Here is my FYE podcast about an event I attended on campus.

Tentative thesis
Wealth inequality effects our economy, our people, and our justice system causing so many different problems each year which is why it is the biggest problem of the 21st century.
• Scope and Value- I want to examine the effects the wealth inequality has not only on our economy but how this affects other demographic scenarios. Wealth inequality is a huge problem in today’s society and has been for a very long time. The unequal distribution of our money has caused not only problems relating to the poverty rate but I believe that much more damage has come from this issue. One of the reasons I believe that the wealth inequality is becoming larger and larger every day is due to the fact that people do not know enough about the subject. People seem to be very uneducated on this subject because it is not stressed enough in the society we live in. In an article I found about wealth inequality, Zaid Jilani does a great job interpreting what people know about this problem. “People’s idea of what they believe is the wealth difference is extremely different then what the difference actually is. In a study conducted over several months, most people believed the top twenty percent of Americans own about sixty percent of the wealth, while the middle forty percent owns about thirty percent, and then the last forty owns about ten percent of the wealth. But the actual wealth distribution is even worse than this. The top twenty percent owns about eighty percent, while the middle forty owns about eighteen percent, and the last forty owns about two percent.”2 People know that there clearly is a gap between the rich and the poor but do they know how big this gap is and why this gap is so big. This is a problem because the overall effect it has on our society. A society where, as studies show, people resort to crime only if the potential benefits of the crime outweigh the cost or consequences of committing that crime.1 Although the issue of wealth inequality has stretched all over the globe, I want to examine, more specifically, the result this has had on different neighborhoods throughout the United States of America. I believe that the United States has been greatly affected by this problem and something needs to be done about it. America is home to some of the richest people and some of the poorest and I think this will show the different results that the wealth inequality can cause. I believe focusing on some of the major cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York, could prove to be beneficial.
I researched the results that show that wealth inequality in the United States has become a serious issue and many questions arose. One question that I have is how these results directly relate to how people living in poverty are effected? I believe the issue of wealth inequality directly relates to certain issues involving the overall crime rate. This is extremely concerning to most because we are causing unwanted problems in our society because of how big the wealth inequality has become. But why should people want to change the society that has proved to be somewhat successful so far as in developing our country? We have created a strong system that seems to be okay with some in the sense that if you work hard you will succeed so why change? What went wrong with the idea of the American dream? I believe that this idea of the “American dream” has actually changed to the “American myth.” In a society where the wealth distribution is so large, it is nearly impossible for all Americans to chase this dream. What would a society be like with an “ideal” system that creates, not an even, but a mild to moderate slope on the wealth inequality scale?
• Originality- The issue involving wealth inequality has been studied since the days of Karl Marx and even before but from the sources that I have previously looked they all seem to focus on how the economy is affected. Whether that is talking about how many people live in poverty, or how this has affected the economy, or just the overall statistics of wealth inequality.. The articles would go on to talk about the everyday life of the people who were affected negatively or positively from our system. In my paper I want to focus more on the people who are affected negatively, their thoughts about the system, their lives, and also how this has affected the neighborhoods that they are forced to live in because of their income. I want to research, in depth, the different lives that these people in poverty live in comparison to the wealthy. How one group is able to live the way they want to live and achieve the “American Dream” while as for some they are stuck in a never ending battle with poverty.
• Practicality- After doing an extensive amount of research on this topic already, I believe that there will be enough information on my subject. There are many different books, databases, and articles that relate to my topic which I will be able to use. I am also in the process of looking for more primary resources just to help further back up my argument.. To articulate my point correctly I think that I will first have to lay down the facts on what wealth inequality was and what it has come to. Then, using some of my secondary resources, I will talk about the different parties that are effected the most by this problem. I will go on to talk about the different problems, such as crime, drugs, lack of education, and more, that arise from these people who are effected using different types of primary and secondary sources. Then I will need to create reasoning behind my belief on why I think these topics are directly related.

