Current Controversies

Some commentators advocated the use of "torture warrants" following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Read this essay about the debate that ensued. After you've absorbed the main points, compare and contrast this justice issue with one raised by one of your readings.

This page has links to three essays dealing with the September 11^th terror attacks and their impact upon globalization. Before you visit and take a look, make a list of the things that these attacks might affect on a world scale and compare it to what you find online.

Does the general issue of criminal justice and terrorists sound like an interesting research topic? If so, take a visit to this directory about the war on terrorism and its intersection with human rights and liberties from Google.com.

Bay Area Action's "The SUV Ticket" page describes a program in which that group puts informational pamphlets designed to look like parking tickets on Sports Utility Vehicles. You can click around the site to find info about the campaign and about SUVs. You can even print out an "SUV ticket" if you want to. What do you think about this group's approach to the issues raised in your text?

Interested in the environmental issues that the SUV debate brings up, but not sure how to narrow your topic? This Google.com directory about the ecosystem will help you in this task.

"Appropriate technology" usually refers to that which is sustainable into the future and includes technology involved with energy, agriculture, and community planning. Take a visit to the homepage of the National Center for Appropriate Technology for an overview. What did you discover there? Where could you go online to find differing views?

"Here Come the Federal Cell Phone Cops" is the name of an essay that compares proposed state and federal regulations, arguing against both. Where online would be good places to find the current state of such regulations? Where could you find opposing views?

Find two urban legends involving cell phones on this page. What is it, do you think, about new technology that seems to prompt this kind of storytelling? Can you think of any other technological innovations that have spawned similar stories?

This is an FAQ from the Food and Drug Administration, focusing upon the issue of cell phone safety. How does the information here differ from that presented above? What are some of the major reasons for the difference?

Does the legal history of same-sex marriage interest you as a research topic? Well then, check out this history prepared by the self-help law site Nolo. It's hyperlinked, comprehensive, and contains thumbnails of the relevant landmark cases.

The homepage of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers has links to new publications, a mission statement, a contact area, and information about other resources. It's a good place to start your online research about the state of marriage in the current U.S.

Interested in the topic of same sex parenting for a research paper, but not sure how to narrow your scope? This directory from Yahoo.com on lesbian, gay, and bisexual parenting will give you plenty of ideas to get you started.

This is the homepage of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, which seeks to educate Congress and the general public about WWW policy issues. It's a good research tool if you're looking for things like statistics, data, and current internet policy news.

This site, Privacy and Spying on the Internet, is dedicated to telling you who's watching you--and why--when you're surfing. You'll find some information about the "open" nature of the internet itself there, along with some links and a chance to subscribe to a newsletter. Would you feel comfortable using the information found here in a research paper? Explain.

The North Suburban Library System outside Chicago has put together a fine site about internet legislation and filtering in U.S. libraries. Click over and you'll find things like explanations of how these filters work and arguments both pro and con for using them.

For further research, this is the homepage of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, or N'Cobra. There you'll find information about such things as the history of U.S. reparations payments, and N'Cobra's reparations campaign and conventions.

Are you interested in doing a research paper about slave reparations, but not sure how to narrow your topic? Take a look at the sites and issues mentioned in this directory from Google.com and you're sure to come away with some good ideas.

Would you like to put some of the issues mentioned in your readings into a historical context? This chronology of U.S. statutes concerning slavery is a useful research tool from the Yale Law School.

Altweb has gathered together numerous quality links to explore questions of alternatives to animal testing. You'll also find a search engine, current issues, educational resources, and contact information if you take a visit.

Read this fact sheet about animal testing and cosmetics from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Restate the position of the FDA on this issue. Pick one of your readings and compare/contrast the position of the author with the position of this federal agency.

This is the homepage of the Foundation for Biomedical Research, a group which holds that medical experimentation on animals is necessary to develop new drugs. The site has a FAQ, some multimedia, a news archive, and some related links.

Here's an essay from the Boston Globe called "The New Philanthropists." Study it to get the author's view about the giving habits of the current rich. How reliable do you find the information presented here? Explain.

Who says you have to choose? Click here to read an interactive essay about the fifteen most famous people on the 2001 Forbes survey of the 400 richest people in America.

Looking to put issues about the rich into a historical context? Take a look at this Time magazine site about the "Builders & Titans" of the early 20^th century. What's the relationship between being rich and being eccentric, do you think?

Some commentators and legislators have made the statement that "all crimes are hate crimes," and that there's no need for a special legal category. Click here, and then type "all crimes are hate crimes" into the search box. How many hits did you get? From what kinds of sources? What did you learn about this topic just from reading site and page descriptions?

