I. INTRODUCTION — GETTING CONTROL, GETTING AUTHORITY
II. THE STARTING POINTS
A. DEFINE YOUR TOPIC
B. DEFINE THE CONTEXT
C. ESTABLISH A BASE OF KNOWLEDGE
1. Researching the Case
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Syria+Civil+War#tbm=bks&q=Syria+Civil+War+Hokayem
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Syria+Civil+War#tbm=bks&q=Syria+Uprising
2. Understand the Rules and the Dynamics
Dick Cheney Speech, August 26, 2002
http://www.c-span.org/video/?172264-1/foreign-affairs-defense
(from 17:06)
Miller/Gordon Article, September 8, 2002
Daily Mail, September 2002
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-139703/Just-45-minutes-attack.html
3. Identifying the Sources
*In Short, Knowledge About Knowledge is Power*
D. DEFINE YOUR “SPACE”
Can anyone name what's behind me in this picture? pic.twitter.com/Us2maW2iu3
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) March 6, 2015
E. TRUST NO ONE (AT THE BEGINNING)
F. TEST YOURSELF: A “BEGINNER’S GUIDE” TO….
IV. THE REACTIVE CASE — TRUMP
A. Building a Base
1. The Man
2. The Organization
3. The Issues
B. Watching the Mainstream
C. But How Do You Move from “Reactive” to “Pro-Active” — You Have to Redefine Approach and Context
https://theconversation.com/theresa-may-meets-donald-trump-talking-up-a-special-relationship-to-hide-problems-beneath-71969
V. THE REPORTING CASE — THE MIDDLE EAST (OR ELSEWHERE)
A. Building a Base From the Ground Up
B. Moving Beyond the Mainstream
C. Making the Most of Social Media — Triangulating
https://theconversation.com/years-of-fixation-on-defeating-al-qaeda-have-stunted-us-foreign-policy-64072
VI. THE INTERPRETATIVE CASE — SYRIA (OR ELSEWHERE)
A. Building the Base
B. “Reading Between the Lines”
C. Keeping Focus
D. Dissecting the Myths
E. Staying Engaged
https://theconversation.com/syria-is-on-the-brink-of-partition-heres-how-it-got-there-70825
VII. THE “JOURNALIST” V. THE “ACADEMIC”
A. The Base is the Same
B. But Starting from The Story Rather Than The Hypothesis
C. Building to an Analysis
VIII. CONCLUSION: KEEPING YOURSELF AT THE CENTRE