existing scholarly literature say about the issue you are interested in studying? Why do you think your research is unique/important?
3. Research design: research strategy, hypothesis, data collection if any, how would you analyze and interpret data (which can be quantitative, qualitative)?
4. Research contributions: What new insights do you expect to provide? And what are the implications for future research?
5. A bibliography of books, scholarly (Peer-Reviewed Journal) articles you plan to explore and consult for the purposes of this research. (This needs to be in a separate page).
NOTE: In a sense, the research proposal allows you to tell me what you plan to present, early. It forces you to start thinking earlier than the week of your presentation, about your research presentation! I will give you minimal feedback as to whether your proposal has a reasonable scope or not, and whether you can finish it or not and will suggest revisions if it's not a doable project. It's a moment for your to get my OK before delving into something that may be a little too hard to accomplish.