http://www.ptk.org/honors/guide 2008-2010 Honors Study Topic Program Guide Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:27:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 http://www.ptk.org/honors/guide/2006/03/30/glory-7/ http://www.ptk.org/honors/guide/2006/03/30/glory-7/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2006 16:54:59 +0000 admin http://www-dev.ptk.org/honors/guide/2006/03/30/glory-7/

To what extent does a quest for glory have an impact on a religious leader’s ability to effectively minister?

How has electronic media contributed to the power of religious leaders?

To what extent does the fame of figures like John Paul II, John Wesley, Brigham Young, and Mother Theresa transcend their religions?

Why has the promise of the glory of salvation historically been an effective motivator to get people to participate in holy wars?

Who has the greater claim to the Holy Land, Jews or Palestinians?

Why is Jerusalem an important symbol of their religious roots to adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?

What world religious or philosophical doctrines eschew the pursuit of power and glory?

In what ways do religious institutions gain or lose power when they assimilate the beliefs of other cultures?

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Are evangelists like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson more ministers or political activists?

In what ways have world political leaders used the belief that they are descended from the gods as a means to acquiring power?

How have new religions developed from other faiths and accessed power over time?

What are the similarities of ancient creation myths of world cultures?

Why is Islam the fastest-growing religion in the contemporary world?

To what extent does a losing military conflict symbolize the lack of righteousness of the cause?

In what ways can religion have positive and negative effects on personal power?

Why have the burquas worn by Afghani women come to symbolize the dynamics of power gained and lost between men and women?

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What role does the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church play in its global power?

How did the Crusades affect the economies of the Middle East and Medieval Europe?

In what ways has advertising contributed to the rise of mega-churches?

How did the economic autonomy of African-American ministers of the 1950s and early-1960s lead to the extension of their power as leaders of the Civil Rights Movement?

What impact has television, the Internet, and other technologies had on organized religion?

How and why have churches developed their own curricula and schools?

To what extent can a religious institution become too wealthy?

In what ways do religious institutions gain or lose power when they take on the characteristics of corporations?

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Does power absolutely corrupt politicians?

To what extent does having fame for previous, sometimes unrelated, accomplishments help a candidate successfully run for political office?

How does the reflected glory of having a famous surname gain people access to power?

What role has non-violent direct action played in toppling powerful regimes?

To what extent does the power of individuals grow or diminish as they age?

In what ways have the Olympic games become a symbol of geopolitical power?

Under what circumstances should communities change the names of schools and roads that honor local, regional, and national figures who have fallen out of favor?

Which nation will be most powerful in the 21st century?  Will that nation represent a shift in global power?

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To what extent has the United States maintained its separation of church and state?

How and why was Billy Graham considered minister to the Presidents?

To what extent do politicians use moral issues of life and death to access greater power?

How and why did Adolf Hitler use anti-Semitism to rise to power?

In what ways do local grassroots religious issues drive national politics?

What are some examples of religious symbols that have become political symbols as well?

To what extent should community interest groups control what public school textbooks teach?

Will we ever elect an atheist President of the United States?  Why, or why not?

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When there is conflict between “good” economics and “good” politics, which most often triumphs?

In what ways do politicians use the power of political rhetoric to influence constituents to support issues and policies that work against their constituents’ economic self interests?

Why at the end of the 19th century did freedmen see land, education, and the right to vote as the means by which they could access power?

To what extent has Affirmative Action allowed women and people of color to achieve economic power?

How and why will access to water determine the balance of global political power in the 21st century?

How much money does it take to become a United States Senator from your state?  Who were the largest contributors to your current Senators’ last campaigns?

Is it morally right to use military force for economic gain?  Why, or why not?

In what ways do political parties gain or lose power by accepting individual and corporate contributions?

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What role does charisma play in determining the dynamics between leaders and followers?

To what extent does the end justify the means in the quest for power?

Why are self-help books typically used more by women than men as a means to access personal and professional power?

How have Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung affected our beliefs about individual power?

Why do young people join gangs?

To what extent are people like Paris Hilton, famous for being famous, symbols of our interest in celebrity culture?

Has the power of technology made us more or less powerful as individuals and as nations?

Why do we invest so much of ourselves in the victories or losses of college and professional sports teams?

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What role does religion play in the development of powerful nations?

What is the attraction of having direct personal access to communication with God, as opposed to using an intermediary?

In what ways do the philosophies of Karl Marx, Mohammed, and Jesus of Nazareth offer access to power for the powerless?

To what effect have religious groups used the psychology of terrorism to achieve their goals?

To what extent is modern psychology compatible with most world religions?

How do organizations like the Ku Klux Klan use religious symbols and rhetoric to justify their actions and attract members?

To what extent is using manipulation to gain power moral?

What causes psychological theories to gain or lose credibility?

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Why have wealth and fame become primary goals for young Americans in the 21st century?

To what extent can money buy happiness?

How and why do television shows like “The Apprentice” appeal to contestants and viewers who hope to access power?

What economic incentives motivate us to achieve power?

Why do advertisers target 18-49 year olds as the most desirable market?

Why have land and home ownership endured as powerful symbols of the American dream?

Why have business schools added required ethics courses to their curricula?

What is the psychological impact on a person who wins the lottery?

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By what measures do we evaluate the greatness of a work of art?

In what ways have control of the arts been used to acquire and maintain power?

Why does film and television stardom offer celebrities opportunities to access personal and political power?

To what extent has architecture been used to signify the glory of civilizations?

Which is more powerful in the contemporary world, words or images?

In what ways have physical representations of beauty changed over time?

To what extent can works of art be both famous and infamous?  What effect does that fame or infamy have on the artist’s power?

What characteristics determine the long-term mass appeal or decline in popularity of a piece of music?

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