Bibliography:
Briggs, Jr. Vernon M “American-Style Capitalism and Income Disparity: The Challenge of
Social Anarchy.” Journal Of Economic Issues 32, no. 2 (1998): 473-480

Hoover, Gary A., Ryan A. Compton, and Daniel C. Giedeman. “The Impact of Economic
Freedom on the Black/White Income Gap.” American Economic Review 105, no. 5
(2015): 587-592.
Grusky, David B. “class.” The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Second Edition. Eds. Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online. Palgrave Macmillan. 13 October 201
Jilani, Zaid. “How Unequal We Are: The Top 5 Facts You Should Know About The Wealthiest One Percent Of Americans.” ThinkProgress How Unequal We Are The Top 5 Facts You Should Know About The Wealthiest One Percent Of Americans Comments. October 3, 2011. Accessed October 12, 2015.
Keister, Lisa A. and Stephanie Moller “Wealth Inequality in the United States” Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 26 (2000), pp. 63-81. Accessed October 9, 2015

McLaughlin, Lacey. “The Poverty-Crime Connection.” The Poverty-Crime Connection. October
19, 2011. Accessed October 6, 2015

Milanović, Branko. The Haves and the Have-nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global
Inequality. New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Quadrini, Vincenzo. “growth and inequality (macro perspectives).” The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Second Edition. Eds. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online. Palgrave Macmillan. 13 October 2015

Taibbi, Matt. The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap. New York: Spiegal
and Grau, New 2014

Yamamoto, Daisaku. “Scales of Regional Income Disparities in the USA, 1955-2003.” Journal
of Economic Geography 8, no. 1 (2008): 79-103.

Scope:  I am looking to dissect the underlying roots and causes of police brutality from the late twentieth century to present day.  Whites discriminating and being afraid of blacks has been existent in history for an extremely long time, but the idea of police brutality is a relatively recent one and in 1991, a taxi driver named Rodney King was brutally beaten by the Los Angeles Police Department after he refused to pull his car over for speeding.  King became the face of police brutality in America and this event caused many aftermath riots, which led to people being killed and the California National Guard to be called in.  King had many quotes after this beating, one main quote being, “can’t we all just get along?”

A major reason why police brutality exists is due to the fear of something different, which leads to discrimination.  This fear causes law enforcement officers, who are predominantly white, to discriminate against these blacks in a way that has caused severe harm and possibly death.  The term police brutality is defined as excessive force used by officers where it is not legal.  The majority of this police brutality occurs in poor, black urban neighborhoods because the conditions promote crime and these urban neighborhoods are extremely segregated.  These conditions strike fear into the white officers, which cause the officers to perform illegitimate searches or in a more severe case, excessive force.

In my opinion, nothing will change unless every race or ethnicity removes their ignorance and learns about each other, such as cultures, by becoming more empathetic toward one another.  This process of destroying the ignorance of our society will begin to vanquish the fear of something different.  This will allow more blacks to be involved in political opportunities, and also in law enforcement, which will overall reduce the amount of police brutality in America.

Analytical Questions:  The starting point or question for me has to be why cannot we all get along?  If we learn to throw out this discrimination, this hatred, and this ignorance, will that be enough to stop racism and police brutality?  Why does this hatred occur in the first place?  Is America indeed moving forward with the relationships between whites and blacks or does white supremacy still exist in our country?  America is a country built off of immigrants and we seem to deny that now to people of other races because the U.S. makes it extremely difficult for foreigners to live sufficiently in the U.S.  There will be more blacks than whites because the black and population is growing rapidly, so why cannot we stop this discrimination and brutality now or else what is happening could completely reverse from all whites being in power and using excessive force to blacks holding the power and exercising excessive force on whites.

Originality:  This paper will support the numerous examples of police brutality recently in the U.S. by establishing the roots or the underlying problems of each situation, and building on the fact that fear and discrimination caused these tragic events to occur.  My paper is different from previous work because I am going to look at the domino effect of each recent case of police brutality in America and find the reasons why there was excessive force in the first place.  I aim to focus also on the ignorance of both whites and blacks, which we closely interpreted from DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk.

