Dissertation Proposal for American Government MA

Hi there im starting my dissertation for my MA in American Government and need some help. My title is as follows " HOW THE RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT USED THE WASHINGTON TIMES TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY USING THE ONSET OF AIDS/HIV IN THE 1980S".

can anyone give me some pointers in the right direction?? Thanks

Well, this topic is very interesting, but is it a unique contribution? In order to earn this degree, you need to contribute something that is more than a simple report. You need to write something that perhaps discusses this issue in light of a particular philosophy or theory... what do you know well? Can you compare it to some other kinds of discrimination, perhaps discrimination from earlier in history?

Or can you show how it is an example that can give us insight into something that is going on today? Keep reading, and apply your knowledge. What happens when someone with your unique set of knowledge writes a diss about this topic?

*** So, what are you talking about? How was the Washington Times used for discrimination?

Hi there thanks for getting back to me. At the minute im trying to put accross that America had a very liberal stance in the 60s and 70s and this virus came along just at the right time and was cherry picked by the conservatives in the early 80s to futher their cause, and used the virus to discriminate against homosexuality.

Im trying to back up my argument by saying the conservatives used the right wing media "the Washington Times" to do this. This affected the populas perception and acceptance of homosexuality that they had strived hard to get the 20 years previous, and now all that was jeopardised because of the right wing use of this virus to discriminate against them.

In my argument I hope to convey how I feel this trickled down even into the Reagan government, and even the government was effected by this prejudice, as by the time they did anything about it it was far to late, and this made the situation worse.

Hope this all makes sense as I have to write 14000 word diss on this and im getting lost with where im going, ok im rambling now but thanks for your input.

Hi WDLLC, I am starting to think your argument might be too obvious. Let me ask you this: If I looked at the Washington Times articles to which you refer, would it be OBVIOUS that what you are saying is true? If it is obvious, it will not be meaningful.

So... to make this meaningful, how about making connections to what is happening today. Make a connection to a similar phenomenon currently happening. Then, your diss will not simply be about that prejudice from so many years ago; it will be about a timeless phenomenon, learning from history, and taking necessary steps to prevent such propaganda from hurting people nowadays.

I hope that gives you some useful ideas!! :-) Try looking at other, similar dissertations for guidance.