'One and the Same’: Anti-Apartheid and Black British Anti-Racist Politics in the 1980s
‘For a crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures’: an exploration of loneliness among British officer prisoners of war in the Second World War
Just as history is more than a collection of facts about past events, an effective history thesis goes beyond simply sharing recorded information. Writing a compelling history thesis requires making an argument about a historical fact and, then, researching and providing a well-crafted defense for that position.
With so many sources available—some of which may provide conflicting findings—how should a student research and write a history thesis? How can a student create a thesis that’s both compelling and supports a position that academic editors describe as “concise, contentious, and coherent”?
Key steps in how to write a history thesis include evaluating source materials, developing a strong thesis statement, and building historical knowledge.
Compelling theses provide context about historical events. This context, according to the reference website ThoughtCo., refers to the social, religious, economic, and political conditions during an occurrence that “enable us to interpret and analyze works or events of the past, or even the future, rather than merely judge them by contemporary standards”.
The context supports the main point of a thesis, called the thesis statement, by providing an interpretive and analytical framework of the facts, instead of simply stating them. Research uncovers the evidence necessary to make the case for that thesis statement.
To gather evidence that contributes to a deeper understanding of a given historical topic, students should reference both primary and secondary sources of research.
Primary sources are firsthand accounts of events in history, according to Professor David Ulbrich, director of Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program. These sources provide information not only about what happened and how it happened but also why it happened.
Primary sources can include letters, diaries, photos, and videos as well as material objects such as “spent artillery shells, architectural features, cemetery headstones, chemical analysis of substances, shards of bowls or bottles, farming implements, or earth or environmental features or factors,” Ulbrich says. “The author of the thesis can tell how people lived, for example, by the ways they arranged their material lives.”
Primary research sources are the building blocks to help us better understand and appreciate history. It is critical to find as many primary sources from as many perspectives as possible. Researching these firsthand accounts can provide evidence that helps answer those “what”, “how”, and “why” questions about the past, Ulbrich says.
Secondary sources are materials—such as books, articles, essays, and documentaries—gathered and interpreted by other researchers. These sources often provide updates and evaluation of the thesis topic or viewpoints that support the theories presented in the thesis.
Primary and secondary sources are complementary types of research that form a convincing foundation for a thesis’ main points.
What are the steps to write a history thesis? The process of developing a thesis that provides a thorough analysis of a historical event—and presents academically defensible arguments related to that analysis—includes the following:
When collecting sources to use in a thesis, students should analyze them to ensure they demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the materials. A student should evaluate the attributes of sources such as their origin and point-of-view.
An array of primary and secondary sources can help provide a thorough understanding of a historical event, although some of those sources may include conflicting views and details. In those cases, the American Historical Association says, it’s up to the thesis author to determine which source reflects the appropriate point-of-view.
To create a thesis statement, a student should establish a specific idea or theory that makes the main point about a historical event. Scribbr, an editing website, recommends starting with a working thesis, asking the question the thesis intends to answer, and, then, writing the answer.
The final version of a thesis statement might be argumentative, for example, taking a side in a debate. Or it might be expository, explaining a historical situation. In addition to being concise and coherent, a thesis statement should be contentious, meaning it requires evidence to support it.
Developing a thesis requires an outline of the content that will support the thesis statement. Students should keep in mind the following key steps in creating their outline:
Thesis authors should ensure their content follows a logical order. This may entail coding resource materials to help match them to the appropriate theories while organizing the information. A thesis typically contains the following elements.
Online writing guide Paperpile recommends that students start with the literature review when writing the thesis. Developing this section first will help the author gain a more complete understanding of the thesis’ source materials. Writing the abstract last can give the student a thorough picture of the work the abstract should describe.
The discussion portion of the thesis typically is the longest since it’s here that the writer will explain the limitations of the work, offer explanations of any unexpected results, and cite remaining questions about the topic.
In writing the thesis, the author should keep in mind that the document will require multiple changes and drafts—perhaps even new insights. A student should gather feedback from a professor and colleagues to ensure their thesis is clear and effective before finalizing the draft.
A committee will evaluate the student’s defense of the thesis’ theories. Students should prepare to defend their thesis by considering answers to questions posed by the committee. Additionally, students should develop a plan for addressing questions to which they may not have a ready answer, understanding the evaluation likely will consider how the author handles that challenge.
When looking for direction on how to write a history thesis, Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program can provide the needed skills and knowledge. The program’s tracks and several courses—taken as core classes or as electives in multiple concentrations—can provide a strong foundation for thesis work.
In the Norwich online Master of Arts in History program, respected scholars help students improve their historical insight, research, writing, analytical, and presentation skills. They teach the following program tracks.
Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program enables students to customize studies based on career goals and personal interests through the following courses:
For over two centuries, Norwich University has played a vital role in history as America’s first private military college and the birthplace of the ROTC. As such, the university is uniquely positioned to lead students through a comprehensive analysis of the major developments, events, and figures of the past.
Explore Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program. Start your path toward writing a compelling history thesis and taking your talents further.
Writing History: An Introductory Guide to How History Is Produced , American Historical Association How to Write a Thesis Statement , Scribbr The Importance of Historic Context in Analysis and Interpretation , ThoughtCo. 7 Reasons Why Research Is Important , Owlcation Primary and Secondary Sources , Scribbr Secondary Sources in Research , ThoughtCo. Analysis of Sources , History Skills Research Paper Outline , Scribbr How to Structure a Thesis , Paperpile Writing Your Final Draft , History Skills How to Prepare an Excellent Thesis Defense , Paperpile
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Home > CAS > History > Doctoral
Submissions from 2024 2024.
