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Help with Finding Topics for Class Assignments

Finding a Topic

Browse a Website

One way to find a topic is to browse websites specific to your area of interest. Go to any of the websites below and look for articles and headlines on something that interests you.  While most of these articles will not provide in depth information, they can be a great starting point, inspiring you to explore a topic or issue in more depth.

Stream Videos and Podcasts

Watch a documentary or video on a topic that interests you.  As you watch, note names of people who are interviewed or discussed, places visited and issues explored.  Doing this can help you take the next step in focusing your topic and exploring it in more depth.

Social Sciences Topics

  • abortion
  • abuse in nursing homes
  • Affirmative Action
  • airport searches of passengers and bags
  • Al-Qaeda
  • alternative energy 
  • American consumerism
  • animal rights
  • Arab-Israeli relations
  • assisted suicide 
  • baby "dumping"
  • birth control 
  • bracelets to support causes
  • bullying 
  • capital punishment as a deterrent
  • Catholic priests and sexual abuse
  • charity scams
  • childproof handguns
  • CIA
  • civiity in the cell phone era
  • computer crime
  • conspiracies
  • crack houses
  • curfew for teenagers
  • death penalty
  • digital divide
  • domestic violence
  • drug rehabilitation in prisons
  • drug use in pregnancy: prosecute?
  • drunk drivers & MADD
  • elections - unusual outcomes
  • elder abuse 
  • embedded reporting
  • equal rights in employment
  • equitable access to the Internet
  • espionage
  • families
  • famine
  • female genital mutilation
  • fetal rights
  • flash mobs 
  • forensic evidence
  • foster care
  • food deserts
  • fraud
  • free speech on the Internet
  • gangs
  • gays in the military 
  • gender stereotypes in film
  • gender-neutral language
  • glass ceiling (women vs. men, salary gap)
  • globalization
  • gun control
  • hate groups
  • Holocaust survivors
  • homeland security
  • homeless
  • human gene map - social implications
  • human sterilization
  • humor
  • identity theft
  • illegal drug use
  • international terrorism
  • Internet
  • Internet addiction
  • interracial adoptions
  • Iraq War
  • Israeli/Palestinian conflict 
  • Ku Klux Klan
  • latch key children
  • laughter
  • legalization of marijuana
  • lethal injection vs. electric chair
  • literacy
  • lobbyists
  • lotteries
  • love in cyberspace
  • "makeover" phenomenon on TV
  • marriage, history of
  • massacres on campus
  • military draft 
  • military tribunals
  • military uniforms
  • missile defense
  • nepotism
  • net neutrality 
  • nuclear power 
  • nuclear warfare
  • nudists
  • nursing homes, abuse
  • online gaming 
  • organ donation 
  • organized crime
  • parenting
  • partial-birth abortion
  • Patriot Act
  • peace movement
  • plagiarism
  • plea bargaining = justice?
  • polygamy & polyandry
  • pornography
  • poverty
  • prisons--build more?
  • prisons: do they create criminal personalities?
  • privacy rights
  • prostitution
  • puppy mills
  • racism
  • racial profiling
  • radical feminism
  • raising children
  • reality TV programs
  • relief efforts
  • religious symbols in public places
  • riots
  • rituals
  • road rage 
  • same sex parents adopting
  • scams
  • seat belt use
  • serial killers
  • sexual harassment
  • single-parent families
  • slavery
  • social networking
  • sodomy laws
  • stalking
  • stereotypes
  • support groups
  • surrogate mothers
  • sweatshops 
  • tattoos 
  • taboos
  • Taliban
  • talk shows
  • terrorism tactics & effects
  • torture as punishment
  • tsunami: effects & reactions
  • U.S. budget balancing
  • undercover FBI agents
  • underground railroad
  • Utopia
  • violence in sports, on TV, etc.
  • voting procedures - problems
  • voting rights for DC
  • voting rights for felons
  • welfare reform
  • "whistle-blowers"
  • witness protection program
  • women in combat
  • women in non-traditional roles
  • women in WW II
  • women suffrage 
  • work/life ratio
  • working poor