A list of controversial topics

Intellectual Property: Piracy (copyright violation), Open source, Wikileaks, whistle blowers,

Internet: net neutrality,

Protests: Tea Party, Occupy (Wallstreet), Arab Spring, 

Domestic Spying: NSA spying on citizens, COINTELPRO, drone spying, Edward Snowden, 

Immigration: immigrant rights, 

Drug Policy/War on Drugs: marijuana state-level decriminalization, 

Gender: Genderless Baby (storm, jazz, kio), transgender (Chelsea Manning), domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, 

Sex: the involuntary mutilation of intersex people, forced circumcision,

Sexuality: heterosexism, marriage equality (Gay Marriage), Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy,

Race & Ethnicity: racism (e.g., Troy Davis), Cultural Appropriation, 

Class: St. George (class, race, urban studies),

Disasters: katrina, BP,

Pop Culture: Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Katy Perry

Education: schools failing to educate, Arming Teachers, charter schools, unschooling, No Child Left Behind,

Healthcare: affordable care act (aka Obamacare), Abortion, birth control, healthcare rights of soldiers (e.g., ptsd treatment),

Criminal Justice: Corporal Punishment, Capital Punishment, Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act of 2006, counterterrorism policy (e.g., India, Italy, US), ethnic profiling (e.g., NYPD Muslim Spy Program), Prison Industrial Complex, Stop-and-Frisk, Police Brutality (e.g., Dansiger Bridge massacre), Gun control, 

War: Israel & Palestine, drone attacks, Iraq War, Afghanistan War, 

Disability Rights

Genocide: east timor, Armenia,

Welfare: Food stamps, medicaid, medicare, debtfare,

Religion: Muslim fashion, fundamentalism,

Environment: Offshore drilling, CAFOs, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers,

Science Controversies (e.g., “How can we know what we know?”): global warming, climate change, GMOs

Human rights: School of the Americas, torture, Guantánamo

– You also may want to look at… http://www.democracynow.org/topics/browse