The Destruction of Louisiana Wetlands: An Environmental History, 1900-2000 , Gloria H. Adams
The Perpetual Progression in the Schleswig-Holstein Duchy: History, Politics, and Religion, 1460-1864 , Christian Anthony Ahlers
A Refinement on the Principle of Resistance: The Puritan Roots of Political Resistance in America , Michael P. Berry
Just What They Have Been Looking For: The Significance, Importance, and Journey of the Negro Motorist Green Book in the State of South Carolina and the City of Columbia in the Twentieth Century , Justice Iyana Briscoe
Herschel V. Johnson: The States Rights Unionist , William Coleman Brown
The Official POW’s Rights Beginning in the Civil War Forward: Co-Authored by Francis Lieber , Delynn Antoinette Burrell
We Are Better for Having Survived: Tejanas in World War II , Ashleigh Champagne
African, American, and Southern: The Survivors of the Clotilda and the Wanderer , Kirsten Chaney
Lighting the Lamp of Learning: Florida Freedmen’s Education During Reconstruction , Jessica L. Damron
Conventional Commanders in an Unconventional War: The U.S. Army in Vietnam 1965-1973 , Patrick Richard Eaton
Catalysts for Change: The Sacralizing Impulse of the Second Great Awakening and Its Transformative Impact on American Higher Education , Blake S. Hart
The Australian Woolen Industry; British Investment in Colonial Australia: Unraveling the Threads of Economic Development 1788-1850 , Marie Cecilia Hedrick
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: A Moral Compass That Established an American Political System , Rebecca Hodnett
We Clear the Way: United States Army Combat Engineers in the Second World War's Southwest Pacific Theater, 1942-1945 , Marc C. Jeter
From Covenants to Classrooms: Uncovering the Impact of Racial Segregation on Education in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth , Alexis C. Jones
The Impact of WWII and Changes Brought by the War on a Small Kentucky Community , Barry A. Kennedy
The Battle of Mobile Bay: A Joint Masterpiece , Thomas Rutherford Key
Antislavery White Supremacists and the Mistreatment of African Americans in Indiana, 1787-1870 , Mark A. King
Vietnam WACs: An Exploration of Women’s Military Service During the Sociopolitical Upheaval of the Vietnam War Era , Carmen M. Latvis
"More Nobility of Soul": Honor at the United States Naval Academy, 1845-1875 , Samuel J. Limneos
Fear, Racism, Agriculture: The Drive for Japanese Internment , Brandon James March
The Shaffer Thesis Arthur Harvey Shaffer: American Founding History and History Education , C. C. Mathis
Diverting the Mob Mentality: The Real Dam History of Las Vegas , Stephen J. Mislan
The Lone Star on Relief: The Story of the Texas Federal Writers' Project, 1935-1943 , Michael William Mitchell
The Protestant Vatican: Black Churches Involvement in The Nashville Civil Rights Movement 1865-1972 , Samuel Dingkee Momodu
Print Culture in New York: The Essence of the Benevolent Empire from 1816 to 1837 , Merritt Morgan
Harbingers of A New Age: Irish and Scots Irish Indian Fighters on the Colonial American Frontier , Christina A. Neely
America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman: Marquis de Lafayette in American Pop Culture , Joshua Neiderhiser
Uniform Intelligence: The United States Military Liaison Mission and the Cold War 1947-1990 , Frank Christopher Ofner
Cold War Merchants and the Commercialization of Space , Sandra Jeneane Piseno
Charles Lummis: Spanish Knight-Errant , Benjamin J. Prior
The Iconography of Phrygia and the Phrygian Ethnonym as the Hypothetical Cognate of “Free” , Ava Anne Quattlebaum
"That They May Become Efficient Agents, Under God.": Antebellum Scientific Medical Education at the University of Michigan as Preparation for the Civil War , Jesse A. Roberts
Malama Aina in Hawaii: Unraveling the Legacy of the Post-World War II Land Sovereignty Movement , Rachel Lynn Sample
Our Enemy, the State: Liberty versus Power on the American Home Front during the First World War , Michael Schearer
There and Back Again: Oklahoma’s Metanarrative as a Southern State , Kenneth P. Schell
Question of Revolution in the Carolinas and Georgia from Colonial Times to the Time of the Early Republic , Megan Shirley
A Position of Strength: The Reagan Military Buildup and the Conventional Forces , Kevin D. Smith
Where Duty Called Them: Comparing the Lives and Civil War Service of Generals Jerome Bonaparte Robertson and his son, Felix Huston Robertson , Jerod Thomas
The Case of Slavery in Colonial Georgia: The Failure of the Trustee Period and Georgia’s Peculiar Approach to Revolution, 1732-1782 , Charles Thornton
The Ideological Background of National Socialism in Regard to Its Central Narrative Convictions , David Joseph Thrower
For the Defense of Themselves and the State: Pennsylvania's Contribution to the Second Amendment and Firearms Ownership , Harris R. Zeiler
Undivided Loyalty and Unwavering Leadership: The Life and Times of David Wooster (1710-1777) , Jason Edwin Anderson
Compelling Libya: Operation El Dorado Canyon as Coercive Diplomacy and Counterterrorism , Ronald Tracy Boyd
Historical Understanding in the U.S. Constitution , Kristopher W. Chesterman
Cochran's Coup: The Legacy of Jacqueline Cochran Through Her Service with the Women's Airforce Service Pilots , Elisabeth B. Chivers
With Sand in Their Pockets: Lessons of the American Expeditionary Force’s Mobilization for the First World War , Kasey James Comstock
The Importance of the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War , Todd Alan Conn
Before Facebook and Twitter: The Online Computing Revolution of the 1980s , David Scott Cooper
Bedford Springs Resort: A Political and Social Annex of Antebellum America: 1840-1860 , Sara Grace Davis-Leonard
The Road to Armageddon: American Culture and Politics during the Late Cold War, 1970-1991 , David Lee Denham III
A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with Emphasis on the Charismatic Roots of the Race-Based Priesthood Denial , Wayne A. Denton
The Reasons for the Success of Colonial Pennsylvania Farmers , Mark V. Durfee
Building the Hill City: Internal Improvements and Political Economy in Lynchburg, Virginia, 1791-1829 , Mark Ryan Feld
The Emergence of Radical Christianity: The Mystical Dunkers, its Antecedence, Hermetical Founding, Germanic Diaspora, and its Apogee on the Frontier of Colonial America , Daniel Jason Geyer
Lying-in Transition: The Modernization and Professionalization of Childbirth in Rural Alabama 1870-1910 , Jennifer Megan Gmuca
Rangers and Rebels: The Americanization of War in the Colonial South , Garrett DeWayne Hall
The Political Evolution of Howell Cobb on the Road to Secession in Antebellum Georgia History , Kathryn M. Haney
They Tore Down the King’s Colours: How the Colonial Legal System Emboldened Resistance , Cynthia D. Hatch
French Military Tactics in the American Civil War: An Analysis of the Influence of Antoine Henri Jomini’s Principles in Two Selected Battles and a Campaign , Michele M. Hawes
Tsenacommacah’s Role in the Survival of Jamestown , Brandon J. Hewitt
The Growth of Human Capital and the Progressive Education Movement in Houston, Texas: A History of Houston Independent School District, 1876–1970 , Wesley Patrick Jackson
The History of Systemic Racism in the Texas Rangers , John E. Jordan Jr.
