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English & Literature

Guide to resources at the College Library (print and electronic) for students studying English literature, fiction, prose, sports writing, travel writing, and more.

About Topic Starters

 

Deciding upon a topic for your assignment is one of the most challenging aspects of your college studies.

Search through the list on this page for ideas on topics.  Use encyclopedia and dictionaries to find background information on your topic and then build lists of key concepts and keywords before you start looking in the Library's databases.

Topic Ideas

 

Abstract Expressionism
African-Americans, portrayal in…
African Dance
afterlife
agnosticism
aliens
amusement parks
ancient cultures
ancient musical instruments
ancient Roman bath houses
angels
animal fighting events, ethics of
animal testing, ethics of
animation
anime/manga
anti-Semitism in literature
art glass
Arthurian legend
Arts & Crafts movement
atonement
autobiography, art of
bagpipes
Bayeux tapestry
beat poets
Beatles, cultural impact
bebop to hip-hop
body piercing
Bono (U2) activism
Buddhism
butoh
carnivals & circuses
carousels
castrati
celebrity
censorship in contemporary art
civility in the cell phone era
cloning, ethics
comic strips
concrete poetry
creationism vs. evolution
Crusades
cultural speech
dance as meditation
Dance of Death
Day of the Dead
Delphic Oracle
demonology
dialects of the South
dragons & other mythical beasts
ebonics
e-books
ecology in art
economic context of a novel
ecopoetry/ecocriticism
electronic music
elegies
embedded journalists
epitaphs
Esperanto
euthanasia
evil
fad dances (Macarena, etc.)
fairy tales
faith healing
fate
Fauves
feng shui
fiber art
free will

Freudian interpretation
fundamentalism
fur fasion, ethics
gargoyles
ghosts and poltergeists
Gnostics
goddesses
Golum
Gothic
graphic novels
Guerrilla Girls
Gullah dialect
gypsies
Harlem Renaissance
heaven
the hero in literature
Hinduism
hip hop culture
hippies
hipsters
historic preservation
history of the tuba, piano, etc.
holy grail
humor
icons
immortality

noh
non-sexist language
non-violence
Nostradamus
nymphs
opera, contemporary
organ transplant ethics
otherkin
paganism
papacy
plagiarism
post-modern architecture
priests and marriage?
pyramids
raku pottery
rap lyrics as poetry
rap music's effect on morals
"reality" tv--realistic?
reincarnation
religious holidays in
incarnation
Indigo children
information theory (in literature)
Islam
jazz, contemporary
Kabuki theater
karma
kinetic sculpture
kissing customs
klezmer music
labyrinth in religion
lace
line, texture, color across the arts
liturgy
Lost Colony
magic
make-up--fashion or stage
manners--out of style?
Mardi Gras
media ethics
meme
method acting
mime
minimalism
modern murals
monasteries
monsters in mythology
morality
mosaic, ancient & modern
movies' influence on fashion
mummies
music festivals
music therapy
musical satire
mystery plays
mysticism
myths, similarity across cultures
Nation of Islam
neo-romanticism
Nihilism
nirvana
Nobel Prize
nocturnes

various countries
rhythm & blues
right to privacy
robots
rose windows
saxophone in the symphony
science fiction
Scientology
serial music
sin
sitcom
slang
slanting in journalism
snake-handling in religious practice
social media
social networking
the soul
space and place in literature
speakeasy
special effects in movies
Stonehenge
suffering
sustainable design
symbolism
tabloid ethics
tattoos
textile arts
Theater of the Absurd
Third Stream music
totem poles
tramp art
Transcendentalists
trickster
troubadours
urban sculpture
vampires
Virginia authors
vocal vibrato
voodoo
war--influence on arts
witches
women artists, musicians, writers
women as priests
women photographers
women's roles in history
world music
yellow journalism
yin/yang
Zoroastrianism

prisons--build more?
prisons: do they create criminal personalities?
privacy rights
prostitution
Puerto Rico: independence?
puppy mills
racial profiling
radical feminism
raising children
reality TV programs
relief efforts
religious symbols in public places
riots
rituals
road rage
same sex parents adopting
scams
seat belt use
serial killers
sexual harassment
single-parent families
slavery
social networking
sodomy laws
stalking
stereotypes
support groups
surrogate mothers
sweatshops
tattoos
taboos
Taliban
talk shows
terrorism tactics & effects
torture as punishment
tsunami: effects & reactions
U.S. budget balancing
undercover FBI agents
underground railroad
Utopia
violence in sports, on TV, etc.
voting procedures - problems
voting rights for DC
voting rights for felons
welfare reform
"whistle-blowers"
witness protection program
women in combat
women in non-traditional roles
women in WW II
women suffrage
work/life ratio
working poor

oil spill effects
organic farming
ozone depletion
pesticides
photobioenergetics
pollution--air, land, sea
polymers
primate language
prokaryotes & eukaryotes
pyrotechnics
quarks & antiquarks
quasars
radioactive waste
rainforest conservation
red tides
remote sensing
rip currents
sand replenishment
shellfish
starfish
stellar spectra
stem cell research
stereo imaging
sunspots
teratogenesis
testing on animals
tides
tsunami: cause & effect
UFOs
viruses
volcanoes
water conservation
water quality
wetlands restoration

agriculture & the environment
algae
aliens
animal reintroduction
anthrax
antibiotics, overuse of
auroras
beach erosion
"Big Bang" theory
biofouling
biological/chemical warfare
black holes
butterfly migration
camouflage
carbon dating
"carbon footprint"
caves
chemical carcinogens
the chimpanzee, our cousin
circadian clocksclimate forcing

