I’ve been debating with myself what exactly I ought to write my dissertation about ever since last year when I found out a dissertation would be 50% of my Master’s degree course work. I haven’t actually been very stressed out about it, which is quite surprising.
I think I’ve settled on a general topic and will define it more with my advisor in two weeks. But *drum roll* my topic is: The Christian Right’s influence on US foreign policy in the Middle East.
There’s a significant amount of academic interest about this subject in Europe & in fact in last week’s Economist there was an article about it. My advisor is interested in doing a survey in a mid-western state regarding the Middle East – what people know, think they know, and simply don’t know. I may somehow incorporate a survey of my own into my dissertation but I won’t decide that for at least a few more weeks because I first need to narrow my topic.
One thought is to profile the new lobbying group CUFI (Christians United for Israel), their aims, eschatology and potential political impact. They’re actually holding a conference in D.C. in July that I absolutely have to attend… either direction I go it’s probably my best opportunity to interview or survey leaders of the Christian Right, which my advisor will help me sort out.
I told my advisor I’m most interested in speaking with John Hagee since he’s the founder of CUFI and will do whatever it takes to get to chat with him. I think he’d give some great quotes I could put in my dissertation. =)
I’m reallllly excited about this project. I feel like it’s the convergence of my academic, personal, religious and political interests. Plus, I’ve already read quite a bit about the topic and have a good grasp of the basics, which will make tackling it a lot easier.
So just thought I’d share the big news. =)
14 Responses to “My dissertation topic…”
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January 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
What a great topic! How important.
I have seen Hagee and found him quite disturbing. I wonder how much influence he has?
It seems like a big question will be arguing (or suggesting etc.) causation, i.e. how to connect interest groups and individuals and mindsets with actual policy implementation. Easy if some Congressman says that he is influcenced by the man but more difficult to see how the Christian Right influences the non-Christian Right, whether Republican or Democrat. And of great important, how does the Christian Right influence culture, media, overall attitudes?
Very important stuff!
January 24th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Well that should be interesting!
January 24th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Give ‘em hell, Esther.
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:54 pm
you make me smile. I am fascinated by your topic. I look forward to reading it someday and bragging that I know you!!!
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Dagnabbit! I’m really not with it today…
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Oops, that last comment from nebulatravel was really from me. I just read your post from Jonathan’s site. I’m sure you could tell from all the exclamation points – he would only do that if he were being sarcastic :).
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Great topic! And the video ideas above are great – you could go into your interviews with your own camera crew and present your thesis in two formats – a documentary as well as a written thesis! It would be really cool if an indie film producer picked it up or if it aired as a mini series on TV (no pressure or anything :)! Whatever you decide, I can’t wait to see the finished product!
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Ooh! Ooh! Interview me about what I know about the Middle East! I’m sure I’m full of misconceptions. I’m not in the Mid-West of the USA, but that doesn’t make me any more informed particularly.
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Perfect. It’s perfect. Let me know if I can help in any way.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:59 am
Oh my, this sounds fascinating…
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:51 am
^ haha. bullmeister is funny. :-)
esther, this is a GREAT topic. so much information to gather. definitely has potential for a book and interviews on news programs, etc. will you have a slant or bent to your topic or will you present it as “this is what they believe”? or both? you will have to be discreet about your position to get the hagee interview, but that would provide priceless information. primary sources are best. does nick do video camera work? you know tyler (crosswarrior) would be a good one if you need video footage. anyway, being passionate about the topic will help you get through the tough days. can’t wait for it!
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:41 am
I agree, hidden camera would be awesome. Or an audio recording, that would be ok too.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:22 am
My heart goes out to your future victims, err…interviewees. They’ll never know what hit them. Actually, could you bring a hidden camera – that would be a nice touch.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 am
That sounds like an amazingly interesting topic. I would love to read it eventually because it really ties into some of my own research, namely 19th-20th c. American evangelicals and fundamentalists.