Coping with Adversity and Trauma in War: The Perseverance of Alabamian Confederate Soldiers in the American Civil War , Charles Henry Lahmon
Thomas Jefferson: Slavery, Education, and the Public Mind , Brendan Lenahan
Jena and Auerstadt: Reorganization of the German Military from 1807-1945 , Blake Cole Lucy
The Mormon Battalion, Cooke’s Wagon Road, and the Making of the New West , Nicholas Paul Mihora
It’s Black and White: An Investigation into the Founding of Three Post-Civil War Black Colleges , Melvin Gamble Miller
“Go, Then, to the Front as Temperate Men:” The U.S. Army, Temperance Advocacy, and Lessons Learned to 1873 , Megan M.S. Nishikawa
The Veneration of Charlemagne in Divine Kingship: From Charlemagne to the Last Crusade , Lindsay Michelle Olson
Gridiron Reconstruction: The Struggle for the Soul of the Post-Civil War South as Embodied in the UGA vs Georgia Tech Rivalry , Wendi Jo Pollard
“Always Said to be of Indian Extraction”: Native/African American Freedom Suits in Virginia 1773-1853 , Cress Ann Posten
The Intellectual and Diplomatic Discourse of American Progressives and the late Ottomans, 1830–1930 , Brigitte Maricich Powell
Only a Matter of Time: The Battle of Cold Harbor 28 May-12 June 1864 , Nathan Lee Provost
Who Should I Trust? Dynamics within Hitler's Inner Circle , Sarah C. Randow
At Any and All Hazards: Manifest Destiny, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Balance of Power in North America , Keith Thomas Ressa
Thinking on a Higher Plane: The Evolution of a Strategic Mindset in the Navies of America and Great Britain at the Turn of the Twentieth Century , Bryan Keith Robbins
The Cajun Traiteurs , Shelby Kathleen Robert
The Relationship between Christianity and Slavery: An Examination of the Defense of Slavery within Christian Thought, Practices and Methodologies from 1619-1865 , Decorie Lee Smith
Clawhammer: Vincent A. Witcher and Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Southern Appalachia , Melanie Greer Storie
The Chiefs of Chota and the Charles Town Merchants: A Vital Alliance That Ensured the Growth and Success of South Carolina, 1692-1760 , Nicola Symonds
A Jus in Bello Comparison of Lee’s Gettysburg Campaign and Sheridan’s Valley Campaign , Jonathan Scott Thomas
The Impact of World War II on Hawaii , Darrel Raymond Van Hoose
American Military Cemeteries: Temples of Nationalism and Civic Religion , Kyler James Webb
James Monroe’s White House: The Genius of Politics and Place , Susan Glen Amos
Lost at Sea: The Nintendo GameCube’s Failure and the Transformation of an Industry 1996-2006 , Izsak Kayne Barnette
Becoming Men, Consequently: From “Contraband” to Men Through Naval Service in the American Civil War , Micah Paul Bellamy
American Policy Discourses on China: Two Centuries of National Imagination and Constructed Reality , Yan Chang Bennett
The Influence on American Post-Secondary Education by United States Military and Veteran Programs Resulting from Changing Technology, Reform-Minded Leaders, and Large Military Operations , Scot Douglas Cates
Conflict Surrounding the Red Castle: The Smithsonian Institution During the Civil War , Amber Turner Darby
Wildfire & Sacred Flame: Enthusiasm in American Revivalism 1734-1944 , Randy Lee Darnell
The Foundation of Freedom: Natural Rights and State Power in Revolutionary Massachusetts , Joshua Paul Dunkelberger
Accepting the Cost: German Baptist Brethren, Faith, and the American Civil War , Sheilah Rana Elwardani
The Consent of the Governed: Constitutionalism of the Levellers and its Influence on Anglo-American Political Discourse , Nathan B. Gilson
Arlington’s Freedmen’s Village: Becoming Untethered , Gavin Gerard Harrell
Something Remains: Union Monuments At Gettysburg 1863-1913 , Brendan Alexander Harris
Cold War Economic Ideology and US Aid to Taiwan, 1950-1965 , Wayne Robert Hugar
Reclaiming the Church: Puritan Structure, Political and Theological Distinctions in a Transatlantic Context, 1603-1689 , Kevan Dale Keane
Carlton J. H. Hayes: Historian, Professor, and America's Forgotten Ambassador , Adam Prescott Manuel
Fire and Fury: The German Tiger Battalions on the Eastern and Western Fronts, 1942-1945 , Daniel L. Moore
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Home > USC Columbia > Arts and Sciences > History > History Theses and Dissertations
Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.
Enslaved Women: Reproductive Choices and Medicine , Adedoyin Adekunle
The Northern View of the Southern Shore: Experience, Reconciliation, and Commemoration in Postbellum Charleston, South Carolina , Michael Edward Scott Emett
Institute of Enslavement: Enslaved Lives at South Carolina College , Jill Found
From North to South: North Carolina's Black Union Veterans in the South Carolina Lowcountry , Elizabeth L. Laney
“That Desolate Section of Dixiecrats and Hookworms”: The Rise and Fall of the Cio in Sumter, South Carolina, 1927-1950 , Stephen Malenowski
Cashing the Check of Democracy The American Revolution and Citizenship in the Black Freedom Struggle 1960-1970 , Zachary Earle Clary
“All the Rights of Native Cherokees”: The Appearance of Black People in Cherokee Society , Ayanna Goines
“We Are Created Inferior to Men”: Leveraging Horsemanship to Reinforce Gender Expectations, 1830-1861 , Gabrielle Marie McCoy
The Widened Hearthstone Urban Playgrounds as the Infrastructure of Public Mothering, 1900-1930 , Alexandra Miller
Piratical Transportation: Highlighting Silences in Carolina’s Enslavement and Exportation of Native Americans , Jordan Stenger
Lunatics, Liberals and Bloodthirsty Haters: The South in the 1972 Presidential Election , Thomas Clayton Strebeck
In Her Possession and Keeping Revolutionary War Widows and the Politics of Family Archives, 1820–1850 , Riley Kathryn Sutherland
Colored Lawyer, Topeka: The Legend and Legacy of Elisa Scott , Jeffery Scott Williams
Meditations On Modern America: The Ambiguous Worldview of Transcendental Meditation, 1967-1979 , Grant William Wong
The Presbyterian Exception? The Illegal Education of Enslaved Blacks by South Carolina Presbyterian Churches, 1834-1865 , Margaret Bates
Roy Acuff, Democratic Candidate , Henry Luther Capps III
Before the Storm: Youth Hockey in North Carolina Ahead of the NHL’s Arrival , Sarai ShareI Dai
Flying Saucer of the Smokies: The Debate Over National Park Architecture and Wilderness Values in Clingmans Dome Observation Tower , Michelle Fieser
“I Like a Fight”: Margaret Sanger and the First Birth Control Clinic in the United States , Rebecca Linnea Hall
Who Has the Right to Reproduce? Forced Sterilization in South Carolina in the Early Twentieth Century , Kathryn Pownall
Sex (Work) And the City: Sex Work in Columbia, South Carolina, 1860-1880 , Presley McKalyn Ramey
Resurrecting a Nation Through Silk and Diplomacy: American Material Culture and Foreign Relations During the Reconstruction Era , Paige Weaver
Building a New (Deal) Identity The Evolution of Italian-American Political Culture and Ideology, 1910–1940 , Ryan J. Antonucci
“It Seemed Like Reaching for the Moon:” Southside Virginia’s Civil Rights Struggle Against The Virginia Way, 1951-1964 , Emily A. Martin Cochran
“We are Going to be Reckoned With”: The South Carolina UDC and the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Museum, 1986-2000 , Caitlin Cutrona
Enslaved Rebellion and Abolitionist Imperialism in Britain’s Atlantic World, 1807-1884 , Lewis Eliot
Religion, Senses, and Remembrance: Brooklyn’s Sumter Club in Postbellum Charleston, S.C. , Michael Edward Scott Emett
Praying Soldiers: Experiencing Religion as a Revolutionary War Soldier Fighting for Independence , Roberto Oscar Flores de Apodaca
Engraved in Prejudice: How Currency Displayed the Mindset of the South , Holly Johnson Floyd
The Governor’s Guards: Militia, Politics, Social Networking, and Manhood in Columbia, South Carolina, 1843-1874 , Justin Harwell
Patients’ Rights, Patients’ Politics: Jewish Activists of the U.S. Women’s Health Movement, 1969-1990 , Jillian Michele Hinderliter
Joshua Gordon’s Witchcraft Book and The Transformation of the Upcountry of South Carolina , E. Zoie Horecny
“The Once and Future Audubon:” The History of the Audubon Ballroom and the Movement to Save It , William Maclane Hull
A Culture of Control: Progressive Era Eugenics in South Carolina as a Continuation of Created White Supremacy , Hannah Nicole Patton
Shaping a Queer South: The Evolution of Activism From 1960-2000 , A. Kamau Pope
