Question description
Research Paper Overview:This will be a seven to ten page
(minimum 2500words) research paper. In this project choose a person, who
is a leader/activist/thinker, that is involved an intercultural issue
of conflict and peace that is of interest to you. The person you choose
can be local, since intercultural events happen here as well. Analyze
the key figure’s moral mapping, relations of power, and multiple
identities and then offer brief policy recommendations related to the
issue with which they are engaged.Recommended Research Sequence:Choose
an issue that is important to you and a key figure (leader/activist/
thinker) who is involved with the issue. Key figure could be:Political/Government LeaderActivistPrivate Sector LeaderReligious LeaderNon-profit LeaderResearch
a solid secondary source about the person; begin to consider your
initial assessment of the factors/agents/variables in this person’s
relation to culture, conflict and peace. For example, Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight against Muslim Fundamentalism and Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change, may
be used as either primary or secondary sources and may lead you to
other primary sources if these issues are of interest to you.Investigate
a primary source on the subject to discover primary data about the
person in order to make your an interpretation of their moral mapping,
relations of power, and multiple identities. A primary source is a
record of what a person says about themselves or about their areas of
concern; it can also be direct interviews of your own (one or two
people) that you interview yourself. At times primary sources are
difficult to find—take care in the choice of your project that you
choose something that has primaryandsome secondary sources.Research
a second reliable secondary source on the person; compare and contrast
the secondary source interpretations. A reliable secondary source is not
Wikipedia or an on-line resource; it is most often a scholarly article
or monograph.Cite as footnotes and create bibliography for all sources that you use in your paper.Based
on your study of the primary data, taking into consideration the two
secondary interpretations, adjudicate the evidence and make a
determination about the moral logic that you discovered in the primary
data. Upon reflection make your own judgments on the plausibility of the
interpretations of this data. Remember this is not just your opinion,
but an informed perspective based on your reading of the evidence and
the secondary interpretations of this data.We are NOT asking you to “pass moral judgment.”We
are asking you to understand and explain the moral map, social location
and cultural landscape of the person, and his or her work. We are
asking, as Clifford Geertz argues, to be in “conversation” with this
person. And finally, in line with the initial rules for conversation
that Prof. Wellman outlined on the first day of class, how you must
change if necessary.Based on your assessment, write a policy
recommendation that you would offer this key figure if you were invited
to advise them on this issue.Structure of your paper:Summary of issue and key figure you have chosen to analyzeWhy
is this issue important to you? This is your positionally in relation
to the issue and research. Why is this important to others?Analyze
the key figure engaged with this issue that you have chosen. This is
the main body of your paper where you explain your analysis of the key
figure.Write a brief policy recommendation to the key figure.Evaluation:Your grade will be based on how well you:Follow these guidelinesMake a clear and interesting argument for your policy recommendationProvide supporting evidence from your research and course readingsOrganize your paper clearly Use these bolded subheadings to structure your paper: Introduction to Issue and Key Figure, Issue Relevance, Analysis of Key Figure, Policy RecommendationWrite clearly and effectivelyThe work must be completely original.
