I apologize if this is the wrong place, I did not know where else to go.
I am in a senior level International Studies class on Genocide and the culminating project is a 4800 word research paper about a mass killing in the 20th century. The topic must advance an original argument and cannot simply describe an act of genocide or summarize someone else’s argument.
I was thinking about doing either the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, or the Japanese treatment of the Chinese in World War II. The problem is I am having a hard time narrowing down a new topic that has not been studied exhaustively and is not too broad. I have been to office hours, but I still cannot think of one.
Some ideas I've had are:
The opposite ideas of modern technology and weapons being used to push the Cambodian people back into an archaic agrarian society (not enough information, too specific?).
Why the Japanese were so brutal to Chinese civilians at Nanking after a decisive military victory (too broad, already researched?).
Japanese ownership and remembrance of Nanking (too broad?).
Any ideas or feedback would be appreciated as I am spitballing for ideas.
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