Capstone Project Ideas

Your project for this class needs to be a global issue that is interesting to you.  To get you starting to think about what you might want to choose, here are some ideas.  Most of these ideas are just a starting point and will require you to narrow down your focus once you delve into the topic.  Often these ideas are general 

You can choose something from the list, but you certainly do not have to.  Regardless of what you settle on in the end, make sure you are interested by it since you will spend a long time reading, thinking, and working on the final product and presentation.

Conflict

Religions
Military service requirements
Ownership of space, the poles, underwater
Cyber warfare
Child soldiers
Human trafficking
Piracy
Labor unions
National security
Use of drones
Asymmetrical warfare
Terrorism
Drug wars
Racism
Sports and extreme nationalism/racism
Nationalism
Immigration 

Culture

Food
Treatment of women
World literature
Assimilation
Westernization
Sports as cultural identity
National pride and identity
National culture and immigration
How movies/literature/poetry reflect the culture in which they are made

Economics

Currency
Global supply chains
Global economy
The politics of coffee (or any other product)
Tainted food
Global food supply
Access to healthy food
Access to enough food
How far food travels – global vs. local sourcing of food
Microloans
Getting a product to market
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Countries buying land in other countries (for food/water/etc.)
China’s expanding influence in Asia
Alternative energy
Mass transportation
Labor unions
Corporate governance
Wealth gap between rich and poor (people and/or nations)
Poverty
Developing nations
Drug trade
Globalization of sporting leagues
Match fixing
Value of owning a sports team
Growth of China
Working conditions in factories around the world
China’s traditional medicine & poaching

Education

Access to education
Education around the world
WISER as a model school
Comparing US education to others around the world
MOOCs as a way to open higher education
Studying abroad

Environment

Non-governmental organizations
Climate change
Wildlife smuggling
Poaching
Pollution
Migration – of people or animals
Overpopulation
Water - usage, demand vs supply, pollution
Waste disposal systems
Recovery from natural disasters
Overfishing
Urbanization
Biodiversity 
Alternative energy
China’s traditional medicine & poaching

Health

Non-governmental organizations – like Doctors without Borders, or Partners in Health
Maternal rights and care
Female genital mutilation
Access to health care
Tainted food
Global food supply
Access to healthy food
Access to enough food
How far food travels – global vs. local sourcing of food
GMOs
Obesity
Drug use

Human Rights

Non-governmental organizations, like Amnesty International
Freedom of speech 
Journalistic freedom
Child soldiers
Human trafficking
Child brides
Labor unions
Right for gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people 
Treatment of minority groups in larger countries
Assimilation
Treatment of indigenous populations

Infrastructure

Drinking water
Waste disposal systems
Brain drain in developing countries
Internet access
Hospitals 
Schools
Mass transit systems

Politics

Military service requirements
Ownership of space, the poles, underwater
Messages of national anthems
The role of the UN or NATO in the world today
China’s expanding influence in Asia
Mass transportation
National security
Drug wars
Immigration
Use of sport as diplomacy

Sports

Olympics/World Cup bids & corruption
Use of sport as diplomacy
Globalization of sporting leagues
Match fixing
Value of owning a sports team
Sport as cultural identity
Sports and extreme nationalism/racism