The 6 Best AP Seminar Topics Groups Aren't Finding

It's the start of a new year and AP Seminar students are searching for topics and forming groups to complete Performance Task 1. But as an AP Seminar teacher, I have to say, so many groups fall into the trap of doing old, broad, or just plain boring topics. Here are the 6 topics I would be considering if I was a student in my own class, with starter sources, that will start groups off right.

    1.     Modern Unions - Beware that this one is a topic, not an issue, and any group of successful AP Seminar students will narrow their topic down to something more specific than a broad topic or even an issue. There are lots of modern labor movements happening all over the world, I would encourage students to pick one, like the Amazon worker’s strike or the Starbuck barista strike or to examine a particular issue common to multiple labor movements such as Right to Work Laws or Union busting efforts. Either way, this is highly political issue that also lends itself to the economic and social-cultural lenses, so finding perspectives and various solutions would be easy. This topic provides AP Seminar teams a chance to take on something current and controversial with research that would be so downright simple… need I say more?

    2.    The Debate over Wind Energy - Check out this report from PBS Newshour. Instead of being the eighty-millionth group to write about the pacific garbage patch or sea turtles (important issues, but if I may speak for all AP Seminar teachers here, please, there’s more to global warming than water bottles), take on a different, specific controversial issue under the broad subject of the climate crisis. This report has everything to get you started from a little bit of history, the currency of an ongoing wind farm project offshore of New England, a glimpse at the science and engineering behind how windmills work, an exploration of the complexities around construction from the cost to protecting sea life, and even the numerous environmental and political perspectives (Imagine beginning your TMP with a clip of Donald Trump ranting about birds or protestors holding signs saying “save the whales!” Honestly, just mine this news report for some of the research the journalist did and then use it as a springboard to other sources and you’re whole group will be as productive as an off-short wind farm (just not one of the broken ones).

    3.    Processed Foods - For all of you dealing with your almond moms, here’s the topic for you and another way for you to begin your research on instagram with report/mini-documentary that can absolutely get a group started with a single source. The complexity of this topic is so fascinating, from the historical rise of obesity, to the way companies engineer foods to be snack-able, to sound appealing, and to be addictive. You could get specific with each issue or your team could approach the issue of obesity and processed foods as a whole and break up your IRRs not into lenses but into the different ways that companies manipulate and harm consumers of packaged food. Or break off into the social-cultural, ethical, and scientific lenses and add a little research of your own. For every expert they interview, for every statistic they cite, go look it up. That source is yours now and your research is half done. 

    4.    Coral Reefs - Here’s another one for teams interested in the climate crisis and the environment, but definitely one that you’re not going to see lots of teams doing. There’s lots to research and write about when it comes to coral reefs. There’s coral bleaching. There’s restoration efforts from universities around the world. Coastal communities are being affected by coral reef depletion in a myriad of ways if you want to look at the economics and cultural impacts. There’s of course habitat loss that comes from this. Groups or group members could examine the myriad of causes including rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification. But what about the efforts to create artificial reefs by sinking old ships? This is a fascinating story that raises questions about history and humanity’s complicated entanglement with the environment. Have you heard the term Anthropocene? Look it up. This topic has a lot of depth (yes, that was a pun).

    5.    Men and Reading - I’ve seen my share of Seminar presentations on book bans. Here’s a hot take: we need more male writers. I don’t know if I agree with this guy one bit, but I love it when research begins with a hot take. It wouldn’t even be hard for you to look at people posting about this article on social media to get perspectives. The overall topic of representation has been big for a few years and there’s lots of rich issues within that scope, but what could be more controversial (and more current given some of the responses to the last U.S. election) than the notion that we need more male writers? A quick web search for “boys reading” or “boys reading <insert news outlet>” or “boys literacy” is going to show you an interesting and compelling cultural problem. While I have seen absolutely stellar presentations on asian women in Hollywood, the portrayals of women in superhero movies, LGBTQ+ book bans, and Disney’s complex relationship with black characters, this topic of male literacy and male writers is new, controversial, and at least worth looking into.

    6.    Building Better Cities - You don’t have to be interested in urban planning to find this video on how parking lots are scaled for cars and cities are scaled for people and how those differences can be deceptive fascinating. While I could definitely see an AP Seminar team take on this issue directly, this could also be a stimulus for other investigations into current issues facing our society such as suburban sprawl, mass transit, and walkable communities. There are so many possibilities here that it literally encompasses every lens, but the controversy over how we build better cities lends itself naturally to a futuristic lens and everyone knows that can be one of the most difficult to work on, but also one of the most rewarding when you have a start on the research and content. That’s exactly what the video above gives you.