3D design, printing, scanning
adhesives
aeroacoustics
aeroelasticity
aerothermodynamics
air turbulence
airbags
alternative fuels
analytical mechanics
antibacterial products (toys, etc.)
artificial intellegence
asynchronous signal processing
biometric signatures
boundary layer
bridge collapse
CAD/CAM/CAE systems
"carbon footprint"
cell phones
composite materials
computer forensics
computer modeling
computer viruses
computer voice recognition
design optimization
Earth-sheltered homes
electric cars
encryption
ethanol
FEA, finite element analysis
fiber optics
flow: transonic, hypersonic & unsteady

fluid dynamics
flutter phenomena
geoengineering
GIS technology
high horsepower cars
holographs
hybrid vehicles
hydroforming
Internet technologies
ipods: beyond music
LAN/WAN servers
laser applications
liquid crystal applications
MEMS
microchipsmicrowave engineering
mobile computing
MOOs
nanomaterials
nanotechnology
nanotubes
naturalistic decision making
new tech gadgets
night vision technology
nonaotechnology
nuclear plants generating electricity
object-oriented technology
offshore structures
parallel computing
particle accelerators
plates
Pollution Protection Act

radar
rapid prototyping
refrigerants
robotics
satellites
seismic design
semiconductors
"sick" buildings
simulation
situation awareness
smart structures
sonar
space shuttles
space stations
speech recognition
superconductors
swamp draining
synchronous transmission
synthetic fuels
telephone history
tires
transonic flow
tunnels & bridges of Hampton Roads
vortex-motion
Walkie Talkie
Wi Fi in public spaces
wind sheer
wind tunnels
wireless communications

abortion
abuse in nursing homes
Affirmative Action
airport searches of passengers and bags
Al-Qaeda
alternative energy
American consumerism
animal rights
Arab-Israeli relations
assisted suicide
baby "dumping"
birth control
bracelets to support causes
bullying
capital punishment as a deterrent
Catholic priests and sexual abuse
charity scams
childproof handguns
CIA
civiity in the cell phone era
computer crime
conspiracies
crack houses
curfew for teenagers
death penalty
digital divide
domestic violence
drug rehabilitation in prisons
drug use in pregnancy: prosecute?
drunk drivers & MADD
elections - unusual outcomes
elder abuse
embedded reporting
equal rights in employment
equitable access to the Internet
espionage
fads
families
famine
female genital mutilation
fetal rights
flash mobs
forensic evidence
foster homes
fraud
free speech on the Internet
gangs
gays in the military
gender stereotypes in film
gender-neutral language
glass ceiling (women vs. men, salary gap)

globalization
gun control
hate groups
Holocaust survivors
homeland security
homeless
human gene map - social implications
human sterilization
humor
identity theft
illegal drug use
international terrorism
Internet
Internet addiction
interracial adoptions
Iraq War
Israeli/Palestinian conflict
Ku Klux Klan
latch key children
laughter
legalization of marijuana
lesbian & gay marriages
lesbian & gay parenting
lethal injection vs. electric chair
literacy
lobbyists
lotteries
love in cyberspace
"makeover" phenomenon on TV
marriage, history of
massacres on campus
military draft
military tribunals
military uniforms
missile defense
nepotism
net neutrality
nuclear power
nuclear warfare
nudists
nursing homes, abuse
online gaming
organ donation
organized crime
parenting
partial-birth abortion
Patriot Act
peace movement
plagiarism
plea bargaining = justice?
polygamy & polyandry
pornography
poverty

aerobics
amusement parks
archery
arenas
athletic clubs
athletic injuries
athletics scouts
auto racing
badminton
ballroom dancing
baseball
basketball
the BCS
bicycling
billiards
bird watching
board games
boxing
bungee jumping
camping
card games
cartoons
checkers
cheerleading
chess
children's games
children's museums
climbing
clogging
coaching
collecting: a mania?
comedy clubs
comic strips
computer games
concussions
cribbage
cross-country skiing
crossword puzzle construction
dance
decathlon
deep-sea diving
dice
dog sleds
dolls
drunken fans
ecotourism
effect of exercise on stress, health, aging, etc.
ego in sport

ecotourism
endorphins
esters
estuaries
farm animal diseases
farm animal welfare
farm subsidies
farming in less developed countries
fertilizers & the environment
fireflies
flavonoids
food irradiation
food webs
fungi
future/viablity of family farms
gems & minerals
genertic engineering of food & crops
genetic engineering
global warming
greenhouse effect
human brain development
human gene map
hurricanes
hydroids
intelligent databases
kudzu
lagoons
mass extinctions
mimicry
mirages
mutagenesis
nanotechnology
neural systems
neurobiology of sleep
nitrogen farming--should it stop?

cloning
comets
computer animation
conservation of natural resources
coral reefs
decomposting
desalinization
Dismal Swamp
DNA
dolphins
droughts--effects on economy
dunes
earthquakes
ecosystems: desert, marsh, tide pool