Suggested paper topics

 

SUGGESTED PAPER TOPICS

GENERAL

Into the Wild: The character of Chris McCandless; Krakauer's role as compiler of McCandless's Life; McCandless's sister's perspective; What should Alaska do with the bus?

The Franklin expedition: What led it its demise? What can the archaeological evidence tell us? The Inuit role in rediscovering Franklin's ships. The role of the Franklin saga in Arctic Tourism; From the Arctic to Outer Space -- is Manned Exploration worth the cost? 

Also: for those who enjoy horror as well as history, the AMC series "The Terror" is very well-done and could serve as the topic of a paper. When it first appeared in 2018, showrunner David Kajganich and star Jared Harris visited our classroom!

Jared Harris at RIC

Minik: The New York Eskimo: What does Minik's story tell us about the field of Anthropology? Is the Museum of Natural History still tainted by how it dealt with Minik? Harper's role as the compiler of Minik's Life; Should Qisuk's bones have bee repatriated? Should Minik's be? 

Nanook of the North: What does knowing about what this film falsified or omitted (Flaherty's insistence that modern weapons and clothing not be used; his omission of the fact that the woman who played "Nala" was his mistress) say about the value of the results? You could also look at more recent and contemporary Inuit-written and directed films -- Nanook Taxi, Atanarjuat: The Fast Funner, or Slash/Back -- what difference do they make?

Split Tooth: What is the relationship between Tanya Tagaq's music and her book? Choose as social issue in the book -- alcoholism, domestic violence, mental health, education -- and find more about it in Nunavut today; "Magical realism" -- is this the appropriate word for indigenous narratives that take place in part in the spirit world?

FOR NURSING, HEALTH SCIENCES AND OTHER MEDICAL MAJORS

Delivering healthcare in the Arctic

As I've noted in class, Nunavut -- our nearest Arctic neighbor -- has a population of around 38,000 (similar to that of Coventry RI) and an area of 725,000 square miles, which is 600 times the size of Rhode Island -- it's two-and-a half times the size of Texas (population 30 million).

Most inhabitants are indigenous Inuit people, and nearly all of them live in the 26 small settlements known as "hamlets." the largest of which is the capitol city of Iqaluit, population 7,740; many have fewer than 1,000 residents. These hamlets are, in general, hundreds of miles from each other (though some are closer) and can reliably be reached only by airplane. So delivering health services, as you can imagine, is very challenging just in terms of logistics. Nearly all hamlets have a community health centre staffed by nurses; doctors support these via telehealth and periodic visits. Trauma and surgical cases generally require a flight to a more southerly Canadian city, such as Edmonton, Ottawa, or Montreal. All this poses enormous challenges to providing healthcare: cost, recruiting and retaining medical staff. and specialized care (there is only one maternity ward, one rehab center, and one long-term care facility, in all of Nunavut; most people are flown south at government expense to receive these services).

Food/Food insecurity

Many Inuit still eat their traditional foods -- muktuk (whale blubber), seal, beluga, polar bear, and Arctic char -- it's called "country food" up there. 

A plate of "country food" I enjoyed in Nunavut: seal liver, muktuk, char, and polar bear, with a big piece of "Bannock" or fry bread!

At the same time, many younger Inuit prefer Western foods, and (unfortunately) go for some of the more highly sweetened and fatty foods. Diabetes is a big heath issue. All Western food has to be flown in at great expense; a jar of spaghetti sauce might cost $20, or a bunch of bananas $12. Incomes are limited and unemployment is high in the north, which then leads to food insecurity being a huge issue.

Some general background

and I would strongly suggest you search back issues of the Nunatsiaq News, which will have many more recent articles and stories about food-related issues. This is just one example.