INSTRUCTIONS
Your 500-word proposal should include 4 basic components:
- a statement of your central question or argument; (100-200 words)
- a discussion of the primary texts you will be using focusing on the arguments made by the authors and how these arguments relate to the argument you will be making; (100-200 words)
- a very short introduction to your proposed case study (or studies), (100-200 words) and
- a list of 5-8 references that you plan to use in your analysis.
Please use the following headings for your proposal so we can clearly identify the relevant sections:
- Argument
- Literature
- Case study
- References
We do not expect that you will have a fully worked-out argument at this point. However, we are expecting that you have read some of the main texts that you are planning to use in your research essay and are able to provide a tentative argument or outline one or more important debates/tensions in relation to the topic that you intend to engage with. You should not simply provide the topic statement as your argument.
INSTRUCTIONS
Final essay topics
- Does digital media make civil society more democratic? Critically discuss with reference to one country context.
- In contexts where there is an authoritarian government or democracy is limited, what (if any) role is there for civil society in holding the government to account? Critically discuss this with reference to a particular country context.
- Collaboration between NGOs and social movements is crucial to the success of campaigns for corporate accountability OR against extractivism (choose one). Support or contest this argument drawing on examples of 2-3 campaigns.
- The proportion of the global aid budget channelled through NGOs should be reduced. Present a considered response to this statement, comparing and contrasting the efforts of at least two NGOs to respond to NGOization critiques (e.g. through localization), and/or critically analysing one potential alternative to NGOs (e.g., social movements, direct cash transfers).
- Present a case study of one NGO, using it as an example to discuss the potential and limitations of NGOs as civil society actors. If you choose this option, we will expect a detailed case study that locates your chosen NGO in the wider political, economic, and historical contexts and links its role to civil society theory.