- Politics and Society
1.
What is Obamacare, its purpose, and why it's so controversial?
2.
What are some reasons given for why the US political system may be
failing?
3.
Why could America default on its debt and what could be some of the
results if it did?
4.
Explain what gerrymandering is and its consequences.
5.
Can you compare the US to any historical empires?
6.
Who do politicians seem to be acting for?
7.
How does a system with under 10% survive?
- Personal Relations
http://www.nextavenue.org/blog/why-your-childhood-crucial-how-youll-age?
1.
Has sexting replaced old-fashioned love letters?
2.
How have relationships between teens changed in the age of the
Internet?
3.
Why do people cheat on their partners?
4.
What are the stereotypes surrounding cheating women?
5.
Do you believe childhood influences one's older life? How?
6.
Discuss any different types of parent-child relationships you know.
7.
What stereotypes of parent-child relationships do you know?
- Lifestyle
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/millennials-stress_b_2718986.html
1.
What different kinds of lifestyle do you know?
2.
What factors determine our life choices?
3.
Do you believe that your generation is more stressed than previous
ones?
4.
Why has it been said that sitting is the smoking of our generation?
5.
Has technology made it more difficult to make a break from the past?
If so, how?
6.
What are the elements of a healthy lifestyle?
7.
Does one's wealth influence their relationships?
4.
Travel and Tourism
http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-tourism.htm
1. What is Dark
Tourism?
2. What are the
motivations and reasons for visiting such places?
3. Would you
ever choose to take such a trip? If so, which would you choose and
why?
4. Do you think
it's educational for children to visit Dark Tourism locations?
5. Discuss the
pros and cons of space tourism.
6. Discuss the
pros and cons of the commercialization of space.
7. Will space
tourism ever become more available to average people and if so, when?
8. Would you
like to travel to space?
5.
Science and Technology
http://theconversation.com/the-linguistic-clues-that-reveal-your-true-twitter-identity-20457
1.
What technologies have been featured in movies that then later became
part of our lives?
2.
How have social networking sites influenced your life?
3.
To what extent has technology influenced your life?
4.
What consequences may wearable technology have on our lives?
5.
What kind of technologies are predicted to become or you'd like to
see become a part of our lives?
6.
What is trolling and the disinhibition effect?
7.
How is our online behavior influenced by our perception of anonymity?
6.
Media
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/08/redress-ethnic-minority-representation-media
1.
What is disaster porn and what is the attraction?
2.
Should women be better represented in the media? Why/Why not?
3.
Is the media in need of affirmative action programs and should they
be instituted?
4.
What is the backfire effect? Can you provide an example?
5.
Is there censorship in the media? If so describe how it works, if not
explain what happened to Phil Donahue.
6.
What are the negative consequences of concentration of media
ownership?
7.
How do you think the media influences young people's lives and
opinions?
7.
Ethics
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/04/11/224085/cias-use-of-harsh-interrogation.html
1.
What are some of the potential causes of sociopathy?
2.
Is it easy to recognize a sociopath?
3.
How does a sociopath function in society?
4.
What does it mean to be a whistleblower?
5.
Is torture ever justifiable?
6.
Why do people disagree about whether or not whistleblowers are
heroes?
7.
Why would Edward Snowden seek refuge in Russia?
8.
Education
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pm-lee--psle-will-be-%E2%80%98scored-differently%E2%80%99--places-to-be-reserved-for-pri-1-141915493.html
1.
What are some of the benefits of higher education for society?
2.
What are the major reasons cited by first year American university
students for attending college?
3.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of standardized testing?
4.
Should religious education be obligatory in school?
5.
Who should decide what goes into school curricula and textbooks?
6.
Should creationism be taught instead of Darwinism? Is there any room
for compromise?
7.
Is it necessary to test children after every grade? At what age is it
reasonable to introduce it?
9.
Art and Culture
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2514104/How-iPad-art-inspired-76-year-old-David-Hockney.html
1.
On what basis should school art classes be assessed and why?
2.
What are the possible consequences of removing art and music classes
from school curricula?
3.
How has technology influenced art?
4.
What do you think of performance art? Can you give some examples?
5.
What's art? How do you decide what is and isn't art?
6.
What's the relation between the creation of a piece of art and the
final outcome?
7.
Can social protest be art or not?