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Rylan McClelland

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

September 29th, 2017

Topic Proposal: Terrorism and its effect on the cultures of today

Introduction/Overview

My topic of interest is the cultures of countries around the world. Specifically, what I am

curious about is how terrorism has affected the cultures of those living in places where terrorist

attacks have occurred in the last 17 years. I plan to look at how the events affected the countries

they occurred in and what happened in their aftermath such as new laws/organizations as well as

increase in a sense of fear or one of unity. I also want to research into what defines an event as an

act of terror.

While in most places the community affected has tried to go back to living their normal

lives, some have not been able to do so. For example, in the US the whole country had

undergone many changes after the September 11th attack to protect its citizens, but many people

still felt unsafe and worried that another attack would occur. They began to develop a fear or

prejudice against people of Middle Eastern descent and eventually they started to dislike the new

laws put in place by the US government. I am curious to see if some of the same reactions occur

in other places where there was a terrorist attack. These kinds of cultural changes are what I plan

to research more about.

I viewed many different sources to find more basic information about my topic. I found

many articles about my topic by searching the term terrorism and culture on Google and came

across several in publications like Psychology Today and the New York Times. I also viewed
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articles through the CQ Researcher database through the UNC Charlotte Library. By using these

resources, I have been able to better research my topic.

There has been a debate between some people whether terrorism has any good effects on

culture. Some people argue that there are some good things that come from terrorist attacks such

as new laws and new technology that protect civilians. They also argue that after an attack, the

surrounding community has a greater sense of unity as seen in the city of Paris following the

attacks there in 2015. Those that oppose the belief that anything good can come of such

horrendous acts argue that the attacks spread a sense of fear that was not present before and

makes people realize that an attack could happen at any time and anywhere. They also believe

acts of terror allow governments to disregard the rights and privacy of civilians in order to make

sure the country is secure and that they cause people to develop new prejudices against certain

groups as seen in America following the 9/11 attacks.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

How has terrorism affected the culture of those who live in areas where a terrorist attack

has occurred?

My Interest in this Topic

Im interested in my topic because I have always wanted to travel around the world and

learn of different cultures. For the past few years, I have asked my parents if my family could

travel to a foreign country for vacation but plans were always shot down due to lack of money. I

eventually realized that I could travel by studying abroad in college. I hoped to do so but since

there has been an increase in the number of terrorist attacks around the world, I am now hesitant

to travel abroad because it could be unsafe. However, my interest in other cultures is still there
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but now I wonder what these places are like now after these attacks. I already know that some

places have changed forever due to the severity of the attack but I hope to learn how the culture

of these areas has been changed.

Next Steps
I will continue to use Google to find articles about my topic from reliable sources and I

will also continue using the CQ researcher database as well as the others that can be found

through the UNC Charlotte library to research more information about serious culture changes

after acts of terror. I will use the library itself to research books or other documents that could

help my research. I will try to find videos or transcripts of interviews from people who live in the

affected areas and see what they have to say.