GBST 191 Fall
2013 Haiti:
Past, Present and Future
Project Options
Forty percent of your grade in GBST 191 is
based on a short (less than 10 pp. typed, double-spaced) paper. Each
student should prepare a short written statement that briefly specifies the
topic you plan to study or the problem your project proposal will be designed
to solve. Your proposed topic is due in class on October 29 and should include citations
for two or three sources of information you will use for your paper. The final
paper should be no longer than 10 typed, double-spaced
pages. Your paper is due on December 3.
Please include a bibliography.
Individually, write a 7-10 page research paper
with the topic of your choosing that focuses on an event in Haitian
history, describes the event and analyses the causes and consequence of the
event. Or pick an issue that is problematic
in contemporary Haitian society, examine the history
of the issue and the effects the country faces today. Your paper could focus on
one or more of the general themes of the course (i.e. agriculture, health,
poverty, relations that Haiti has had with the rest of the world, or religion). You
should have at least 5 resources to draw upon for your research.. Some could be from the assigned readings for the course, some should be from the library. Grades will be
based on the level of effort, intelligent analysis, and effectiveness of
presentation.
A Guide to
Writing Research Papers: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html
Individually, or in small groups of 2-3, think
about an issue in Haiti and develop a reasonable and affordable proposal to
resolve the issue. The proposal should be 10 pages long. Describe the problem
and discuss its causes. Discuss how your intervention should help resolve the
problem. Think about how you would fund such a project. Which experts would you
consult? Who would comprise the team carrying out this project? Would you work
with an NGO? If possible you should design a project that will be based at a
campus of the University of California and involve students and faculty. (Example: you design a water purification
project with faculty from the Bourns College of Engineering, and you carry out
the project with the UCR Chapter of Engineers Without
Borders). Use what you learn in the lecture portion of the course to guide your
project. Use your knowledge of UCR to help guide your design (what Departments
currently do work in third world countries? What student groups could you
partner with?
Be
creative and utilize multiple campus resources, and be as realistic as
possible. If you choose to do a project design with one or two other students,
the grade will be the same for every team member. So be careful who you decide
to partner up with. We encourage you to speak with your fellow students and
utilize their knowledge on their majors and resources and see what you can come
up with. You can also do a project design individually.
A guide to writing proposals is at http://www.sc.edu/our/doc/Proposaltipshints.pdf