Research synthesis paper
Research Synthesis Paper: Students will be required to write one Research Synthesis Paper on material covered in class and as homework, including both written sources and a documentary/film. The paper should answer the below question.
Question: How is the city and urbanism in the UAE reflected in the 2009 film City of Life and other media? Discuss in relation to the film, supported by other sources such as local and international television, movies, art, news, social media or any other form of media.
The paper requires students to:
· Synthesize (put together)
· Compare and contrast information from different sources
· Apply relevant theories to the analysis of empirical data.
This assignment is worth 20% of your total grade. This assignment covers Learning Outcome 1, which is detailed in the course syllabus as well as listed below.
‘The student will demonstrate a solid understanding of major ideas, works, theories, and debates in the humanities and social sciences, analyze various connections across these disciplines, and apply this knowledge when explaining the relations between states and non-state actors at the local, regional and international levels’.
For this assignment, I will provide a number of sources that will help you in your research. You can pick and choose which ones you wish to use to support your argument in your paper. You should consider the question carefully and brainstorm ideas about how you are going to approach it. You will need to use the sources I give you as well as other appropriate sources that you have identified. You MUST use some of the theoretical approaches we have learned and discussed in class. This includes arguments in the context of the question about what it means to be urban, the effect of urbanization on the inhabitants of the city, comparing and contrasting different views in relation to understanding urbanization and the ‘urban mind’. You may use sources from outside the UAE, but I would encourage you to also use Emirati/Arab resources – this includes material which is in Arabic.
I will give you a list of sources to use, and you will need to add to them as you do your research. All sources should be referenced properly in APA style, 12 point black font, double spaced and use language appropriate to the task. Do not use the first person in this paper.
Make sure to include in-text references as well as a bibliography of sources (in alphabetical order). Formatting etc. should be appropriate to the task. I would expect the paper to be somewhere in the region of 2000 words.
The film that I want you to use for your assignment is ‘City of Life’ by Emirati Director Ali Mustafa.
In the film some of the major questions asked are ‘What constitutes a better life’? ‘Where is life? Is it the lights on the horizon (the city)? Or is it what happens to you when you try to reach them?’
Full Film: Ali Mustafa, City of Life (2009). Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQh8z4S30I4
Research Synthesis Paper sources
Please find below a list of some sources which should help you in your Research Synthesis Paper. Please note that these sources are not APA referenced (except for the last one) – you will need to do that yourself if you use them. Please use at least 5 of the below sources as well as additional material that you find yourself in researching your paper.
Additional Sources:
http://www.enhg.org/resources/articles/urban/gardner_howarth_2009.pdf
https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/uae-takes-the-lead-in-creating-cities-of-tomorrow-1.2268744
https://lcluc.umd.edu/hotspot/urbanization-dubai
https://www.statista.com/statistics/455950/urbanization-in-united-arab-emirates/
https://www.mbrsg.ae/home/publications/op-eds/how-urbanization-is-changing-emirati-identity.aspx
https://www.indexmundi.com/united_arab_emirates/demographics_profile.html
http://ijasos.ocerintjournals.org/en/download/article-file/527748
https://gulfnews.com/uae/uae-media-has-crucial-role-in-nations-identity-1.1163642
https://search.proquest.com/docview/194829853?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=15192
Manjusha Radhakrishnan. (December 12, 2009 Saturday). ‘City of Life’ captures the spirit of Dubai. Gulf News (United Arab Emirates). Retrieved from https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:7X9P-7RF0-YBWY-S2YC-00000-00&context=1516831.
