Research Ideas

One of my primary objectives in establishing this blog was not only to provide a platform for my papers but also to create a space where I can document the process of crafting each research project. Today, I find myself concluding one of the initial steps in my research process: jotting down my paper ideas. While the final decision on which topic to pursue remains pending, the following list encapsulates the ideas I’ve generated, developed to various degrees.

1. In-depth exploration and history of J. Edgar Hoover’s opinions on and actions against communists.
2. A comprehensive history of the American prison system and the development of the prison industrial complex (PIC).
3. Investigation into the relationship between various leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and the US Communist Party.
4. Zoos.
5. The role sports played in the Cold War, focusing on the Olympics.
6. J. Edgar Hoover’s role in creating the Red Scare of the 1950s (Hooverism vs. McCarthyism).
7. What J. Edgar Hoover’s differing treatment of the internment of Japanese Americans and Communist Americans reveals.
8. Parallels between the East German Stasi and the US FBI.
9. The creation of Stone Mountain and the role it serves within the Ku Klux Klan.
10. Investigation into Bobby Kennedy’s true civil rights leanings, inspired by discrepancies in his approval of wiretaps on civil rights leaders and his stance in his presidential election.
11. A deep dive into American liberalism and its impact on US foreign policy.
12. Exploration of doping in East Germany.
13. History of the US Communist Party.
14. Tracking the political shift over time through the platforms of every US presidential nominee and the reactions to their platforms.
15. Tracking the way public opinion influences prison policy using newspaper articles and analyzing the rhetoric and tone within them.
16. Prisons during the Cold War.
17. Relationship between J. Edgar Hoover, communism, and the civil rights movement.
18. Summary of corporate interests in CIA-backed Cold War coups (e.g., British Petroleum, United Fruit).
19. Examination of the FBI’s involvement with lynchings in the 20th century.
20. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.