What are some good Anthropology research paper prompts?

Question

I know that's a little vague, but anything will work.

I won't officially be enrolled in an anthropology class until next year, but I have more than a dozen different text books and it seems like a waste of time for me to read them and then just forget. I love writing research papers, so I'm hoping to do a little interactive learning.

If you have any interesting, college-level prompts, I would greatly appreciate it.

Any sub-category of anthropology is fine, as long as it's anthropologically relevant.

I.E. Cultural Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, Archaeology, etc...

It'd be nice if the prompt was something you would actually be assigned.

So, no stuff like "WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY" or "HOW DID PEOPLE EVOLVE".

Something that a research paper might actually cover, please.

Specific. :)

Thank you!

Answer 1

I think it would be novel to do a research paper on the cultural anthropology of humor.  Each ethnic group has a distinct taste towards comedy.  For example, Richard Pryor and Red Foxx were comedians that had license to say things know one else dare utter outside the race, and they made it funny.  Chris Rock is the current funny man who dares to press the edge.  How and why has comedy/language evolved in a specific culture?  Then look to see what truths are made humorous to a specific group, but not necessarily to others.  Some comedians do not have crossover appeal. Why?   What voice does a comedian give to issues specific to culture?  HBO Commentator Bill Maher has crossover appeal laced with sarcasm and common sense.  His schtick is modern day satire. Another angle that can be touched on is  satire.  You could review William Sarte, whose "Satire" gets it's name. Maher has made satire an art form in politics, so has "Borat".  He made fun of his homeland (Khazistan?) and they were none to happy, but at their expense he had his 15 minutes of fame.  This type of research could prove interesting and entertaining.

Answer 2

I'm always fascinated by cultural anthropology research. Why not look at a small geographic region (island of Crete, Serengetti of Kenya, etc.) and examine how culture spread from one group to another over time.

You could look at information from digs, traditional stories, literature or art if any remains, or even commonalities among  different groups living close to one another.

Or....it might be fun to consider doing a gender-based study on women who are the wives of immigrant men, evaluating the culture and values of those relationships.

There are lots of great ideas. Go sit by yourself for a while and see what pops in your head. Then run with it!