Proposal revision:
Having taken advice from Julie I am revising by proposal, attempting to narrow censorship, China, and the internet. I propose the topic of how censorship and the internet play an active role in political activism despite their differences. Moreover, how they actually can work in concert with one another and give personal representation as well. This is evident within China’s government and the parameters they set for users. Although American views China’s censorship negatively, Chinese users (for the most part) have found a voice within the boundaries established. There are several other countries and specifically users who feel what is happening in China are inherently wrong although users in China work within the system established. I want to explore how both countries differ in internet censorship but share a commonality as they accept the parameters established. I still need feedback from others on narrowing or any advice to give! Thoughts?
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[Considering this a pre-blog #9 post, like 8.5; am answering here instead of to the email in case there are people reading this who would find the info helpful.]
ReplyDeleteRemember that what you are proposing isn't just the topic -- that provides context -- but instead the argument (or research question that will result in an argument by the time you write your paper), the methodology, the connections, etc.
Think about it this way:
* The overall context of my argument is ______.
* My specific argument is _____.
* I will support that argument with _____.
That would be a good starting point for the proposal itself.
As to what you've written here, if your argument is "you can still do stuff if you're censored, therefore censorship isn't all bad," that's going to be a difficult argument to make. There's a heck of a lot of difference between working within parameters and working within parameters because otherwise you will be jailed for years. Also, you can't really have an argument that is "it's different, but the same" -- that's pretty lame. You can do better!
Think about specific examples of activism that has broken through censorship barriers. Then think about how that happened, and what that might say about how information moves and how communities work. Then think about what argument you can make about that, e.g. WHY or SO WHAT?