AP Language and Composition/English III 2015-16

Ms. Leaphart

Sample Project Descriptions

The following are excerpts from the project descriptions of winning candidates to a few very prestigious fellowship programs. I have included the word count at the end of each excerpt so that you can see that you can use at least double the amount of words (and thus expand on the specifics of your plan as these candidates did in their full project descriptions)

From the Watson Fellowship

From Extermination to Appreciation: Ethnoentomology and Connecting to the World through Insects

Australia, Thailand, Brazil, Peru, United Kingdom

For my Watson Year, I propose to investigate what makes us love, hate, or simply ignore insects and how this perception inhibits both our study and appreciation of these creatures in our modern world. I will learn new applications of insects for Australian agriculture and entomophagy in Thailand by working alongside entomologists on public outreach and citizen science projects, volunteering on insect farms, and interviewing market owners and consumers of insect products. In South America I will engage in ethnoentomology, learning how humans have found medicinal and cultural uses for insects. Aside from their importance to humans, I will also explore aesthetics through a range of experiences -- from raising insects in Thailand to seeing how artists have portrayed them in galleries throughout England. Rounding off my experiences I will volunteer with exterminators to meet those who rely economically on human fear of insects and compare it to my gained skills on insect appreciation and education. (156 words)

Advocates, Bloggers and Trolls: Exploring Barriers to Internet Freedom

China,SouthKorea,TheNetherlands,Germany, Ghana,Russia

From the Hong Kong protests to the rise of big data, the internet is upending the ways we create and access information. However, internet users often cannot speak freely. They regularly face unprecedented economic obstacles to access, government-imposed limits to content, and peer violations of their rights to communicate. What struggles do internet users face accessing the internet and publishing? How do local movements engage with citizens to surmount these problems? For my Watson year, I will explore local reactions to free speech barriers online. By traveling to countries with diverse internet cultures, unique free speech regimes, and atypical internet infrastructure, I hope to learn more about how global netizens understand their internet rights. In each country, I will interview engaged bloggers as well as ‘trolls’ about their experiences using the web. By speaking with digital rights advocates about initiatives to bring internet freedom to their countries, I hope to broaden my understanding of the global fight to protect the digital commons. (162 words)

  • From echoing Green:

EggPlant, 2015 CLIMATE FELLOW

Bold Idea

Eliminate the concept of waste and traditional plastic pollution by reusing wastewater to produce high-performance bioplastics.

Organization

EggPlant faces and solves two big environmental and social problems, the wastewater disposal and the pollution coming from traditional hydrocarbon-based plastics. Thanks to its proprietary technology, EggPlant reuses wastewater to produce high-performance bioplastic solutions through a zero-waste process. By taking inspiration from blue economy and biomimicry principles, the company aims to eliminate the concept of waste by reusing it as raw material for smart and sustainable technologies (closed-cycle, biorefinery, cascading system concept) (89 words)

  • From Rauschenberg Foundation Artists as Activists Grant:

1Hood Media Academy

Lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.

Project Description:1Hood Media Academy is a way to challenge the status quo of black masculinity by providing a counter narrative to the skewed portrayals of African-American men. 1 Hood Media Academy is designed as a tool to help young African-American men analyze and broaden their experiences of media and to acquire the skills to create their own media products, while earning income and developing marketable skills. The process improves self-image, dispels stereotypes, and provides a positive forum of self-expression in a field where African-American males are either under-represented or misrepresented. (89 words)

#Dalitwomenfight

Lives in Brooklyn, NY. Working in India.

Project Description: #DALITWOMENFIGHT is a transmedia art project that exposes the issue at the core of India’s rape crisis: caste-based sexual violence. The heart of the project is her collaboration with All Indian Dalit Women's Rights Forum's and its historic Dalit Women’s Self-Respect March which is based on the historic activism of India's great Dalit Leader Dr. Ambedkar, the Freedom Rides into the American South during the 1960s, and the Take Back the Night marches of the women’s movement, which began in the 1970s in cities around the world. From 2014 to 2016 Dalit women will caravan across India and the world. At each stop, they will comfort survivors, confront perpetrators, and stage mass protests. Ultimately, the project will be documented with art inspired by the movement, and at the same time it will create opportunities for movement art events to provide an unprecedented look into the lives of Dalit women, while exposing India’s culture of impunity among perpetrators and public officials. (160 words)