For Posterity: What do you think of my "Statement of Issue?"

Here is my first stab at a "Statement of Issue" for the prospectus. I welcome (and fear) any comments:

Tentative Title: The Treatment of Race in Dystopian Writing: Otherness in Lois Lowry’s The Giver

Statement of Issue: Lois Lowry’s The Giver, published in 1993, won the 1994 Newbery Medal and sold more than 3.5 million copies in its first year, but is among the American Library Association’s “Most Challenged” titles. Challengers (typically parents) allege that the novel’s treatment of sexuality and violence is too graphic for young readers, but this novel also tops the annual “Banned Book List” due to its dystopian themes of repression of identity, the subjugation of the individual to the community, and the suppression of race. This project will examine the various racial controversies present in The Giver, and will situate them within the context and history of banned and challenged books per the description available through the American Library Association and the Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and the research conducted by recent criticism thereof. In addition, this information will work in conjunction with a study of the multiracial students in a standard High School Freshman English class who will assess the novel in terms of its overarching racial themes. They will be prompted to assess the novel for its broader context, motives and themes, and will also be asked targeted questions on its racial implications. They will be assessed in terms of their personal experiences and exposures to racial issues relevant to their own backgrounds, and their personal history with the issues brought up in the book. 

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I'll let you know how that goes...