The Robber Barons of Show Business: Traveling Amusements And The Development of the American Entertainment Industry, 1870- 1920 , Madeline Steiner
Charlotte's Glory Road: The History of NASCAR in the Queen City , Hannah Thompson
Foxy Ladies and Badass Super Agents: Legacies of 1970s Blaxploitation Spy and Detective Heroines , Carlie Nicole Todd
Media Combat: The Great War and the Transformation of American Culture , Andrew Steed Walgren
“Hungering and Thirsting” for Education: Education, Presbyterians, and African Americans in the South, 1880-1920 , Rachel Marie Young
Gendering Secession: Women and Politics in South Carolina, 1859- 1861 , Melissa DeVelvis
The Chasquis of Liberty: Revolutionary Messengers in the Bolivian Independence Era, 1808-1825 , Caleb Garret Wittum
Learning Church: Catechisms and Lay Participation in Early New England Congregationalism , Roberto O. Flores de Apodaca
Useful Beauty: Tiffany Favrile, Carnival Glass, and Consumerism at the Turn of the Twentieth Century , Chelsea Grayburn
Restoring America: Historic Preservation and the New Deal , Stephanie E. Gray
For the Common Man: An Analysis of the United States Space and Rocket Center , Patrice R. Green
Made to Be Forgotten: The Chevalier DE Saint-Sauveur & the Franco-American Alliance , Katelynn Hatton
Leaders in the Making: Higher Education, Student Activism, and the Black Freedom Struggle in South Carolina, 1925-1975 , Ramon M. Jackson
Exclusive Dining: Immigration and Restaurants in Chicago during the Era of Chinese Exclusion, 1893-1933 , Samuel C. King
Complicating the Narrative: Using Jim's Story to Interpret Enslavement, Leasing, and Resistance at Duke Homestead , Jennifer Melton
“Unknown and Unlamented”: Loyalist Women in Nova Scotia from Exile to Repatriation, 1775-1800 , G. Patrick O’Brien
Raising America Racist: How 1920’s Klanswomen Used Education to Implement Systemic Racism , Kathleen Borchard Schoen
Learning the Land: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Southern Borderlands, 1500-1850 , William Cane West
Beyond Preservation: Reconstructing Sites Of Slavery, Reconstruction, And Segregation , Charlotte Adams
Reading Material: Personal Libraries And The Cultivation Of Identity In Revolutionary South Carolina , Gabriella Angeloni
Politics and the Built Environment: Civic Structures of Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, Virginia and Charles Town, South Carolina , Paul Bartow
The Lost Ones: The Cold War State, Child Welfare Systems, And The Battles Over The Rosenberg Children , Megan Bennett
“Catering To The Local Trade”: Jewish-Owned Grocery Stores In Columbia, South Carolina , Olivia Brown
If This Be Sin: Gladys Bentley And The Performance Of Identity , Moira Mahoney Church
“I Hope They Fire Me:” Black Teachers In The Fight For Equal Education, 1910-1970 , Candace Cunningham
Constructing Scientific Knowledge: The Understanding of the Slow Virus, 1898-1976 , Burke Hood Dial
Ayatollahs And Embryos: Science, Politics, And Religion In Post-Revolutionary Iran , M Sadegh Foghani
Of Cannonades and Battle Cries: Aurality, The Battle of The Alamo, and Memory , Michelle E. Herbelin
Anti-Sabbatarianism in Antebellum America: The Christian Quarrel over the Sanctity of Sunday , Kathryn Kaslow
A Divisive Community: Race, Nation, And Loyalty In Santo Domingo, 1822 – 1844 , Antony Wayne Keane-Dawes
“Remember Them Not for How They Died”: American Memory and the Challenger Accident , Elizabeth F. Koele
Garagecraft: Tinkering In The American Garage , Katherine Erica McFadden
Black Power And Neighborhood Organizing In Minneapolis, Minnesota: The Way Community Center, 1966-1971 , Sarah Jayne Paulsen
The Popular Education Question in Antebellum South Carolina, 1800-1860 , Brian A. Robinson
Perks Of Perkins: Understanding Where Magic And Religion Meet For An Early Modern English Theologian , Kyle Sanders
Black Men, Red Coats: The Carolina Corps, Race, and Society in the Revolutionary British Atlantic , Gary Sellick
Skin Deep: African American Women and the Building of Beauty Culture in South Carolina , Catherine Davenport
Funding South Carolina’s Monuments: The Growth of the Corporate Person in Monument Financing , Justin Curry Davis
Sex and the State: Sexual Politics in South Carolina in the 1970s , Jennifer Holman Gunter
Within the House of Bondage: Constructing and Negotiating the Plantation Landscape in the British Atlantic World, 1670-1820 , Erin M. Holmes
Odor and Power in the Americas: Olfactory Consciousness from Columbus to Emancipation , Andrew Kettler
From Rice Fields to Duck Marshes: Sport Hunters and Environmental Change on the South Carolina Coast, 1890–1950 , Matthew Allen Lockhart
Potential Republicans: Reconstruction Printers of Columbia, South Carolina , John Lustrea
Lamps, Maps, Mud-Machines, and Signal Flags: Science, Technology, and Commerce in the Early United States , James Russell Risk
Rebirth of the House Museum: Commemorating Reconstruction at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home , Jennifer Whitmer Taylor
Buy for the Sake of your Baby: Guardian Consumerism in Twentieth Century America , Mark VanDriel
Environmental Negotiations Cherokee Power in the Arkansas Valley, 1812-1828 , Cane West
A Call To Every Citizen: The South Carolina State Council Of Defense And World War I , Allison Baker
National Register Nomination for the Waikiki Village Motel , Jane W. Campbell
“Antagonistic Describes the Scene:” Local News Portrayals of the New Left and the Escalation of Protest at the University of South Carolina, 1970 , Alyssa Jordan Constad
Ahead of Their Time: Black Teachers and Their Community in the Immediate Post- Brown Years , Candace Cunningham
Deserts Will Bloom: Atomic Agriculture And The Promise Of Radioactive Redemption , Chris Fite
Restoring the Dock Street Theatre: Cultural Production in New-Deal Era Charleston, South Carolina , Stephanie E. Gray
In Search Of Granby: A Colonial Village Of South Carolina , Kathryn F. Keenan
Preserving The Architectural Legacy Of Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle & Wolff, 1948-1976 , Casey Lee
Looking for Remnants of Rice Cultivation at Manchester State Forest Through the Use of LIDAR , Sarah Anne Moore
Uncle Sam’s Jungle: Recreation, Imagination, And The Caribbean National Forest , Will Garrett Mundhenke
G.I. Joe v. Jim Crow: Legal Battles Over Off-Base School Segregation Of Military Children In The American South, 1962-1964 , Randall George Owens
Radioactive Dixie: A History of Nuclear Power and Nuclear Waste in the American South, 1950-1990 , Caroline Rose Peyton
A Culture Of Commodification: Hemispheric And Intercolonial Migrations In The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, 1660-1807 , Neal D. Polhemus
Rediscovering Camden: The Preservation of a Revolutionary War Battlefield , Gary Sellick
The “Forgotten Man” of Washington: the Pershing Memorial and the Battle over Military Memorialization , Andrew S. Walgren
Proslavery Thinking In Antebellum South Carolina: Higher Education, Transatlantic Encounters, And The Life Of The Mind , Jamie Diane Wilson
Colonialism Unraveling: Race, Religion, And National Belonging In Santo Domingo During The Age Of Revolutions , Charlton W. Yingling
"Very Many More Men than Women": A Study of the Social Implications of Diagnostics at the South Carolina State Hospital , Clara Elizabeth Bertagnolli
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Planning your research process and building a reading list are essential first steps. here are a number of resources to help you. , history research methodology.
The following are a few texts we have available in our library system that may help guide you in you research process:
You may find that to successfully address your research question it is necessary to conduct original research that requires you to incorporate other types of research methods from other fields of study.
Sage Research Methods
AM Research Skills How-to guides and newly-commissioned video interviews, our learning tools introduce students to key concepts that underpin research in the humanities and social sciences, and share the core principles and practices for understanding and using primary sources.
The Northumbria Dissertation Repository was launched in October 2015 to share the best of the university's undergraduate research in History. While online repositories already exist for postgraduate theses, few include undergraduate research – despite the fact that many dissertations are original in conception, argument, and in their use of primary sources.