Practicality:  There are many secondary sources available to me on this subject, especially using the databases and books in the library.  Not only are there sources on police brutality, but also the racism and discrimination behind it.  These sources will provide specific evidence and detail to support my argument that white police officers hatred of blacks leads to excessive force, which begins with the ignorance of not knowing about the culture of blacks.  This ignorance then leads to fear on some level of something different.  I will also be able to use the recent events of police brutality and the evidence and results from these horrific cases to further support my arguments as well.  The case on Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York City, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in Cleveland, are just some recent examples that will support my arguments that fear and discrimination occurred for the officers, which lead to excessive force and in these cases death for the victims.

Bibliography:

Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray Robertson. “Racism and Police Brutality in

America.” Journal of African American Studies 17, no. 4 (December 2013): 480. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost (accessed October 2, 2015).

Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray V. Robertson. “‘Can We All Get Along?’ Blacks’

Historical and Contemporary (In) Justice With Law Enforcement.” Western Journal of Black Studies 38, no. 2 (Summer2014 2014): 108-122. Race Relations Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed October 1, 2015).

Hays, Zachary R. Police Use of Excessive Force in Disorganized Neighborhoods. LFB

Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2011.

Holmes, Malcom D. “Minority Threat and Police Brutality: Determinants of Civil

Rights Criminal Complaints in U.S. Municipalities.” Criminology 38, no. 2. (05, 2000): 343-367.

Weatherspoon, Floyd D. African American Males and the Law: Cases and Materials.

University Press of America, 1998.

Scope: I want to examine the effects of racial prejudices on the African American population towards achieving quality primary and secondary education in the United States. As Patricia Hill Collins said, “knowledge is power”. Education is one of the most powerful tools in order to create profound social, economic, and political change within a society. After the Emancipation Proclamation blacks became “quasi slaves” that were socially and economically subordinate to white supremacy in the nineteenth century. During the mid-twentieth century the landmark court case of Brown v. Board of Education intergraded blacks into white schools systems. Although the court case overturned Plessey v. Ferguson, the initiative created major backlashes among the white community eventually leading to the privatization of schools where blacks were placed into low funded school districts with a minority of white students. A study was done in L’Heureux R. McCoy-Lewis’s book called Inequality in the Promised Land: Race, Resources, and Suburban School that found the more racially diverse a school is the more likely black students will preform at a higher level. But because of the economic restrictions instilled from the Emancipation Proclamation juxtaposed with deeply rooted social prejudices African-American students are unable to receive a quality education further perpetuating poverty and homogenous thought which puts the United States at risk of failing to address crisis in the future.

Analytical Questions: From the book Transformation of African American Intelligentsia author Martin Kilson poses an overarching question about racism in America. Kilson inquires, “How do you challenge and eventually reverse the undemocratic and oppressive impact of America’s white-supremacist system on its Negro citizens?” Kilson later answers his own question and explains how through the education of black folk, African Americans will be able to rise socially and economically. My question in response is if blacks did get a quality education, to what extent would their knowledge be prohibited by the social and class structures currently in place? How would desegregation be different for inner-city schools considering it has failed multiple times? How does one quantify and qualify a “quality” education? I wonder to what extent does receiving an education depend on an individual’s socioeconomic status. In the Souls of Black Folk W.E.B Du Bois said, “The South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and always will have, an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction and discontent”. Following up on Du Bois’s commentary, to what extent does the American society actively try to inhibit African American intellectual progress?

Originality: The American education system has failed a large portion of minority students and subjects them to the “inverse American dream” where they are disadvantaged and cannot compete in the marketplace creating a lack of perspectives, and perpetuating group thinking in the long term. In psychology group thinking is a term that describes adopting the opinion of the group without question, an effect of a lack diverse perspectives. The United States cannot begin to address pressing issues for the future like water insecurity, global warming, terrorism etc. if we continue to disenfranchise a large segment of the population intellectually, socially, economically, and politically. If blacks continue to lack a quality education from the grassroots level, then poverty will continue to rise, jails will continue to overcrowd, income inequality will continue to manifest and America will fail to progress as a society. Now more than ever in the United State’s history, class and race are becoming more interrelated, however through receiving a quality education blacks have a better chance of breaking the cyclical nature of poverty and oppression in America.

