Maybe you’re in the Olympic spirit, maybe you’re not. I have to admit the Rio Games have been quite exciting to watch!
Learn more about the Olympics and its history. (Credit: Verge Campus)
But if you’d like to get in the Olympic spirit then check out our next set of books, which are all Olympic-inspired – and FREE for the next month! Read more
More than half of Americans have received benefits or services from a social services agency or welfare program, such as a social security check, food stamps or unemployment benefits. Social assistance has evolved over the years.
Learn more about social assistance for your research paper. (Credit: Ortcom)
Here are some term paper topics on human services department trends. Read more
The recent Turkish coup, through which Turkey’s military tried to overthrow the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was unsuccessful. The military claimed to be fighting for human rights, which have come under fire in Turkey in recent years.
Learn more about the impact of human rights and the Turkish coup. (Credit: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)
Unfortunately, their loss seems to have created even more human rights abuses by the government. A research paper could explore how the current immigrant crisis from Syria has contributed to the instability in Turkey and Europe. Read more
It is official. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will serve as the presidential candidates of their respective political parties. The announcements at the Democratic and Republican conventions came as no surprise since the two were the popular candidates in the polls. But prior to the conventions, there was discussion of a possible contested convention or brokered convention.
Learn more about how political conventions work. (Credit: Northeastern)
If you’re looking for interesting research paper topics, consider looking at how the Democratic National Convention (DNC) or Republican National Convention work, or addressing what the conventions do to make a candidacy official. Read more
On June 13, 2016, Corey Menafee, an African American dining hall worker at Yale University, could no longer stand to look at the image of two slaves picking cotton as depicted in the stained glass of Calhoun College, one of Yale’s residential colleges.
Learn more about Calhoun College and the issue of racism. (Credit: Thomas MacMillan/WSJ)
Menafee smashed the window with a broom handle and later apologized for his actions; he resigned from his position, and Yale decided not to press charges, though Menafee has since stated he would like to return to work if Yale will hire him back. Named after the seventh American vice president, John Calhoun, the residential college has faced much criticism in recent years for retaining the name of a man who promoted slavery as a public good. Read more
Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. These are just the two most recent names in a disturbing trend of American police shootings. Racially charged police brutality is not new—the Watts riots of 1965 broke out over an incident of police brutality after an African-American driver was pulled over for drunk driving—but the police shooting videos that have been captured by civilians have raised the awareness of such incidents and lent support to campaigns such as Black Lives Matter, intended to combat the violence of these black deaths.
People take part in a protest against police shootings and in support of Black Lives Matter. (Credit: Eduardo Munoz, Reuters)
Why do these incidents occur? What can be done to reduce police violence? These are important research paper topics in response to pressing issues facing the United States today. Read more
On its opening weekend (June 17—19), the Disney Pixar film Finding Dory had the biggest release for an animated film in history, beating out the previous record holder Shrek the Third and doubling the take of Finding Nemo, the movie it follows.
Consider discussing Finding Dory in your next research paper. (Credit: Disney Pixar)
But aside from being a box office smash that Hollywood needed in 2016 (CNN Money reporter Frank Pallotta noted in “’Finding Dory’ reels in biggest animated opening ever,” posted June 19, 2016, that the film is a “bright spot” in a box office that has been “struggling as of late”), Finding Dory tackles several controversial topics that would make interesting research papers. Read more
Miss USA, 2016, Deshauna Barber, has put a new face on the image of women in the military. As a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, she is the first titleholder to be actively serving. Despite the presence of women in the armed forces for decades, female soldiers still experience a kind of gender bias that is rarely encountered in other professions.
What do you think of allowing women in the military? (Credit: USPS Stamp of Approval)
The issue is likely to gain more attention now that the Pentagon has decided to open up all combat jobs to women. This makes women in combat and the role of women in the military timely research paper topics. Read more
Muhammad Ali may be most noted as a boxing champion, but by his death on June 3, 2016, he had come to exemplify so much more, evolving into an entertainment icon with a profound effect on sports and culture as we know it.
Find out more about Muhammad Ali here. (Credit: Jacobin Mag)
A research paper could explore the many ways that Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay on January 17, 1942, brought about social change and how he altered our view of fame, for both celebrities and ordinary people. Read more
Crockett High School valedictorian Mayte Lara Ibarra didn’t expect a tweet about overcoming her own barriers to success to go viral. But by so casually declaring that she was an undocumented immigrant, the internet chatter soon became a roar. How can this viral tweet, and the response it received, be used to look at the topic of illegal immigrants?
Find out more about undocumented immigrants for your next research paper. (Credit: Twitter via NBC News)
Consider the explosion of both praise–and hatred–for a research paper topic in civic, political science or pop culture course. Read more