The American Psychological Association has posted an interactive essay called "Hate Crimes Today: An Age-Old Foe in Modern Dress." It is a very valuable resource if you'd like to examine the psychology of such crimes, including who commits them and why.

Still not sure how to narrow your topic about hate crimes? The Hate Crimes Research Network is designed to help. There, you can search abstracts, check news, and take action, including signing petitions, notifying Congress of your concerns, and joining in online discussions.

This is the official Mattel site for the Barbie doll. There you'll find a "what's new" area, lots of information about various toys and accessories, some words for parents, and some links to "sister sites."

And this is the homepage for AdiosBarbie.com, which calls itself " a body image site for every body." (The "10 Funky Facts About Barbie" page alone is worth a visit.) Although, this is not an "official" Barbie site, does that mean that the information found here about the doll is necessarily untrustworthy? What ways do you use to judge the reliability of information you find on the internet?

"Toy Guns: A Deadly Game" is the title of an interactive essay from the Oxnard, California Police Department. The page has a quiz, a selection of news stories, and a link to a fact sheet about toy guns.

The organization People for the American Way has prepared this analysis of what is sometimes called the "Flag Desecration Amendment." Read it and jot down the main points presented here. Do you agree with this analysis? Explain, and show how one of the authors you read in your text would likely agree/disagree.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the nonviolent burning of the flag as a political statement is protected speech under the First Amendment. Would you like to take a look at this and similar legal issues in more depth? Well then, take a look at this page that explores First Amendment law. How reliable did you find the information at this site? What ways are there to judge the reliability of information you find online?

Let's take a look at the U.S. flag from another perspective. PBS prepared this history of the flag for its program A Capital Fourth. You'll also find some photos, links, and information about flag etiquette there.

Here's an essay called "James Rachels and the Active Euthanasia Debate" that critiques Rachels's approach. Explain the concepts of passive and active euthanasia and pick one of your readings to compare and contrast in this regard.

Let's say you've already decided on the topic of the Constitutionality of doctor-assisted suicide in the U.S. This page on the topic has links to plenty of resources about how the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in the matter and will help you own your way.

Would you like to write a paper about the euthanasia debate, but aren't sure how to narrow such a topic? Take a look at this directory from Yahoo.com on the subject and you'll get plenty of good ideas.

"Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke" is the name of a hyperlinked monograph by the National Institutes of Health. You can download chapters that cover secondhand smoke's effect on with things like reproduction, respiration, and cancer.

For a pro-smoking viewpoint, check out the Smoker's Lounge. There, you'll find info about things like second-hand smoke, tobacco litigation, and smoking bans. Do you find the pro-smoking stance here suspect regarding the accuracy of the information this site presents? If so, what can you do to check that information?

If putting the history of tobacco use is important to your research, do not miss this incredibly comprehensive timeline about the subject. How comprehensive you say? It starts more than five hundred years ago.

Take a visit to the American Library Association's page about banned books. You'll find links to things like the 100 most frequently challenged books, to book burning, and to information about "Banned Books Week." Do any of the books you've found surprise you? Explain. Which of them have you read? Which will you read now? How can you link these ideas to your readings in this section?

This is the homepage of The Great Books Foundation, an institution Mortimer Adler co-founded. There, you'll find numerous related links, including some about how to join a discussion group.

Read this piece entitled "On Mortimer Adler." What does the author think of Adler's work? How can you contrast this view to the one presented at the site above?

Take a look at this archive of Miss Manners' columns from the Washington Post, after you've read her piece in your text. Browse through until you can put the topics into three main categories. What categories did you come up with?

Read a few sections of this excerpt from Emily Post's 1922 book Etiquette. (The section about proper walking behavior on city streets is especially amusing if you live in or have ever visited a big city.) Using what you've learned from your online reading, consider: How have these things changed over time? Why do these things change?

With evolving technologies come evolving social behavior, and the internet is certainly no exception. What does this have to do with manners? Why, netiquette, of course! This site has everything you ever wanted to know about internet etiquette, including a quiz.

Interested in doing more research about bilingual education, but not sure where to start looking? This directory at Google.com should give you plenty of ideas.

To put bilingual education in the United States into a broader historical context, study this brief history of the subject, which traces the movement back to the middle of the 19^th Century.

For further reading, here is an essay Richard Rodriguez wrote for PBS about speaking Spanish in the United States. What thematic links can you make from this reading to those found in your text?