WA3

Research Proposal

           For my research, I will be looking at cultural perspectives of the United States and the Soviet Union during the cold war, specifically during the space race. It will focus on two events, the successful launch of the world’s first artificial satellite, the Soviets’ Sputnik, and the first lunar landing of a manned craft the Eagle, during the American Apollo program. Newspapers will be used to see how both, vastly different cultures reacted to their own victories and defeats.

           It is my belief that this research will be important because very little is taught about the cultural aspects of these two events. We are, as Americans, taught about the success that was the Apollo program and that it was very important, but because it is not required for standardized testing, many educators do not go in depth to tell how Americans felt about both events. It goes, then, without saying that information on the Soviet culture would be hard pressed to be found taught in any high school across America. It can be assumed that both cultures reacted with joy to the advances made by their own countries, and that defeat was not appreciated, but how was that information presented to the masses? How does style of government play into the introduction of information to the public, did we down play the early success of the Russians? Being the communist country that they were, was the public even told of Americans landing on the moon? Will there be any surprising things found through the research, such as Soviet papers o verstating American advances in order to incite the need for the public to work harder, or that the United States may have been the one to hide the truth from the masses.

I have framed the questions based on my own interest in the area of the research, and I firmly believe that they are things that need to be answered. Other questions may be discovered during the research process itself, and the final product may be something far different than what I had intended it to be. The Jungle was meant to inform the average person the hardships and inequalities faced by workers, but it instead became the driving force for the total overhaul of the United States meat packing and processing industry, so it is no impossible, nor necessarily a negative thing, that my final document may incite a different reaction than that intended.

My research will be done exclusively with published materials, newspapers in this case, and does not call for subjects or interviewees, and therefore I shall not have to worry about any conflicts with ethical treatment. Should there be any kind of involvement of individuals other than myself included in this project, it would be limited to providing assistance with the process, such as: aid from my professor in turning my findings into a correctly written document, peer review, or research assistance from individuals who work in the archives. There will be no personal information required of these individuals, as previously stated, they would be providing only assistance with the process itself. These individuals, despite not having been required to sign a consent form and therefore not being protected by one, would, in the event their services are called upon, be handled with upmost respect and courtesy.

My research will begin shortly, during the first week of November 2011, and will continue until it has successfully answered the questions that it was intended to, or until the allotted time for research has come to its end. It will be conducted through the on campus library, by utilizing the archives and sources available there, and I will also be taking advantage of the resources available over the internet, which will allow for a greater deal of flexibility in my physical location during the research process. The information being sought after will be newspapers’ archives, one of which will represent the view of American culture, The Dallas Morning News, and one, as yet to be found, that will show the view of the Soviet culture at the same time, and both will be following the same events.

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