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English Lang & Lit EE Question about topic & RQ


SunshineRay

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Hey guys, so I've started writing my essay, but a few concerns have just come up. I'm writing mine in the Language side, Category 3 (which is about mass communications) My research question so far is: 

 

How was protest music an effective medium of social issues during the 1960s-1970s?  

 

Music is a type of mass media, and during the 1960s-1970s, it played a big role in voicing opinions during times of wars (vietnam and civil wars), political discourses and other events (i.e. black civil rights). Thus, I want to explore how it was effective as a mass media. I will be researching different musical artists and music genres.. I'm just scared that this is involving a bit of Music and History, and I know that combining other subject areas is not good (but that is not my intention). My supervisor approved this topic already. 

 

My questions are:

 

Do you think my question is too broad? 

What do you think of my topic (and RQ)? 

Do you think I should focus on just one culture? (i.e. American Culture or Youth Culture) -Because I wanna show other artists than American artists or other events, but I'm worried that it'll get too broad. 

 

 

 

 

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A song making fun of protest songs in the 1960s:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yygMhtNQJ9M  :D

 

Anyway, I like your question. Once you choose what songs you'll specifically be doing, I'd probably change your dates from 60s-70s to be the earliest song to the latest song's release years. Alternatively, if you're are choosing a specific movement like black civil rights, you could do the IB's years for that movement (56-68).

I think you should focus on one culture. I personally think there are lots of protest songs about the civil rights movement than Vietnam or any of the other events of the 60s or 70s. The members of the civil rights movement didn't ever stop singing. They would sing in jail for days and days! 

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Do you think I should deconstruct the songs? I personally want to, but my supervisor recommended not to, and instead to just explain how they led to effective change (which I also planned to do)

You're kind of walking a fine line here between language, history, and music right now. I'll be honest, when I made my first post I forgot that you were doing English. Focusing on change and all of that is really more of a history topic, not an English one (though I don't know a lot about the mass communications subtopic.). Looking at the language of the song and how it affected something would be more of an English topic in my opinion. 

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I think that you should try to focus on one culture  and also some songs of a specific artist/artists too. That way I believe that the history/music part would be shortened and you could focus much more on the language part. Of course you'd have to do a lot of research on the history as well to be able to answer your research question "how effective it was". It's a good topic, however I do agree with Thrashmaster, you're walking on a fine line between history and language...

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I think that you should try to focus on one culture  and also some songs of a specific artist/artists too. That way I believe that the history/music part would be shortened and you could focus much more on the language part. Of course you'd have to do a lot of research on the history as well to be able to answer your research question "how effective it was". It's a good topic, however I do agree with Thrashmaster, you're walking on a fine line between history and language..

 

 

Do you think I should deconstruct the songs? I personally want to, but my supervisor recommended not to, and instead to just explain how they led to effective change (which I also planned to do)

You're kind of walking a fine line here between language, history, and music right now. I'll be honest, when I made my first post I forgot that you were doing English. Focusing on change and all of that is really more of a history topic, not an English one (though I don't know a lot about the mass communications subtopic.). Looking at the language of the song and how it affected something would be more of an English topic in my opinion. 

 

 

Thanks guys! Really appreciate all the help because that whole thing about being in between history and english had me very worried so I'm gonna try my best to lean into the language part as much as I can. So does that mean that you recommend that I also deconstruct the songs (so I can talk about the language they used)? I think I'll focus on the American culture but I'm not sure if I should add that to the title I have now as it might be too long? BUT YES, THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP! 

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