Practicality:

There are a plethora of both primary and secondary sources that I can use to research more about this topic. Especially through Dickinson’s library there are an assortment of helpful researching tools like the online database. So far I have found a multitude of useful ebooks and journals that will allow me to further my research. I will also be able to get information from current events happening in the New York and Los Angles Times about racisms’ effect on the education system.

Bibliography

Bloome, Deirdre, and Bruce Western. “Cohort Change and Racial Differences in Educational and Income Mobility.” Social Forces 90, no. 2, 375-95.

Du Bois W. E. B The Souls of Black FolkGreenwich, CT: Fawcett Publications, 1961.

Kilson, Martin. Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880-2012.

McCoy-Lewis R. L’Heureux “Inequality in the Promised Land: Race, Resources, and Suburban School” June 2014.

Sawhill, Isabel V. “Still the Land of Opportunity?” Spring 99, no. 135 (1990): 3-15.

Tonry, Michael H. “Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma.” New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, 45-60.

Harriet Sidford

Scope: I want to examine our definitions of happiness and success and how they are both related to our obsession with materialism in America. Happiness is acknowledged when it is associated with concrete objects. Materialism is often mistaken for happiness because we think it can be achieved through the acquisition of things. People strive for happiness but these goals usually stem from greed, selfishness, or desperation. Similarly, success is measured in wealth or power, which we promote yet we ignore the fact that some are succeeding while others are suffering. We see this success as positive and use it to overshadow the issues festering in our world today such as poverty, racial tensions, and global warming. This is another extension of the materialistic idea of happiness: success measured in power whether it be political, economical, or social.

 Value: Can you have success without happiness or vice versa? Does one depend on the other? Which comes first? When you think of happiness what do you picture? When you say you want to succeed in life what do you mean? Can anyone achieve happiness and success or is it limited to a certain type of person? Where does happiness and success originate? These questions are difficult to answer because our concepts of success and happiness are constantly evolving and adapting to our changing values. Further, materialism taints our beliefs because it shifts our focus and limits our thinking. Once we see the hypocrisy in our perspectives we can adjust our priorities and improve the standards of our world. After all, how can we claim that happiness or success when a large part of the world is suffering?

Originality: I think that happiness and success have always been difficult to define as singular emotion or one idea. Everyone sees things differently and considers certain things more important than others. However the variety in people’s thinking is not the issue but rather our evaluation of what is important in life. Our values have shifted and we have lost sight of what it means to truly be happy and that’s assuming that we ever actually had it in sight. Work relating to this subject usually focuses on either happiness or success but not both and does not focus on materialism as a connecting factor between the two. If we can divert our attention from materialism we may able to have a more pure and wholesome understanding of happiness.

Practicality: There are many sources that will support and expand on my research. The two books that were most useful so far were The Happiness Industry and The Happiness Hypothesis because they look at happiness in two different ways. The first suggests taking a scientific approach to happiness because it will make the idea more universal. The second focuses on the origin of happiness and why unhappiness exists. Both of these books and the rest of my sources are available in the library or online. I am also going to look at “how to” books that discuss success because I can use the tips in there as evidence to support my idea that success is measured in money and power. These will give me concrete examples of what people view success as. Finally, recent articles from newspapers and journals would also be useful because they are current and deal with the issues of today.

Bibliography:

Davies, William. The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold             Us Well-Being. London: Verso, 2015.

Demott, Benjamin. “Beyond the Dream of Success.” Change 8, no. 7 (1976): 32-37.

Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom.             New York: Basic Books, 2006.

Saveth, Edward N. “Apostles of the Self-Made Man: Changing Concepts of Success in             America.” Civil War History 13, no. 2 (1976): 184-186.

Schafer, Roy. “The Pursuit of Failure and the Idealization of Unhappiness.” American             Psychologist 39, no. 4 (1984): 398-405.

I would like to explore in my paper why environmental sustainability is far from being achieved on the global level, when the critical demand for it in the 21^st century has long since been acknowledged.