The History team at Northumbria is pleased to provide access to the excellent, archive-driven research undertaken by our final-year students. The dissertations included in this repository were all awarded first-class marks. They reflect the range of research expertise at Northumbria, as well as our commitment to research-based learning. Moreover, the pieces in this dissertation clearly testify to the skills, enthusiasm and hard work of our students.
We hope to add further examples of undergraduate research to the repository in subsequent years, thereby developing it as a useful resource.
If you have any further questions about the repository, please contact Dr Daniel Laqua or Dr James McConnel .
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This collection contains open access and campus access Masters theses, made possible through Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The full content of open access theses is available to all, although some files may have embargoes placed on them and will be made available as soon as possible. The full content of campus access theses is only available to those either on the UMass Boston campus or with a UMass Boston campus username and password. Click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link on the record page to download Campus Access publications. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan.
A Quartet of Consequence: Randolph, Rustin, Baker & Levison & The Movement They Made , Jonathan Klein
Margaret Cross Norton in Context: Norton’s Portrayal in American Archival Theory, the Social Conditions of Her Time and the Evolution of Presidential Libraries in the United States , Marie H. Bowen
Culture Wars: North Carolina, Representation, and the Vote on the Federal Constitution of 1787 , Maria A. Carlson
George Boardman Weston's Grand Tour: Travel Writing and its Impact on Nineteenth-Century Americans , Joshua Tyler Clark
“Each Heart Alone Knoweth Its Own Bitterness”: The Jackson Family in Clarke County, Virginia, from Enslavement to Jim Crow , Melanie E. Garvey
Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Portrayal of The Reconstruction Era in High School History Textbooks , Eleanor Katari
Radical Routes: The Formation of the Boston School Bus Drivers Union Local 8751 , Maci Mark
Limitations & Liberation: Republican Motherhood and Female Advancement in Nineteenth Century America , Hannah Russell
The Armenian Genocide as Presented by the American Press , Grace A. Wargovich
Northeastern Pennsylvania's Forgotten Labor Massacre: Analysis pf the English Language Record of the Lattimer Massacre , Jamie C. Costello
Shadow of the Vietnam War on the Senate Persian Gulf Debate of 1991 , Austin DiBari
Popular Memory, Silence, and Trust: A Mother and Son’s Relationship to School in the Shadow of the Prince Edward County Closures , Rory S. Dunn
The Arrows, The Shield: Mapping, Identity, and Tradition in Colonial Cempoala, Mexico , Savvas Papadopoulos
The Unsung Influence of the National Day of Mourning: A Study of Indigenous Activism, Race, and Memory , Erika T. Tauer
The Role of the Catholic Church’s Teachings on Slavery and Secession Affecting Allegiances During the American Civil War , David J. Thompson
Celebrating Chinese American Veterans: Commemoration and America's Collective Memory Of War , Kevin Lee
Community in a Time of Crisis: How the People of Provincetown, Massachusetts Worked to Combat the HIV/AIDS Epidemic , Danielle Maria Lisbon
Uncommon Ground: Pawtucket-Pennacook Strategic Land Exchange in Native Spaces and Colonized Places of Essex County and Massachusetts Bay in the Seventeenth Century , Kristine Malpica
The Decline of the Massachusetts Know-Nothing Party: The Impact of Slavery and Temperance in 1855 , Alexander Rodrigues
The Boston Black United Front and Community-Centered Alternatives to the Carceral State , Joseph W. Sikowitz
Operation Nickel Grass: Richard Nixon and the Yom Kippur War , Luke George Bergquist
Essential Labor: Marginalized People in the American Whaling Industry, Southeastern Massachusetts , Brielle E. Berical
A Dogged Resolve: The Doctrine and Decline of Mormon Plural Marriage, 1841-1890 , Jaclyn Thornock Gadd
The Hyde Park Thought Club: Pioneers in the Women’s Club Movement -- A Case Study 1868 – 1902 , Patrice A. Gattozzi
The Ghosts of Empires Past: The Red Army Faction’s Violent Relationship with Cold War Neo-Imperialism, 1969-1974 , Renee Danielle Jean
Reassessing the Factors that Led to the Evacuation of Japanese in World War Two , Mark S. Lewis
Black Masters; The Ownership of Slaves by Free People of Color in the Antebellum South 1780-1861 , Michael O. Magbagbeola
"To Have and Enjoy": Seating in Boston's Early Anglican Churches, 1686-1732 , Erica Jill McAvoy
Scholars, Spinners and Economies of Scale: Public Education on Exhibit in the Textile Era in New Bedford, Massachusetts , Arthur P. Motta Jr.
Beyond the Big Top: The Legacy of John Ringling and the American Circus , Casey L. Nemec
“Even if it Means Our Battles to Date are Meaningless” The Anime Gundam Wing and Postwar History, Memory, and Identity in Japan , Genevieve R. Peterson
"Full of Light and Fire": John Brown in Springfield , Louis J. Rocco Jr.
The Psychogram , Nathaniel M. Sullivan
Washed Away: Native American Representation in Oklahoma Museums and High Schools, 2000 – 2020 , Catherine E. Thompson
Revelation and Concealment; The Words and World of Omar ibn Said , David Gabriel Babaian
Anabasis Aquilonos: The Interplay of Exemplarity and Scientific Historiography in B.H. Liddell Hart’s A Greater than Napoleon: Scipio Africanus , Daniel T. Barbre
The Language of the Herodians: An Analysis of Herodian Material Culture , Alexander J. D'Amore
The Charge of Deserting Their Sphere: The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and Women’s Place in the Abolitionist Movement , Megan Irene Brady
Competing Goals: The Boston Teachers Union and the Boston Busing Crisis , Matthew R. Clark
"The Right to Play" The Establishment of Playgrounds in the American City , Kyle James Fritch
Good Girls Gone Bad: Interpreting the White Slavery Scare As A Response To Changing Women's Roles in the Progressive Era , Rachael Gorski
Innocent Victors: Atomic Identity at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee , Kathryn Leann Harris
William Monroe Trotter and His Contributions to the Early Civil Rights Movement , Katherine N. Jahl
Lapidary Medicine in Early Modern Spain , Dana L. Marquis
A Seemingly Insurmountable Problem: Carl Stokes and the Failure of Cleveland Now! , David M. Rainey
The Creation of the OSS And Anglo American Intelligence Co-Operation In Yugoslavia: A Case Study In Diverging Agendas , Christopher J. Royack
Luis V. Manrara & the Truth About Cuba Committee, Inc.: A Microhistory on the Effect of Socio-Economic Advantages and Politics on Early Cuban Acculturation within American Society , Francis E. Tansey
“Wicked and Illegal Traffic”: Newspaper Portrayal of Nigerian Women in the Cannabis Trade (circa 1970 – 1980) , Edet A. Thomas
Mendez V. Westminister (1945): A Case that Brought Race to Center Stage , Samantha R. Albert
A Light in the Darkness: Constructing a View of Victorian Gynecological Surgery through Examination of Medical Treatises , Mandy M. Jimenez
Riot and Resurgence: The Antebellum African American Community of Providence, Rhode Island , Christopher J. Martin
Reverend James D. Eaton and Congregationalist Missionary Education in Revolutionary Mexico , Lucas A. Mihalich
Indian, Black, Mustee, and Music: Race, Identity, and Culture in Native Communities During the Age of Whaling , Tara M. Munro
Expendable: Eight Soldiers From Massachusetts Regiments Executed For Desertion During the United States Civil War , Stephen F. Ragon
Exploring Reconstruction in the Territory of New Mexico , Krystle Eugley Beaubrun
'For the Sake of the Salvation of our Souls': An Analysis of Hildegard of Bingen's Authority and Reformist Theology in Relation to the Founding of Mount St. Rupert , Alexandra G. Borkowski
Rebuilding the City on a Hill: The Currents of New England Sectionalism and Liberal Christianity in Garrisonian Abolitionism , Zachary Boutin
