Paradigm Shift Ideas

On Angel, a paradigm shift is defined as “a change from one way of thinking to another.” It is a cultural change- whether an invention, trend, or movement- that ignites a transformation in society. It is easy to think of paradigm shifts historically because we have witnessed its implications years later with clear hindsight. For example, the article mentioned how the printing press and vernacular language directly affected the Scientific Revolution. We can see now that printed books expedited the spread of thoughts which helped inventors and scientists of the time communicate, thus creating an explosion of scientific ideas. For our paradigm shift paper, though, we have to focus on something more current. We have to look at the world today, discern a distinct cultural shift, and trace it to its origin.

When I thought about modern cultural changes, two ideas came to mind: the explosion of gay pride and the popularization of hipster culture. Gay pride would be a fairly straightforward topic on which to find research. There are specific events and legislations I could look into to see if they contributed to the paradigm shift. Hipsters would be more challenging in that regard. They were not a popular social group when I was a child, but sometime around middle and high school, they became mainstream (:P). I think it might be challenging to find any research that hits on the social implications of hipster culture.

That being said, I think a paradigm shift paper and TED Talk on hipsters would be easier to find visuals for and it would be a lighter, more fun topic. I definitely am interested in writing about gay pride as well, but this is a more controversial topic and I do not want to offend anyone.

These are only two possible ideas for my paradigm shift paper; I might decide to go with something entirely different. But I think either one of these options would lead me to interesting places.

One thought on “Paradigm Shift Ideas

  1. Jan Babcock

    I agree that the gay explosion would be pretty obvious so you would need to really find a new way to look at this topic. What is be about activism? Marriage rights? etc.

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