The many books in the library on the environment are far more than enough to provide evidence on the damage of the environment. As demonstrated in the book by the Worldwatch Institute, the ocean ecosystems are damaged by overfishing and pollution, the consumption of fossil fuels are higher than ever, the deserts are expanding, and climate change is shifting deeper into the irreversible. As humans themselves are animals and mortal inhabitants of the planet Earth, these changes are irreversibly linked to survival. Any other issues on humanity’s advancement can only be dwarfed by the immediate threat of mankind disappearing over the course of a few generations.

Yet this is nothing new. Humans have been modifying their environment since their very existence, from domestication to other forms of life to modifications of the environment. And despite common beliefs, the history of recognition on environmental pollution dates back to more than two thousand years ago. In the book, Foundations of Environmental Sustainability by Larry L. Rockwood, Ronald E. Stewart, and Thomas Dietz, the authors express that India constructed the first policy on environmental protection around 300 B. C. What’s more, there now are tens of thousands of organizations working to improve the conditions of the environment, and nearly all governments have laws on sustainability—not to mention international institutions.

Why have we, then, as mankind, made little progress? Despite of the advance on technological efficiency, the consumption of fossil energy keeps rising, harvests keep declining, and diseases threaten human mortality. Despite the apparent rise in numbers of laws and regulations regarding sustainability, water quality keeps dropping, the area of rainforests keeps decreasing, and more and more species become endangered by day. Whatever we’re doing isn’t working, and there are two possibilities—are we doing something wrong, or are we not doing enough in the first place?

One of the books I discovered while researching in the library was The Psychology of Environmental Problems, by Deborah Du Nann Winter and Susan M. Koger. With it, I became curious about the role of the psychology behind everyone from the individual person to the global community that is deterring the progress of what is so obviously important. What keeps individuals from taking action to sustain their world when the threat to their and their children’s survival is at stake, and what keeps the governments and communities from finding out that sustainable development is more profitable in the long run, in comparison to draining owned resources in short-sighted efforts to lift the economy?

The book by Winter and Koger focuses on the more general level of psychology; of the response of humanity to environmental pollution as a group, a community, providing a little more weight on government policies. My work will differ from the book in two ways: the first in that I will focus slightly more on the individual, inner workings of psychology behind the actions that they, or we, make every day; and the second in that I will focus less on the immediately following reactions to the results of environmental pollution, and more on the lack of action for sustainability. In other words, the focus and therefore the originality will lie on the psychology that directly keeps individuals from acting for environmental sustainability.

Along with providing specific evidence on the reasons from books and studies on why sustainability is important, I will use psychology as the secondary focus within the topic. I will analyze the reasons behind the problem, and possibly find some solutions, with the interactions of the two topics. This will provide a strong basis for the issue, providing the readers with a deeper understanding on the reasons that create the modern environmental state, and thereby give them a better chance of grasping and solving the ultimate problem.

Bibliography

Costanza, Robert, Ida Kubiszewski. Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future: Insights from 45 Global Thought Leaders. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 2014.

Falkenmark, Malin. Water and Sustainability: A Reappraisal. Environment, 50(2):5-16. 2008.

Juniper, Tony. What Has Nature Ever Done for Us? New Mexico: Synergetic Press, 2013.

Rockwood, Larry L., Ronald E. Stewart, and Thomas Dietz. Foundations of Environmental Sustainability. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

The Worldwatch Institute. State of the World 2015: Confronting Hidden Threats to Sustainability. Washington D.C.: Island Press, 2015.

Winter, Deborah D. N., Susan M. Koger. The Psychology of Environmental Problems. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Leah Hotaling

Peer Review

• Scope: I’d like to examine the equality of African American education in American society. Although education is normally seen as the best path to success, the American education system is constantly under scrutiny by political leaders, educators, students, and parents. However, there are also underlying factors of racism that still persist in America that are present in schools and affect the foundation of education programs. I’d like to hone in on African American education in rural areas as well as inner city schools where the heaviest racism is present. I will examine the history of Black education in the twentieth-century and compare it to where it stands in the twenty-first century. Especially over the past sixty years there were major changes in education, starting with the Civil Rights Movement. I will also evaluate programs that were designed to encourage minority education and note whether or not they succeed in providing equal opportunities for black students. I also want to examine the correlation between black education and crime rates because education often leads to avoiding dangerous situations.