'For the Benefit of Mankind': Franklin Roosevelt's Development of Trusteeship for the Postwar World , Tasnin R. Chowdhury
Run Aground: Cultural Transformation in Southeastern Massachusetts' Aquatic Spaces, 1637-1711 , Jonathan Dennis Green
In Freedom's Cause: An Exploration of Suffragette and Chartist Militancy in Britain , Ashley Kennedy-MacDougall
Countdown to Martial Law: The U.S-Philippine Relationship, 1969-1972 , Joven G. Maranan
He was a Camera: Christopher Isherwood, Weimar Germany, and Transationalism in the American Gay Rights Movement , Kristof R. Nelson
Somewhere Between Exploitation and Partnership: English and Native Alliances Surrounding the Raids on Deerfield and King William’s War , Caitlyn J. Remmes
The Barbadoes Family and the Pursuit of African-American Equality in 19th Century America , Robert J. Shaw
Traitor or Pioneer: John Brown Russwurm and the African Colonization Movement , Brian J. Barker
A Queen's Legacy: The Lives of Elizabeth Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg , Heather E. Bump
We're Just Like You: Strategies of Gay Activism against the Religious Right, Politics and Conservatism, and the AIDS Crisis , William G. Burton
Gay Outlaws: The Alpine County Project Reconsidered , Jacob D. Carter
George Loney Wallace and the Wrentham State School: 1906-1930 , Lindsay Fulton
Charles Francis Adams: A Study on the Crucial Role of Adams in Maintaining British Neutrality During the American Civil War , Jonathan S. McIsaac
The Massachusetts Bay Circuit , Corey W. Medeiros
É Para Sair de Portugal a Todos os Custos! The Policia Repressiva de Emigração Clandestina (1896-1911) and the Politics of Azorean Emigration to the United States , Sonia Patricia da Silva Pacheco
The Integration of African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Massachusetts , Caitlin E. Pinkham
Anti-Catholicism and Gender Norms: Reassessing the Charlestown Convent Riot, 1834 , Daniel S. Sousa
Crowning a Florentine Princeps in a New Rome: The Civic Humanism of Leonardo Bruni and the Rise of Cosimo de' Medici, "Pater Patriae" , Jason F. Amato
The Transvaal Constitution and Responsible Government: How Churchill influenced Apartheid , Christopher H. Beckvold
"Tenacious of Their Lands": Fortifying the District of Mashpee, 1834-1842 , Nicole Alexis Breault
Assent and You Are Sane: "John Brown Was Right" , Jermain S. Corbin
Saving the "Original Paradise": Health Tourism, Tropical Disease, and the Problem of Cuba in the American Imperial Imagination, 1848-98 , Liana DeMarco
Panthersprung: The Vital Inheritance of the Agadir Crisis , Patrick E. Doerr
Lusitania: An Examination of Captaincy and Seamanship in the Face of Disaster , Robert J. Goulding
“So Succeeded by a Kind Providence”: Communities of Color in Eighteenth Century Boston , Eric M. Hanson Plass
Constructing A Vernacular Narrative: Communal Memory of Boston's West End , Eleanor Martinez Proctor
Generations Apart: Cultural Revolution Memory and China's Post-80's Generation on the Chinese Internet , Vincent R. Capone
Once Lords and Emperors: Chivalry and the Making of Clerical Masculinity in High Medieval Normandy , Charles S. Carroll
Fort Devens: Civil Rights Unrest and African-American Identity in a Northern Military Camp during World War I and World War II , Janine Hubai
The Hidden Experience: Untold Stories of Immigrant Agency During the Settlement House Movement in Boston , Deirdre L. Kutt
General Von Seeckt and Sino-German Cooperation , Yue Lan
"Our Brothers In This Country": Captivity and Kinship in the Colonial Northeast , Steven C. Moore
The Teacher Revolt: Militancy, Grassroots Mobilization, and Local Autonomy in the National Education Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (1960-1980) , Jamie A. Rinaldi
Germs, Pigs and Silver: King Philip's War and the Deconstruction of the Middle Ground In New England , Benjamin M. Roine
Men of Uncommon Substance: Sailor Literature and American Identity in Antebellum America, 1805 - 1840 , Pete Sprayregen
Technology Transfer and Diffusion in the Context of Globalization: A Study of a Critical Decade in the Ottoman Empire through the Experiences of Henry Eckford, 1830-1840 , Gulumhan Huma Yildirim
The Forgotten Children: The Educational Demographics of an Austrian Diocese 1848-1852 , Mathew Richard Boyeson
Gaetano Salvemini: A Lesson in Thought and Action , Michael Christopher DiClemente
The Cultural Assault on the Female Gender during the Weimar Years , Jaime Alexandra Gaudet
Immigrants as Americanizers: The Americanization Movement of the Early Twentieth Century , Alexis Claire Hanley
Union Army Doctrine: The Role of the Artillery During the Campaign for Vicksburg , Stephanie A. Peacock
Botticelli's La Primavera: Painting the Cosmos of Human Ideals , Leatha Eleni Tzioumis
Women Under National Socialism: The Case Study of Melita Maschmann , Lynda Maureen Willett
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What is a thesis statement.
Your thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your paper. It expresses your main argument succinctly and explains why your argument is historically significant. Think of your thesis as a promise you make to your reader about what your paper will argue. Then, spend the rest of your paper–each body paragraph–fulfilling that promise.
Your thesis should be between one and three sentences long and is placed at the end of your introduction. Just because the thesis comes towards the beginning of your paper does not mean you can write it first and then forget about it. View your thesis as a work in progress while you write your paper. Once you are satisfied with the overall argument your paper makes, go back to your thesis and see if it captures what you have argued. If it does not, then revise it. Crafting a good thesis is one of the most challenging parts of the writing process, so do not expect to perfect it on the first few tries. Successful writers revise their thesis statements again and again.
A successful thesis statement:
How to write a thesis statement:
Suppose you are taking an early American history class and your professor has distributed the following essay prompt:
“Historians have debated the American Revolution’s effect on women. Some argue that the Revolution had a positive effect because it increased women’s authority in the family. Others argue that it had a negative effect because it excluded women from politics. Still others argue that the Revolution changed very little for women, as they remained ensconced in the home. Write a paper in which you pose your own answer to the question of whether the American Revolution had a positive, negative, or limited effect on women.”
Using this prompt, we will look at both weak and strong thesis statements to see how successful thesis statements work.
While this thesis does take a position, it is problematic because it simply restates the prompt. It needs to be more specific about how the Revolution had a limited effect on women and why it mattered that women remained in the home.
Revised Thesis: The Revolution wrought little political change in the lives of women because they did not gain the right to vote or run for office. Instead, women remained firmly in the home, just as they had before the war, making their day-to-day lives look much the same.
This revision is an improvement over the first attempt because it states what standards the writer is using to measure change (the right to vote and run for office) and it shows why women remaining in the home serves as evidence of limited change (because their day-to-day lives looked the same before and after the war). However, it still relies too heavily on the information given in the prompt, simply saying that women remained in the home. It needs to make an argument about some element of the war’s limited effect on women. This thesis requires further revision.
Strong Thesis: While the Revolution presented women unprecedented opportunities to participate in protest movements and manage their family’s farms and businesses, it ultimately did not offer lasting political change, excluding women from the right to vote and serve in office.
