3c: Brainstorming Field Research Options

Interviews:
I plan on interviewing Asma Hasan (her brother who is Muslim ran for a seat in the House of Representatives here in Colorado)
I also plan on interviewing Rafael Naboa who is of Puerto Rican descent and works with the Democratic National Party here in Colorado.

Surveys:
I plan on gathering some info from the survey I posted in the discussion for class.
I also plan on using the same survey questions to ask certain ethnic members of Colorado government.

Visitation:
I want to attend the Hispanic Cultural Center and gather information

Public Events:
There are a few town hall meetings held by minority representatives that I want to attend.
(www.coloradodems.org has a schedule of speakers)

Observation:
During these town meetings I plan to do a majority of my observations. This might be a grey area between Public Events and Observation, because I feel you are doing both.

3b: Writing Search Strings

Search engine math:
ethnicity
+ethnicity +politics
+race +politics +United States

politics
+African-American +politics +Unites States
+minorities +politics +representation
"ethnicity in politics"
"race in politics"

United States
+race +government +United States
+Barack Obama +race +United States
"ethnic representation in United States politics"

search engine Boolean:
ethnicity
ethnicity OR race in politics in the United States
race AND ethnicity in government
ethnicity AND race (United States or government)

politics
poltics AND minorities in the United States
conservative OR liberal race representation
poltics AND Barack Obama NOT Jesse Jackson

United States
United States AND ethnicity (politics OR government)
United States NOT world (ethnicity AND race in politics)

3a: Generating Keywords

Is ethnicity equally represented in politics in the United States?

Key words:

ethnicity:
race
culture
language
color
ancestor
identity
minority
nation
Muslim
African-American
Hispanic

politics:
structure
laws
government
policy
power
liberal
conservative
Barack Obama

United States:
nation
Constitution
Civil Rights
Bill of Rights
equality
law
freedom of speech

CNN Politics
Time Magazine Article
The Politics of Race in the United States

Developing My Research Question

This handout actually helped me in my topic as I answered a series of questions.

The WHAT questions:

What are the statistics of different races in politics?

What is the fascination with Barack Obama?

What factors does race influence on politics?

What has the election of our president done to the landscape of politics today?

The WHY questions:

Why has it taken it so long to have a African-American represent the highest power in the land?

Why has Hollywood become a major force in politics?

Why has race in politics become controversial?

Why did Obama chose Biden as his vice president?

Why are Muslims stereotyped, and does this lead to a misconception about them in politics?

The WHEN questions:

When was the first person of race elected in to office?

When will we see a Muslim hold a high position in our government?

When did we see a significant and positive outlook in race in politics?

The WHERE questions:

Where is the majority of races represented in government?

Where will our next president of race come from?

Where is the best place to find information on race in politics?

Where is the highest voter concentration in the United States?

The WHO questions:

Who are current Muslims in politics?

Who does Barack Obama consider a role model?

Who are the most represented races in our government?

Who has benefited the most from having an African-American in The White House?

The HOW questions:

How can people of different races become important players in politics?

How did Barack Obama's campaign win his election?

How did the Latino vote favor Obama?

How will a person of race succeed?

The WOULD and COULD questions:

Would the landscape of politics have been the same if McCain would have won?

Could we ever have a Muslim president?

Could we ever have a Mexican-American president?

Would Barack Obama have won if he didn't have the support from the entertainment industry?

The SHOULD questions:

Should laws be put into place requiring people of race to represent our government?

Should we look beyond race in politics?

Should we judge race in politics if our president does not deliver?

Narrowing My Topic

As I was trying to narrow down my topic I asked myself if it was to broad or if I should change it from "ethnicity in politics" to "race in politics".  After some research I came to the conclusion that they were pretty much the same thing.  I would say that the "race  in politics", would attract more readers in light of our current situation dealing with our presidency.  I feel it appeals more to my audience, whereas "ethnicity in politics", seems like a broader subject.  Although I will focus on both and try to distinguish one from the other.

Exploring My Topic

The first place I searched was actually from a co-worker who is Muslim.  My co-worker is actually sister of a Muslim who ran for the Colorado House Of Representatives.  I asked her about my topic and she made some good recommendations.  

One of the sites she told me about was Project MAPS (Muslim Americans in the public square). The link she directed me to was an actual interview from the director of the project.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=849355

Another interesting tidbit we had in our conversation was that the Muslim race is divided into sub-races.  In other words it consists of several ethnicities. I checked out The Pew Center's website for a breakdown and better understanding of these ethnicities.

http://pewforum.org

The main reason i chose this topic was due to the fact that we have our first African-American President in office.  Barack Obama has done something many thought was impossible, he has essentially changed the landscape of politics, I found a great article from the International Herald Tribune. This article presents us with a view on his election and how many felt.  It also talks about some of the misperceptions among whites and blacks in politics

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/08/america/race.php

Delicious Account

Delicious Account

My Topic

UPDATE:

I decided to switch my topic to "Ethnicity in Politics".

I decided to focus on the topic of having a playoff system in college football. One of the main reasons I have chosen this topic is the fact that in the last couple years controversy has often followed the conclusion of the BCS national championship With a playoff system intact a true national champions could be decided without the need for controversy.

The blueprint followed by a majority of sports leagues is something the NCAA should look at when deciding its football champion.  Being a huge college football fan I do have some knowledge with the current system consisting of the BCS formula.  This current formula uses a combination of polls and computer rankings to determine the two teams vying for the national championship.

The information I would like to focus on would be the legalities of the system and how the government can intervene.  I want to focus on what it would take for the governing bodies of the NCAA to implement a playoff system in sports.  I want to know who makes the decisions and who has the ability to influence those decisions.

Possible Topics

Declining record sales
Social networking on the internet
The impact of smart phones
Playoff system in college football