Category Archives: Student Research

Ideas for Research Project

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I am considering doing my research project on:

  1. Predominantly Latin communities/neighborhoods in Chicago (Pilsen, Humboldt, etc. ) and how/why they came to be. (Looking at the history and immigration to these areas.) I may extend to see what negative and positive effects having a community like this cause.
  2. How different people in Guatemala interact with each other. (City vs. mountain and country people) and why it may be negative or positive. I want to examine the history of my country.

I hope to discover more about my city and the neighborhoods I am frequently in but do not know the history of. I am also interested in the various Guatemalan people’s encounters. I know there are differences and connotations to each, but I want to know why and where these dences started.

After searching wiki and credo, I found many sources. Thankfully Chicago is a big city with many documented sources if its history. I found info on the specific neighborhoods history, traditions, residents, etc.

I also found lots of information on Guatemala that I thought would be helpful. This included the differences in ethnic groups, languages, indigenous integration, religion, etc.

Overall, I think my topics are interesting to me and I will be able to find info about both.

 

Possible Research Topics

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One research topic I am interested in is coffee. I’m thinking of having my theme as how has coffee impacted the world economically and socially. Credo mentioned that in 2002 coffee retail sales were $55 billion dollars but the countries that exported the coffee only received $6 billion. Credo also has further readings like “Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World.” Credo mentions that after the 1830s everyone was drinking coffee and it became an important part of their day. Credo also mentions the only twentieth century product marked of higher value then coffee is oil. Wikipedia has a map that shows the United States imports the most coffee than any other country. Wikipedia also mentions that 90% of coffee production takes place in developing countries. Another fact Wikipedia has is that in Brazil over 5 million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over 3 billion coffee plants.  

Another research topic I am interested in is the Mayan culture and the Mayan people still present in Central America. I’m thinking of looking at how the Mayan culture is still present in the Central American countries and how they are being treated in the countries. Credo mentions that the Mayans were the only people who developed a form of writing that was part ideographic and part photonic. Wikipedia says that Guatemala conducted a genocide of the Mayan people where in some areas the government killed up to 40% of the total population. The president of that time was sentenced to 80 years in prison but the sentence was overturned due to alleged irregularities in the handling of the case.

http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abcibamrle/coffee/0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_coffee

http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/routlamlit/mayan_literature/0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_peoples