Few would argue with the idea that war brings upheaval. Your thesis needs to be debatable: it needs to make a claim against which someone could argue. Your job throughout the paper is to provide evidence in support of your own case. Here is a revised version:
Strong Thesis: The Revolution caused particular upheaval in the lives of women. With men away at war, women took on full responsibility for running households, farms, and businesses. As a result of their increased involvement during the war, many women were reluctant to give up their new-found responsibilities after the fighting ended.
Sexism is a vague word that can mean different things in different times and places. In order to answer the question and make a compelling argument, this thesis needs to explain exactly what attitudes toward women were in early America, and how those attitudes negatively affected women in the Revolutionary period.
Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a negative impact on women because of the belief that women lacked the rational faculties of men. In a nation that was to be guided by reasonable republican citizens, women were imagined to have no place in politics and were thus firmly relegated to the home.
This thesis addresses too large of a topic for an undergraduate paper. The terms “social,” “political,” and “economic” are too broad and vague for the writer to analyze them thoroughly in a limited number of pages. The thesis might focus on one of those concepts, or it might narrow the emphasis to some specific features of social, political, and economic change.
Strong Thesis: The Revolution paved the way for important political changes for women. As “Republican Mothers,” women contributed to the polity by raising future citizens and nurturing virtuous husbands. Consequently, women played a far more important role in the new nation’s politics than they had under British rule.
This thesis is off to a strong start, but it needs to go one step further by telling the reader why changes in these three areas mattered. How did the lives of women improve because of developments in education, law, and economics? What were women able to do with these advantages? Obviously the rest of the paper will answer these questions, but the thesis statement needs to give some indication of why these particular changes mattered.
Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a positive impact on women because it ushered in improvements in female education, legal standing, and economic opportunity. Progress in these three areas gave women the tools they needed to carve out lives beyond the home, laying the foundation for the cohesive feminist movement that would emerge in the mid-nineteenth century.
When revising your thesis, check it against the following guidelines:
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There are many ways of writing history and no fixed formula for a 'good' essay or dissertation. Before you start, you may find it helpful to have a look at some sample dissertations and essays from the past: ask at the Whipple Library.
Some people have a clear idea already of what they are going to write about; others find it more difficult to choose or focus on a topic. It may be obvious, but it is worth pointing out that you should choose a topic you find interesting and engaging. Ask a potential supervisor for a list of appropriate readings, chase up any further sources that look interesting or promising from the footnotes, or seek further help. Try to define your topic as specifically as possible as soon as possible. Sometimes, it helps to formulate a question (in the spirit of a Tripos question), which could then be developed, refined, or re-formulated. A good topic should allow you to engage closely with a primary source (text, image, object, etc.) and develop a historiographical point – e.g. adding to, or qualifying historians' current debates or received opinion on the topic. Specific controversies (either historically or historiographically) are often a great place to start looking. Many dissertations and essays turn out to be overambitious in scope, but underambition is a rare defect!
Both essays and dissertations have an introduction and a conclusion . Between the introduction and the conclusion there is an argument or narrative (or mixture of argument and narrative).
An introduction introduces your topic, giving reasons why it is interesting and anticipating (in order) the steps of your argument. Hence many find that it is a good idea to write the introduction last. A conclusion summarises your arguments and claims. This is also the place to draw out the implications of your claims; and remember that it is often appropriate to indicate in your conclusion further profitable lines of research, inquiry, speculation, etc.
An argument or narrative should be coherent and presented in order. Divide your text into paragraphs which make clear points. Paragraphs should be ordered so that they are easy to follow. Always give reasons for your assertions and assessments: simply stating that something or somebody is right or wrong does not constitute an argument. When you describe or narrate an event, spell out why it is important for your overall argument. Put in chapter or section headings whenever you make a major new step in your argument of narrative.
It is a very good idea to include relevant pictures and diagrams . These should be captioned, and their relevance should be fully explained. If images are taken from a source, this should be included in the captions or list of illustrations.
The extent to which it is appropriate to use direct quotations varies according to topic and approach. Always make it clear why each quotation is pertinent to your argument. If you quote from non-English sources say if the translation is your own; if it isn't give the source. At least in the case of primary sources include the original in a note if it is your own translation, or if the precise details of wording are important. Check your quotations for accuracy. If there is archaic spelling make sure it isn't eliminated by a spell-check. Don't use words without knowing what they mean.
An essay or a dissertation has three components: the main text , the notes , and the bibliography .
The main text is where you put in the substance of your argument, and is meant to be longer than the notes. For quotes from elsewhere, up to about thirty words, use quotation marks ("...", or '...'). If you quote anything longer, it is better to indent the whole quotation without quotation marks.
Notes may either be at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or at the end of the main text, but before the bibliography (endnotes). Use notes for references and other supplementary material which does not constitute the substance of your argument. Whenever you quote directly from other works, you must give the exact reference in your notes. A reference means the exact location in a book or article which you have read , so that others can find it also – it should include author, title of the book, place and date of publication, page number. (There are many different ways to refer to scholarly works: see below.) . If you cite a primary source from a secondary source and you yourself have not read or checked the primary source, you must acknowledge the secondary source from which the citation was taken. Whenever you paraphrase material from somebody else's work, you must acknowledge that fact. There is no excuse for plagiarism. It is important to note that generous and full acknowledgement of the work of others does not undermine your originality.
Your bibliography must contain all the books and articles you have referred to (do not include works that you did not use). It lists works alphabetically by the last name of the author. There are different conventions to set out a bibliography, but at the very least a bibliographic entry should include for a book the last name and initials/first name of the author, the title of the book in italics or underlined, and the place, (publisher optional) and date of publication; or, for an article, the last name and initials/first name of the author, the title in inverted commas, and the name of the journal in italics or underlined, followed by volume number, date of publication, and page numbers. Names of editors of volumes of collected articles and names of translators should also be included, whenever applicable.
Alternatively, if you have many works to refer to, it may be easier to use an author-date system in notes, e.g.:
In this case your bibliography should also start with the author-date, e.g.:
This system has the advantage of making your foot- or endnotes shorter, and many choose it to save words (the bibliography is not included in the word limit). It is the system commonly used in scientific publications. Many feel however that something is historically amiss when you find in a footnote something like 'Plato [1996b]' or 'Locke [1975]'. In some fields of research there are standard systems of reference: you will find that this is the case if, for example, you write an essay/dissertation on classical history or philosophy of science. In such cases it is a good idea to take a standard secondary source as your model (e.g. in the case of classics, see G.E.R. Lloyd's The Revolutions of Wisdom: Studies in the Claims and Practices of Ancient Greek Science , Berkeley 1987).
Whatever system you decide to follow for your footnotes, what matters most is that the end-product is consistent.
Keep accurate records of all the relevant bibliographic information as you do your reading for your essay/dissertation. (If you don't you may waste days trying to trace references when you are close to submission deadlines.)
Consistency of style throughout the essay/dissertation is encouraged. There are many professional guides to thesis writing which give you more information on the style and format of theses – for example the MLS handbook (British) and the Chicago Manual of Style (American), both in the Whipple, and a booklet, H. Teitelbaum, How to Write a Thesis: A Guide to the Research Paper , 3rd ed., 126 pp., New York: Macmillan (& Arco), 1994 (in the UL: 1996.8.2620). But don't try to follow everything they say!
Every now and then you should read through a printout of your whole essay/dissertation, to ensure that your argument flows throughout the piece: otherwise there is a danger that your arguments become compartmentalised to the size of the screen. When reading drafts, ask yourself if it would be comprehensible to an intelligent reader who was not an expert on the specific topic.
It is imperative that you save your work on disk regularly – never be caught out without a back-up.
