Immigration

Expert Information Researcher

BRAINSTORMING A TOPIC Now that you’ve had some time to think about the ways we use researching in our daily lives through personal and academic use, it is time to select a topic that you will research for your final essay in this course. This next “essay” will not take the shape of an essay, but will serve as an assignment that allows you to gather the research you will use to write the final argument paper.

The topic for this research should be related to the topics we explored in the first unit of the course—topics raised in the documentary The River and the Wall. You do not have to write about the exact same topic you wrote about in essay 1, but it should be a topic that was covered in the topic powerpoint we collaborated on or related to it. The purpose for continuing on with this same theme is to allow you to really invest time and knowledge into this topic. The more equipped you are with insight and information about the topic, the stronger your final paper will be. This will also give you the chance to see how your writing grows throughout the semester in relationship to the various assignments.

1) To begin, identify a topic from unit 1 that interests you.

2) Describe what you have learned about that topic since beginning the course. a) This could be just basic information—not too specific—just whatever you remember.

3) List people or groups that connect to this topic. a) This could be specific people of power, specific groups of people, people in a specific region, people with specific jobs, people of specific backgrounds—try to think of what groups of people would be involved or invested in this topic.

4) List questions you have about it. What more would you want to know? What are you still confused about? What are you curious about? What intrigues you about following this topic?

5) Find basic background information about the topic. a) Use Wikipedia, Google, YouTube to familiarize yourself with the basics: learn terms, important dates/events, frames of reference around this topic.

6) Revise your list of questions now that you have learned more about the topic and can be more specific about what you still want to research.

7) Look for sources that could give more in-depth information. a) This is where you decide what kind of information you need or want to explore. There’s no point in demanding you have scholarly sources if you’re focused on a specific group of people who have more information through interviews or personal stories. There’s also no reason to use more informal news sources if you’re writing about the larger impacts of conservation—that could be found in scholarly work.

8) Organize those sources and fill out the following questions for the sources you collect.

TOPICS TO EXPLORE Here are some topics that you could explore related to Unit 1 but please also check out the class collaborative topic powerpoint:

1) Documentaries on Immigration/Conservation/Borders a) The River and the Wall is one of many documentaries in the last ten years to address these topics. If you’re interested in documentary work, research other films that may relate to these topics or purposes. Which groups of people do they involve? Who are the audiences for these films? What change to they inspire or initiate if any? What is the point or purpose of having documentaries available on these topics? ***Note: these don’t have to be full length films. The video we watched by The Atlantic about the man who paddles across the Rio is considered a mini doc. There’s also the show on Netflix (or multiple)

2) Public Recreation a) There are dozens of national parks across the US and hundreds of state parks. What goes into developing/deciding a public park? Who is in charge of it? What kind of impacts can the park have on the community that surrounds it? Why aren’t there more? Are there already too many? What happens when a park shares a border with a country or shares the land with an indigenous group or endangered animal?

3) Visas: What, How, and When? a) The US offers many visa varieties for people visiting or coming to work and live in the US. The River and the Wall touched on some aspects regarding visas and overstays contributing to the number of illegal immigrants. Why factors contribute to overstays? What kinds of visas are typically given that people use to overstay? What measures are in place for

certain visas to prevent this (think student visas or the paperwork that Dreamers have to complete annually)? What ideas are perpetuated in the public about visas? In pop culture (reality shows like 90 Day fiancé).

4) Imminent Domain (Okay this is not the most exciting topic to consider or write about but hear me out) a) The River and the Wall explores the concepts regarding land ownership and access. Who has the final say over land rights? People who purchase it? The government? How has this been handled in related areas—particularly in indigenous land rights? This also blurs the lines with public land use and recreation. The Grand Canyon was regarded a prominent powerful land for indigenous people but was turned into a national park. The nearby Hopi tribe welcomes visitors to Havasu Falls in Northern Arizona each year and this is one of the main ways they have a stable income for the reservation.

Assignment Requirements

The final assignment submitted should include a minimum of four sources. The source type is your choice—but writers should offer plenty of explanation for their source choice. The following questions should be answered about each source. The format is your choice—

whatever works best for you!

• Title and Author of Source • Web Link • Medium [news article, peer reviewed article, blog, video (personal or professional), review,

government source, etc.] • What did you learn from reading/watching this source? [kind of like summary but in your

words, can be informal—aim for at least 75 words] • Why do you think this source is important to the larger understanding of the topic? The answer to this may be influenced by: What is its credibility or point of view? What kind of evidence, meaning, information does it create or share? What is its purpose or agenda for its creation? [this section should aim for around 150 words]

• What relationship does this source have to others about this topic? Is it supportive of other POVs? Does it create a challenge? How does the person who created it relate to others with interest in this field? Think of a journalist writing about it for a national newspaper vs someone who spends their whole lives exploring this topic. [this section should aim for 50 words]

Due: Monday, Nov. 2nd by 11:59PM on Blackboard Turn It In