• Value: Education and success have a strong correlation; however, not all Americans have access to proper resources that aid learning and support for continuing to higher education. W.E.B. Du Bois claimed that education of the black community by black educators would lead to the best success for African Americans. In America today there has been a push for more integrated school systems; however, this is what Du Bois argued against. Does separating students make for deeper race divides or do the benefits of the learning process outweigh other possible consequences? Would African American parents actually agree to sending their children to schools designated for race specific learning? Does that go against all the efforts that were made throughout the past century to conquer racism?

• Originality: The gap in education from whites and blacks has been noted for years and many people blame the gap on differences in social classes. Edward Bell, author of journal article “Educating African American Males,” found that African American students place a heavy focus on their appearance rather than obtaining self discipline. Bell argued that school systems need to help students develop social skills, which can further help them down the road. The argument that it is important to help them develop practical skills relates to the journal article, “60 Years after Brown v. Board of Education: The Impact of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Education of Black People in the United States of America” written by Ivory Toldson. Toldson argued that the most important thing is to make academic resources available to all students in order to aid learning. He also argued that by forcing integration to create a diversity does not ensure educational equality. Another source that I will use in my paper is the book Educating a Diverse Nation by Clifton Conrad because he worked directly with African American students from universities and programs.

• Practicality: I believe that I have enough information to support my claims. I would like to find more books on the subject but there is a good amount of articles that are good resources. I also think that I should try looking into videos or documentaries because having someone explain the complicated topic will help present new ideas and questions. I will use several primary sources and I will also use some secondary sources from the Dickinson online database. Photos can be found through google.

Bell, Edward E. “Educating African American Males.” Online Submission (2010): 1-22.

Conrad, Clifton. Educating a Diverse Nation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015.

Toldson, Ivory A. “60 Years after Brown v. Board of Education: The Impact of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Education of Black People in the United States of America (Editor’s Commentary).” Journal Of Negro Education 83, no. 3 (2014): 194-198.

Scope: I will be analyzing how technology (specifically the internet, social media, and smart phones) is impacting social lives, with a focus on interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. I will need to acknowledge all the good that technology has done for bringing us together, especially in increasing political efficacy. However, I want to focus on bringing in research and analyses discussing how technology has impacted our attention spans and communication skills, and how they may have in turn impaired our “real”, in-person relationships as well as our relationships with ourselves. For example, I can analyze results from studies such as “The Affects of Cell Phone Usage Rules on Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships” which show that, for example, not messaging one’s partner enough can cause dissatisfaction in relationships. I would also incorporate some “primary sources” like newspaper op-eds in order to examine how people are responding to trends like these appearing before them.

Value: First, I will be asking how technology influences people’s social skills and relationships. Just how “distracted” have we become? To what degree is technology, instant access to information, and constant checking and updating of social media affecting us outside of the virtual world? Secondly, I want to ask why this is important. What impact will these decreasing social and communication skills have on the world? What happens when we lack meaningful, in-person relationships? What is the future of society going to look like if these trends continue? I want to include research to answer these questions, although I think including personal analyses/opinions of these questions (from both scholars and everyday people who are living it) would be interesting as well.

Originality: This topic is extremely relevant to modern times because this type of social technology has only been around for the last decade or so. I think my paper will add to the work done on this subject by supporting the possibility that technology is negatively affecting our social relationships and communication skills as well as how we see ourselves. The common person is most likely aware of general findings from studies about how technology is affecting us psychologically and sociologically. There have been many analyses of technology’s impact on society within the arts recently, such as with the movies Her and Wall-E, or even comedian Aziz Ansari’s novel Modern Romance. I want to further analyze the studies by showing how people respond to this trend appearing before their very eyes, and how or if this trend will continue and affect society in the future. At this very moment, do people find our reliance on technology for socialization concerning? What, if anything, should be done?

