Recently I was assigned a research project in my World Civilizations class. A class which covers the Human civilization from the Neolithic period to modern day. Given the extremely broad scope of this course, At first it was an extremely daunting task to choose a topic for this research paper. However, I was able to narrow my possible topic down to tree possible contenders. My first idea for a research topic was the Significance of the Missouri Compromise to the United States as well as the global factors which were affected by this decision. Though out my research paper I would discuss what the Missouri Compromise was, how it came to be as well as it’s role as setting the stage for the American civil war and the global impacts of this conflict. My next topic was surrounding the Zimmerman Telegram during the first World War, by analyzing what was the Zimmerman telegram, how it connected World War One to the American continent, as well as the telegram’s effect on American foreign policy during the First World War. My Third, and final topic for consideration and the the  topic which I have decided to explore is that of the origins, effects, and the eventual demise of Apartheid system of oppression in South Africa. I believe that this topic is interesting and in my personal experience is either scarcely discussed or even skipped entirely in most world history classes.  I was relatively unaware of the long reaching issues of this oppressive system as well as the time line of this system. This however changed after I took a trip to South Africa where the scars of these oppressive systems could still be seen to this day. This is not surprising given that the system has only been abandoned for just twenty six years, a mere blink in human history, and only seven years older than myself. It is also fascinating how the practice of worldwide European imperialism so profoundly shaped this system and thus changed the nation of South Africa indefinitely. Another interesting part of this research topic is the story of Nelson Mandela, and his story of how he overcame and eventually ended apartheid. I feel as though this topic is more better suited for the role of a world Civilizations research paper as my first two ideas are mostly focused primarily on different elements of United  States history, a portion of the world which I am already familiar with, where as South Africa is relatively a relatively new part of the world for me and most likely my fellow classmates. I am mostly interested in studying this period in South African history from a historical and anthropological  lens, beginning with the European powers which colonized South Africa, how these cultures established Apartheid, the practices of this system, and Nelson Mandela’s role in abolishing Apartheid. I plan on implementing a variety of primary accounts of the system from citizens of different races and analyzing how Apartheid affected these races differently. For example, how were citizens of Indian decent treated in comparison to white Anglo Saxon citizens. I believe this approach will provide a personal connection to this historical system. Acquiring these primary sources will prove fairly easy as the system was abolished so recently that many South Africans can still recall living under Apartheid. In between personal accounts of the system I plan to include peer reviewed academic journals which recount the history of Apartheid as well as possibly including primary sources from around the world discussing the issue If I could find anything like that to provide an outside look into the system at the time. I plan to provide a broad history of the events which contributed to the formation of Apartheid beginning first with Europeans’ colonization of Africa in the late 19^th century, how apartheid was born, the system’s decline, and finally, Nelson Mandela’s role in re-imagining South Africa following the system’s collapse.  Some questions that I want to peruse throughout the research paper include What was apartheid and how did the system begin? How did Apartheid affect different races in South Africa Differently? How were they the same? What lead to the downfall of the apartheid system?  And finally, Who was Nelson Mandela and how was he significant to South African History? A couple of Challenges which I can see arising as I draft this research essay is that he topic may be slightly too broad in that I could see myself rambling on for too long about the history of apartheid and venturing down various rabbit holes until I find myself with twenty pages of South African history before even addressing Nelson Mandela and his policies to end apartheid peacefully. To combat this, I plan to only focus on four to five key points in the formation of apartheid such as colonial powers, the system of government, and enforcement of Apartheid as well as any other major events which I encounter during the research phase. Another major problem which I have encountered while delving into the university’s library database was that a sizable amount of the peer reviewed scholarly documents are focused on analyzing the effects of the end of apartheid rather than on the formation and rise of the system. To attempt to remedy this, I plan on finding a scholarly reading written while the apartheid system was still in effect. I believe the combination of past and present scholarly readings could actually make my research paper more informed all around by helping one to understand apartheid within each time period,  and possibly even analyzing differences between the two sources. In conclusion, I look forward to learning more about the topic of South African Apartheid not only for my own personal knowledge but also for the ability to expand my historical knowledge for my future career as a high school social studies teacher.