History

Topic Possibilities January 21, 2007

Picking a topic for a research project has always proved difficult for me. The last few semesters, i’ve come really close to doing projects related to propaganda. I think this class would be a good one to use that topic with, because it’s so difficult to discuss Chinese communism without discussing propaganda. Many communist countries, such as Vietnam and N. Korea also dissemminate propaganda in very much the same way as China. It’s fascinating how succeptible we are to propaganda. We can even fall victim to it ourselves, a phenomenon which i feel has alarmingly increased in the past 10 years in the U.S.

Another topic i have thought about was the issue of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. I did a very in-depth study of this dispute last semester with Dr. Rallis. Many SE Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, and the Phillipines claim the islands, which are rumored to contain oil reserves rivaling the middle east. The study my partner and i did focused more on geographic issues, such as geography of situation, resources, etc. It also explored economic and, to a lesser extent cultural issues. The Chinese in this international dispute are extremely unwilling to compromise, and often ignore Intl. Laws, such as the U.N. Law of the Sea. I this this speaks volumes about the Chinese culture. The Administration refuses to back down on this issue, which makes the Spratly Island dispute a possible powder keg situation which i believe will come to a nasty head sometime in the next twenty years.

Another topic i find interesting is Gambling in Macau. Macau was once one of the only cities in China open to foreign missionaries, and i feel that the legacy of capitalism thrives in this city. The city of Macau grossed more gambling revenue than Las Vegas this past year, and it is projected to grow uncontrollably in the coming years.

Well, that’s all i have right now. If anyone wants a copy of the Spratly Island paper, it was painstakingly footnoted, and contains a very well done index, and we got the highest grade in the class. I can’t take too much credit, since David Balbi, my partner and close friend is quite possibly one of the best students at this school.