Research a current issue related to disability in society.
Below are some broad topic ideas. You are not limited to them.
Be sure to focus on a specific question or issue and tie it in to your course themes.
Hurricane Sandy's impact on the disabled
America's failure to ratify to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Invisible disabilities
Veterans with disabilities
Assisted suicide
Funding for independent living centers
Disability and aging
Disability and parenthood
Children with disabilities
Disability in education
Tip: Do not examine disability through either a medical or psychological lens. Be sure to use sociology issues, theories, terms, etc.
For more help on how to develop a research topic, click on the image below for the Clark College IRIS research tutorial website.
You'll find lots of great and helpful info there!
Some good places to browse for topic ideas:
Newspapers and news online: Read about current disability issues in the mainstream and alternative news.
Inclusion Daily Express is an international disability rights news service that describes its mission as: "to provide disability advocates with the most up-to-date news, information and commentary about community inclusion, self-determination and social justice, in a way that saves time and is easy to use." Each daily edition features news and issues stories culled from daily papers, along with press releases, opinion and more. Use the left menu to find topic ideas.
The Seattle Times reports on disability issues within the pages of the daily paper. Access The Seattle Times online. To see what they have on a topic, you can type in a keyword (search box near top right of page) or click Advanced Search to focus your search further by date, paper section and more.
Recently found in The Seattle Times:
Report: State Ignoring Abuse at Group Homes by Maureen O'Hagan (Dec. 17, 2012)
For People with Autism, Shooting in Newtown Brings Unfair Stigma by Amy Harmon (Dec. 18, 2012 - originally in NY Times)
The New York Times: Access full text of the country's most respected daily newspaper through the Holman Library database ProQuest News and Newspapers. To limit your search to the New York Times, type in your keyword(s) and down the screen in the databases box, deselect all and reselect The New York Times. That will search within the pages of the Times. You may also limit by date range and more.
Recently found in The New York Times:
Ancient Bones that Tell a Story of Compassion by James Gorman (Dec 17, 2012.)
Blogs: While newspaper articles (other than editorials) report on the issues, blogs offer a mix of opinion, advocacy and news.
Ouch is a disability blog on the BBC (British Broadcasting Service) that addresses all kinds of topics, including a recent one on inappropriate holiday gifts.
Magazines - in print and online: While newspapers publish daily, magazines are usually on a weekly cycle, which means they can delve a little deeper into a subject. Magazine articles are a great place to find ideas and start learning about a topic.
New Mobility- The Magazine for Active Wheelchair Users: This website offers both news articles and blogs for wheelchair users and advocates. Their goal is to empower and inform. Browse for lots of ideas!
Holman Library current issues databases:
CQ Researcher reports have been documenting and analyzing American life since the 1920s. Try typing in disability, or a more specific term, and browse the list of reports for ideas. Access through Holman Library. Use your student id off campus.
Government web sites offer official insight into current issues and resources from the federal and state perspectives.