OK, guys and gals! I have to come up with an idea for a 1000 word (minimum) paper by next week. It has to be related to herbs. I am having a mental block. I can’t think of anything to write about. The paper has the chance of being published, too, so I want it to be a good, interesting topic. Please, feel free to throw out any ideas that pop into your head!!!
Here is a suggestion. Can you research herbal use in the Colonial Times (example…Jamestown VA) Some kind of referance to folklore medicine..that type of thing. That is about all they had to rely on for medicine (Herbs). Good luck on the paper
How about a paper on the validity of herbalism. In particular, something designed to convert and/or assure a skeptic that herbalism isn’t just a bunch of hippy hokum, and can yield visible, tangible results as well as, or better than, “western” medicine in many areas. You could talk about how drug companies develop drugs by trying to replicate the chemical composition of known herbal remedies, cite clinical trials, etc. It’s a very basic concept, but it’s probably more interesting to the everyday reader than a focused academic look at a particular herb. The hard thing will be to avoid preaching to the choir. Write it sympathetically, like you’re trying to convince Jarrod Kirby of the benefits of herbalism. Hell, I’d read it. Ok, that’s my idea.
Well, if you want to go the political route, you can talk about how the FDA/government(?) wants to ban/control herbal supplements. At least I heard thats what they are trying to do….i haven’t been following the story.
If I were to pick up a newspaper/magazine today, I would love to read an article about herbs for winter wellness. I feel like its so much more challenging to stay healthy in the winter.
Herbal remedies for pets would be something I would be interested in learning about too.
Well those are a few ideas…hope that helps!
-june
WoW! You are all awesome! It’s really funny, cause I was thinking of all those things. Winter wellness… FDA… showing that herbalism is a viable option… What is an herbalist… But, many of those options aren’t things I know how to make concise enough to do just a 2 page paper about. Right now I am leaning towards two options: the validity of herbalism/what exactly is it? and a paper about Agnodice, a greek woman of the 4th century BCE who dressed as a man so she could study to be a physician and practice herbal medicine.
OK, here is the title
“Proving Myself: Educating the Public About Herbalists”