Practicality: I have found extensive research and information about this topic. Many psychologists and sociologists have conducted studies about how technology has affected attention, social skills, and personal relationships. For example, “The Effects of Cell Phone Usage Rules on Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships” and “Technology, Relationships, and Culture: Clinical and Theoretical Implications” are two journals which conducted research how technology (cell phones in particular) are estranging friendships and intimate relationships. My methodology will include comparing these studies done predominantly on American teenagers and college students with those done on communities that live without technology or those conducted in the past (pre-dating social media and smartphones). Almost all of the sources I will be using are from the library catalog or database. So far, I have been able to access all the articles and books I want to use in my paper. I also may incorporate some newspaper op-ed pieces to serve as primary sources of sorts which offer firsthand perspectives about the topic as it is unraveling.

Bibliography

Miller-Ott, Aimee, Lynne Kelly, and Robert Duran. “The Effects of Cell Phone Usage Rules on Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships.” Communication Quarterly 60, no. 1 (2012): 17-34.

Velasquez, Alcides, and Robert LaRose. “Social Media for Social Changes: Social Media Political Efficacy and Actitivism in Student Activist Groups.” Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 59, no. 3 (2015): 456-74.

Zilberstein, Karen. “Technology, Relationships and Culture: Clinical and Theorectical Implications.” Clinical Social Work Journal 43, no. 2 (2015): 151.

Crawford, Matthew B. The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2015.

Roberts, Paul. The Impulse Society: America in the Age of Instant Gratification. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014.

Causes and Effects of Mass Immigration from developing nations into Europe

Scope: Causes and Effects of mass immigration from the Middle East and Africa into Europe. Immigration has been an issue for generations however, recent immigration has been causing a lot of turmoil amongst the European nations, as more refugees come pouring out of the Middle east and Africa. Europe is having an impossible task to integrate these refugees who smuggle themselves into Europe in masses. These refuges are also a big question mark, and Europe is having the impossible task of nit combing through every individual to make sure that there are no terrorist criminals etc. Among these immigrants of poverty and war countries. I will be focusing my essay on the Middle East, Africa and countries in the E.U which are struggling the most at integrate these aliens. I will discuss the issues surrounding the reasons of the refugees leaving their countries and the effects they have in the Europe.

Value: Immigration has always been a predominant event in human history as humans leave poor areas to find a better life. Although is it really a better life that awaits these immigrants? After all the west has never been tolerant of immigrants. No Country wants to share their wealth with someone who is not a part of that country. Marxism states we should ignore all borders and link arms for the revolution. Unfortunately for him we live in a capitalist society were the rich want to stay rich. The idea of immigrants taking native people’s job will almost make people sick with anger and hate. The economy is a huge factor, the lack of jobs and poverty that will supposedly ensue is in the minds of the people living in richer nations, and hope for a better life and jobs in the minds of immigrants. Becoming a refugee is the worst possible outcome, as your home is likely a war torn country spread with misery and human catastrophe’s, and when you migrate in search of a better life you are met with hostility and hate. Nonetheless some of these refugee may have other agendas other than to find a new home. The many war torn regions in the Middle East and Africa were caused by the richer nations, imperialism created borders that the locals never respected, old tribal hate ran deep, the western nations capitalized on that to get what they wanted. Now the situation is dire the 21^st has brought the dawn of a new enemy one that is shapeless in form. It is no country, it is extremisms, and with it terrorism, which has frightened the minds of all in the West. The E.U knows full well that among these refugees there are some that would love to watch the West burn.

Originality: Immigration has always been a problem, because it is the flow of people looking for a better life leaving from a place of struggle and when they get to the “promised” land they expect to be welcomed. The documents and research I looked at for this topic tend to be biased, either one agrees with immigration or one does not agree, what I am trying to accomplish in this essay is to highlight the phantom menace that this immigration has caused in the E.U. Is the fear legitimate? Is the economy really going to suffer? Are people going to lose jobs? Who are these people? Why are we letting our enemies into our nations?

Practicality: There are mountains of opinions and arguments in favor and disfavor of immigration. There are many books on the topic of immigration such as Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West” by Christopher Caldwell, particularly now, since immigration has become such a hot political topic. I will use a few primary sources like pictures (though pictures can be interpreted any type of way), and I may use a few news footage such as Vice News.

