crxsnochic Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 So, I have a 7 page paper due on Tuesday that I haven't even started. I do tend to procrastinate a little, but this is bad, even for me. I just cannot think of a topic. It's for a European Literature/History class. The paper has to present an argument and then be able to support it with examples from in class readings and current literature/magazine/newspapers, etc. The topic has to be able to tie in one of the themes in class to something that is happening in current times or to a widespread current view/belief. If anyone looks at this and has any ideas, please share! I just need something that I can be able to find supporting references for in current sources. Like I can't just say "Many women still feel oppressed in the work place." I have to be able to quote or reference to particular studies or newspaper/magazine articles, etc. Which is why I'm having such a hard time deciding what to write on. Here are the themes in the class: Feminism Advance of Technology and Science Communism Religion in Politics, science, etc. Decline of Catholic Power Romanticism Natural State of Man Reason Divine Right Duties of the City State/ Monarch Industrial Revolution French Revolution World Wars I and II I really need to just pick something and run with it, but as this paper is worth 15% of my total grade in the class, it still needs to be a topic that I can write well on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ithil Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Good luck with your work! As a scientist, I can maybe find some scientific papers for you if you choose this subject. I will be unable to explain many things since my english is so bad :* . But it's really important you pick a subject that you like/find easy to understand. :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crxsnochic Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Yeah, I'm leaning towards the science aspect (science geek here too.. go science! :P) I've been tossing around the idea of making the argument that religion has and will always hinder science. Because the foundations of each are opposite. Religion requires you to accept something on faith alone, without question. Science can advance only with questions, in fact the entire scientific process is based on always questioning and never accepting anything until it can be proven 100 times over. With the current debates on the 'morality' (religious idea) of stem cell research and that it is banned in many countries, I could probably find enough newspaper articles. Only problem with that topic (or any religion topic) is that no matter how politically correct you word it, it's bound to offend someone. And I would hate for that someone to be my professor (cause he grades it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Rose Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I would chose Feminism...but that's because I'm a Social Worker! And there are tons of articles about that, at least in the Social Work field. Good luck with your paper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~*MidnightMoonFiretail*~ Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Even if it's a 10 page essay, I tend to leave it until the very last day, and then I work past midnight. Don't worry, it's not just you, all of us procrastinate, and for your topic, I suggest one that you have the most knowledge on. Or of course, as I would choose, the easiest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ithil Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Yeah, I'm leaning towards the science aspect (science geek here too.. go science! :P) I've been tossing around the idea of making the argument that religion has and will always hinder science. Because the foundations of each are opposite. Religion requires you to accept something on faith alone, without question. Science can advance only with questions, in fact the entire scientific process is based on always questioning and never accepting anything until it can be proven 100 times over. With the current debates on the 'morality' (religious idea) of stem cell research and that it is banned in many countries, I could probably find enough newspaper articles. Only problem with that topic (or any religion topic) is that no matter how politically correct you word it, it's bound to offend someone. And I would hate for that someone to be my professor (cause he grades it!) Yeah, some people don't understand that science and religion are very different. Religion is very personal, and science is about facts and experiments. A good scientist doesn't blend his personal beliefs and his work. But we are not in the debate forum :P If you choose this subject, you can maybe speak also about ethics. Scientists must follow ethic rules (stem-cells like you quote, also about experiments on animals/humans to test new drugs for example), it's morality, but without or less religious aspects. That can be a "soft manner" to introduce the debate. ;) Just a thought. It's up to you to decide of course, whatever the subject you choose. :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I agree with the science vs. religion thing. :yes: It's probably one of the easiest topics out there to find references for. Unless your professor is an idiot, he should grade your paper according to how well it is written and sourced, not according to whether it offends him or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crxsnochic Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Yeah, I'm sticking with the science religion thing. I think I'll end it on the note of that it might not always be a bad thing that religion and ethics limits science (and as the ethics of a people are usually developed based on the predominant religion of those people, that should tie in well.) If science wasn't limited, we might have people getting paid to have abortions in order to obtain embryos, DNA sequencing determining self-worth (think Gattaca), green three-eyed pigs with extra organs used for organ harvesting... (ok, perhaps I'm going a bit over board, but ya never know!) I've got about a page written so far. I think I'm gonna bring up historical references (like how the Inquisition sentenced Galileo to permanent house arrest because of his discoveries) as well as current issues with the hinderances on stem cell research. Oh, and in class today my professor mentioned how his mother was a hard-core Freudian and he was raised as an atheist, so I should be good on that respect. And even though good professors should grade as AA mentioned, sometimes when you offend them I've noticed that they tend to be a bit more particular in their grading. Human flaw I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 A sadly common human flaw... :sad01_anim: Well anyway, good luck getting everything done! (Ugh, I have some work that was technically due yesterday that I haven't finished yet.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crxsnochic Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 Ok, so I wrote an entire paper on the religion vs science, except it was two pages too short and I had already used up all the sources I was allowed. It's not that I couldn't talk about it for two more pages, it was just that I couldn't seem to find all my historical events referenced in one book/article, etc. So I literally had one reference for every event I talked about, not good. So at 7pm last night I changed my topic to feminism. Though I'm female, I don't find that topic especially interesting, but it's easy to find references that cover lots of different aspects of it, so it worked.I finished at 1am and it even turned out pretty good. So, done finally! And if anyones wondering, its not that I don't think sexism is a problem, it is and I've experienced my fair share. I just think women should stop trying to be equal to men. Instead they should try to be better. It's worked pretty well for me, there is nothing quite as beautiful as the look on a sexist jerks face when you're given the promotion instead of him. Domination seems a much better goal! I actually ended my paper on that note, too bad my prof is a male... :P @ AA, good luck on your work. Don't know if your semster is coming to an end right now like mine is, but geez, the end of semester workload is rough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Well my semester isn't quite coming to an end yet, but we're smack bang in the middle of a period where we are getting high-priority assignments from virtually every single subject, so yeah, the workload is through the roof (and most of the layers in the atmosphere as well). <_< And congratulations on getting your paper done. :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy ♥ Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Ok, so I wrote an entire paper on the religion vs science, except it was two pages too short and I had already used up all the sources I was allowed. It's not that I couldn't talk about it for two more pages, it was just that I couldn't seem to find all my historical events referenced in one book/article, etc. So I literally had one reference for every event I talked about, not good. So at 7pm last night I changed my topic to feminism. Though I'm female, I don't find that topic especially interesting, but it's easy to find references that cover lots of different aspects of it, so it worked.I finished at 1am and it even turned out pretty good. So, done finally! And if anyones wondering, its not that I don't think sexism is a problem, it is and I've experienced my fair share. I just think women should stop trying to be equal to men. Instead they should try to be better. It's worked pretty well for me, there is nothing quite as beautiful as the look on a sexist jerks face when you're given the promotion instead of him. Domination seems a much better goal! I actually ended my paper on that note, too bad my prof is a male... :P @ AA, good luck on your work. Don't know if your semster is coming to an end right now like mine is, but geez, the end of semester workload is rough! Haha, that sounds like me! I have a paper due tomorrow thats worth 60% of my final grade and I've changed questions three times now xD And I jumped around a couple of times on which films I was going to write on as well (we had to pick two of the ones we studied). I still have 300 words to write so I suppose I should go back to that now lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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