Folklore and Mythology

Now that you've done some background research, it's time to narrow your topic.

Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be. 

To narrow or refine your topic, ask yourself...

• Is there a specific subset of the topic you can focus on?
• Is there a cause and effect relationship you can explore?
• Is there an unanswered question on the subject?
• Can you focus on a specific time period or group of people?

Topic Example #1:

• Really broad topic:
  • mythology
• Focus on a type of mythology:
  • Greek
• Narrow the topic even more:
  • Medusa, a female figure from Greek mythology with a head of serpents and a face that would turn people who looked at her into stone
• Even more narrow:
  • Trace the transformation of Medusa’s image from a feared monster to a feminist icon in contemporary media, such as art, literature, and tattoos.

Topic Example #2:

• Broad topic or question:
  • Have fairy tales been used to address social and political issues?
• Focus it a bit more:
  • Have fairy tales been used to critique political systems and leadership?
• Very specific:
  • Discuss how the modern fairy tale, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, uses allegory and/or satire to criticize Soviet communism and Stalinism and highlight the dangers of authoritarian rule.

Try this!

Fill in the blanks in the following sentence, as much as you can:

I want to research _________ (what/who)

and ________ (what/who)

in __________(where)

during _________(when)

because _________(why).