Sources

1. Lazaridis, Gabriella. International migration into Europe: from subjects to abject. New York Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
2. Kane, Abdoulaye African migrations [electronic resource]: patterns and perspectives, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2012. http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzUyMzQxNF9fQU41?sid=6ba8e69b-79ac-4998-8f62-6e6b32baffbd@sessionmgr4005&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1
3. Carling, Jørgen “European Strategies for Reducing ‘Unwanted’ Immigration” Policy Brief, April 2007

4.   Kohnert Dirk “African Migration to Europe: Obscured Responsibilities and Common      Misconceptions” Working Paper, May 2007.

5. MARTIN, Michael T. “Fortress Europeand Third World immigration in the post-cold war global context” Third World Quarterly 20. NUM 4. 1999.- P. 821-835; 1999

Max Burrows

Scope: I want to observe how nationalism is used to affect international relations between Russia and the United States post World War II. Nationalism is ingrained in every culture, regardless of location. It is the pride in people about their country, or culture created around it. Examining the way nationalism affects the foreign policies of countries such as the United States and Russia is one area of focus of this study. The other being the repercussions both the US and Russia face when creating an international policy based on nationalism. I will be examining a variety of books and journal articles an US, and Russian foreign policy in relation to each other and the struggle for power and “dominance” over the other. This will help solidify my topic while defining the important factors of my topic of study.

Value: Nationalism has existed since the formation of nations, with the United States and Russia being two of the major superpowers. Living in the age of information, it is vital to identify potential dangers of nationalism and ask questions. Can nationalism spark conflict between countries or cultures? How does nationalism affect the decisions of the countries leaders? Do governments utilize nationalism for independent gain? Observing nationalism through the lens of international relations grants a new perspective on why this issue is so interesting. 

Originality: Nationalism in the United States and Russia has been a power struggle since the end of World War II. The Journal article WHEN EMPIRE MEETS NATIONALISM. POWER POLITICS IN THE US AND RUSSIA describes the nationalist groups that shape the foreign policy of Russia and the United states. The article examines the differences between different nationalistic groups and their political objectives. Another journal article Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma: Russia, Europe, and the United States again illustrates the reluctance by both Russians and Americans to welcome immigrants into their countries. The scrutiny they experience as immigrants is interesting because it again highlights the defined cultures of the United States and Russia. This sense of identity and nationalism is important to examine when viewing Russian and American foreign policy. The Russians and Americans regard each other with a sense of distrust encouraged by their respective governments through different types of media.

Practicality: Nationalism and international relations between the United States and Russia are heavily researched. There is enough evidence for an argument to be constructed analyzing the affects of nationalism and how it will change the twenty first century. Many books and journals are published about nationalism and the effects it has on both countries and their populaces. Meanwhile, foreign policy has been a heavily discussed topic in the twenty first century and there is lots of information on the subject. I will use secondary sources mainly, and primary sources if the topic requires a first hand account to support the argument. There are many secondary sources in the library on nationalism in the US and Russia, and many more on their foreign policy post World War II. Dickinson’s databases also provide lots of information, which will expand the range of my research.

Bibliography

Greenfeld, Liah. “The Globalization of Nationalism and the Future of the Nation-State.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 24, no. 1-2 (06, 2011): 5-9.

Neier, Aryeh. “America’s New Nationalism.” Social Research 71, no. 4 (Winter, 2004):

Marten, Kimberly. “Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma: Russia, Europe, and the United States.” Political Science Quarterly 121, no. 4 (06, 2007): 706-707. http:// search.proquest.com/docview/208281762?accountid=10506.

Telò, Mario. Globalisation, Multilateralism, Europe: Towards a Better Global Governance? Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014.

Lussac, Samuel. “WHEN EMPIRE MEETS NATIONALISM. POWER POLITICS IN THE US AND RUSSIA.” Caucasian Review of International Affairs 4, no. 1 (Winter, 2010): 99-100. http://search.proquest.com/docview/210955266?accountid=10506.