Write a “research” paper dealing with some topical (current) aspect of the cultural geography of Minnesota or the British Isles not specifically covered in class (i.e. not Mall of America or Belfast murals). You will need to consult relevant sources including local newspapers, magazines, websites and connect the information found in those sources to theoretical approaches discussed in class and/or in the readings. You might write about an issue or topic concerning landscape, popular culture, class, gender, sexuality, homeplace, globalization, but you must write about it/them in the context of a specific local place. You may address topics with a broad regional scope but be sure through your analysis to justify how and why your topic is a state-wide one (perhaps related to regional/state tourism or cultural initiatives carried out at the state or local level by government). Don’t succumb to over-generalization.

Your paper must contain at least 5 relevant sources, at least 3 of which should be scholarly articles or books in cultural geography (scholarly articles refers to peer reviewed papers that appear in journals found on sites like Science Direct in the library’s article database; D2L readings and the textbook count, though note that the textbook only counts as one source, not each of the chapters). See syllabus for further guidelines.