Should Affirmative Action Be Extended to the Film and Television Industry?

Paper details:

Assignment Goals: This is the final proposal. Your goal it to combine all the elements of the previous assignments to produce a research proposal that outlines a potential project including a clear cultural research question, a discussion that draws on outside sources and preliminary research findings to explain why that question is interesting and compelling, and an explanation of how you will research the question going forward. The goal is to understand for yourself and persuade others of the importance of your research.

Element I: Should frame the research and explain what you have done so far:

Why is this research interesting and important?
What did your preliminary research uncover that deepens our knowledge of your topic, sharpens your question, and shows why your question is compelling? What has surprised or intrigued you that you did not expect to find? What have you found that shows why your question is interesting?
What methods did you use to refine your question? What were the strengths and weaknesses of these in terms of their applicability to your question and to cultural research? What specifically did you learn from different methods and how did your multiple methods strengthen your insights and questions?
What methods will you use going forward and why do these make sense for your question?

Element II: Should link your research with the literature and theory around your question:

Which readings and resources—from class and otherwise—have helped you understand, contextualize, and/or explain your research? How? Remember, you can draw on the readings for their arguments as well as for their approaches theory or method, or as examples of discourses.
How do the readings help you/us to see the connections between culture and discourse function in relation to your question? And how did/will this understanding shape your own research?
What have other scholars written about your topic and how will your research contribute to our understanding of the topic?

Element III: Should discuss your future research direction and activities:

Based on your preliminary research, how do you now propose to study your question in the future? What methods will you use and why? These can be the same methods you have already used or new methods.
Why are these methods the right ones to help you answer your question and connect your research to the cultural debates that you have identified in the literature?
What audiences would you like to communicate your research to? How will you share your research with these audiences?
Appendix and References:
In an appendix include copies of photographs, drawings, maps or other artifacts used as part of your methodology. If you carried out an interview, include a short section of your transcript.
If you carried out participant-observation, include one short example of your observations (g. describe one event or observation made).
Cite all your sources in a references section. You have should have at least 10 references. At least three sources need to come from scholarly articles or books other than course readings.
Cite all readings including course readings that you draw on and discuss in your report.

Tips for Writing a Successful Research Application (Adapted from the Mary Gates

Endowment for Students website):

Describe how your research fits into a bigger picture: Include enough detail to convey

your knowledge of the topic so that different audiences and potential reviewers can

imagine what you are doing. Potential reviewers will be from a variety of fields, so it is best to address your essay to an intelligent non-cultural studies-expert. Define cultural studies terminology and be sure to give the big picture of your research topic. It will also be important to include enough detail that someone in cultural studies will have confidence that you understand the field in which you are working well enough to be able to contribute to the project in a meaningful way.

Show your enthusiasm and commitment to the work: Your essay should convey an

interest and commitment to the research. Potential reviewers will find your interest or

passion in the research compelling, so find a way to convey that in your essay.

Ask someone who is not involved with the research to review your essay: A peer,

another instructor, or writing center staff member will be able to tell you if your essay is

clear to an intelligent non-expert, and if you have conveyed a sense of enthusiasm and

commitment for the work you describe. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to get

feedback before submitting your final proposal.