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When it comes to thinking about dissertations, it's useful to know how and where to look for material, both within Cambridge and further afield. The following is some guidance on finding various different types of material, whether primary or secondary.
Finding books outside cambridge, finding articles.
Subject gateways.
For further help our LibGuide has lots of information about how to carry out research in History.
The best place to begin looking for secondary material is a specialist bibliographical database covering your area of interest, eg. the Bibliography of British and Irish History . Teaching staff will be able to advise on what databases there are in your subject area. There may not be a specialist database covering your topic, in which case a more general literature search may be the best way to begin. Literature searches may also help you to find supplementary material, and to identify what is available within Cambridge.
Literature searches will help you to identify a viable topic of research, or a new angle from which to approach a subject, and they will also ensure that you do not duplicate work in progress. You will need to be compiling lists of material to consult at the same time as taking organised notes and writing; you should not wait to complete the reading before beginning to write.
For searching across library catalogues in Cambridge, use iDiscover ; as well as searching library holdings it also retrieves records for ejournals and ebooks, and can be extended to search databases such as JSTOR . You can also turn searches into RSS feeds (for alerts when any relevant items are added to the catalogue).
The University's ebooks@cambridge team subscribe to thousands of ebook titles, including key resources such as the Cambridge Histories and Cambridge Companions. These are searchable through iDiscover; if there is an electronic copy of the book you are looking for, it will have the phrase "[electronic resource]" in the record after the title, and you can follow the link in the record directly through to the text. Ebooks are easy to use, can be accessed from home and can normally have several users accessing the text simultaneously, so access is almost always available.
You may need to extend your search beyond Cambridge, to see if there is material available elsewhere which is not held by any of the libraries in the university. Library Hub Discover is the best way for finding material held in libraries in the United Kingdom; it is the combined catalogue of the UK's major research libraries (including the British Library, National Library of Scotland and National Library of Wales), as well as various specialist research libraries and collections. The catalogue contains over 32 million records. It is possible to search by subject, author, title or keyword, and you can restrict your search by date, place published, type of material (eg. periodicals, maps), or language. Search results will display where an item is held, and provide links to an electronic copy, if there is a freely available one.
The Document Delivery Service is available to help support students access difficult to locate material. This includes Inter-Library loan and Rapid Inter-Library loan.
If you are working away from Cambridge (for example, during the vacation), you may be able to get access to other higher education libraries in your area; visit SCONUL Access for more information.
For catalogues of libraries outside the United Kingdom try WorldCat , a catalogue of over 10,000 libraries, which indexes 1.5 billion items.
You will need to look at journal articles as well as books, as journals are often where the latest, most up-to-date historical research is published. There are several citation databases which you can search for articles which might be relevant to your topic. As well as general historical databases, there are also more specialised ones, covering various regions, periods and topics. (Most of these will require a Raven password for off-campus access.) To search across the full range of electronic journals Cambridge subscribes to go to the ejournals@cambridge page. It is also possible to search across popular databases for article titles (as opposed to journal titles) on iDiscover.
Key general databases
Digital journal archives
Region/country databases
Chronological databases
Topical databases
There are several different databases for searching for university dissertations and theses, whether produced in the United Kingdom or further afield.
You can access more online resources through iDiscover and the UL's eresources@cambridge page , which includes links to visual and sound resources, film and video services, and newspapers (both archives and current).
Some examples of online collections of primary source material:
In Cambridge
ArchiveSearch provides finding aids and links to digital records for the majority of archives located in the city of Cambridge., including the archives of many colleges, and of the Churchill Archives Centre .
In the United Kingdom
You may need to visit archives outside Cambridge as part of your research. To find out what archival material is held where, there are various union catalogues of archive material:
To search the holdings of archives outside the United Kingdom, try Archive Grid , a major catalogue of historical documents, personal papers and family history material held in repositories around the world; you can search for collections by topic.
Subject gateways are online portals to subject-specific resources, and can be excellent places to look for more information on your topic. Some gateways where the sites have been evaluated by experts include:
In the third year doctoral students prepare a dissertation prospectus and present it at the prospectus conference, which is held yearly during the third week in January.
The conference is a forum in which students share their ideas with faculty and colleagues, and receive suggestions as they begin to research and write their dissertation.
Following the conference, advisors may either approve the prospectus, or ask the student to revise it. It is suggested that students begin working on the prospectus immediately after passing the general exam , so that they are adequately prepared.
Statement of thesis.
What is the problem you wish to study and what is its interest or significance in current historical thinking? State clearly and concisely how you presently conceive this problem and how you suppose it can be resolved.
What work has, and has not, been done in this field and on this problem? Discuss relevant scholarship critically. It is not necessary to criticize specific failings; but show what is understood to be the merits and limitations of relevant works. How do you propose to develop, challenge, or depart from existing positions or themes in historical literature?
Outline an approach to the subject. If the conception has theoretical aspects, discuss them critically. Have scholars in other fields developed concepts of potential interest to the topic? Think about method and theory, even if there is a decision not to engage much with external perspectives and theory. The faculty neither encourages nor discourages such engagement, but cautions that original historical work should not simply illustrate other people's ideas.
Give an account of the sources for the subject. Stress primary sources, the difficulties they present, their location (print, manuscript, or any other form), and their accessibility. Identify the principal libraries and repositories as well as other locations and persons. Do not overlook unpublished doctoral or master's research.
Draft a tentative chapter outline and schedule of tasks and stages for the writing of the dissertation. Allow time for research, travel to collections, writing, and revision.
List the primary and secondary sources used to develop the prospectus.
Presentations last for 30 minutes. For the first 15 minutes students present their prospectus, and the remaining 15 minutes are reserved for questions from the audience. By December 2nd, the graduate coordinator will ask for three pieces of information as a prelude to the conference:
1. Provisional title of the presentation 2. Requests for audio/visual equipment 3. Names of faculty members who should be invited to the presentation.
By January 13 candidates will submit a 15-20 page written prospectus to the graduate coordinator that forms the basis of the presentation. The prospectus should include a select bibliography and the names of archives in which research will be conducted. For examples of last year's conference see the Graduate Student Resources site.
Before spring break in the G3 year, and after the G3 conference has occurred, the graduate student will initiate a meeting of their dissertation committee. The goal of this meeting is to generate additional feedback on the prospectus and set norms and milestones for the research and writing of the dissertation. If necessary, the chair of the dissertation committee may ask for revisions of the prospectus. The final version of the prospectus must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator no later than June 30 (preferably much earlier) along with the approval form signed by the advisor.
Faq- prospectus.
COMMENTS
Since 2009, we have published the best of the annual dissertations produced by our final year undergraduates and award a 'best dissertation of the year' prize to the best of the best. Best Dissertations of 2022. Best Dissertations of 2021. Best Dissertations of 2020. Best Dissertations of 2019.
2020-Present 2023-2024 Beaman, GregTransregional History"Slavery in the Suburbs: A History of Real Estate and Slavery in the Faubourgs of New Orleans, 1788-1852"Advisor: Adam Rothman Broadus, VictoriaLatin American History"Vissungo: The Afro-Descended Culture of Miners and Maroons in Brazil's Diamond District, 1850s-2020s"Advisor: Bryan McCann Burnham, JakobEuropean History ...
The dissertation represents the culmination of years of graduate training. For many, the pages of the dissertation are stained with blood, sweat and tears. And coffee. And more tears. Since 1882, when the first dissertation was presented to the history department for doctoral qualification at Yale, hundreds of scholars have since followed that same path, dedicating themselves
This is the section where you write a brief summary of your dissertation. It should describe the issue, summarize your core message and essential points. List your research methods and what you've done. Remember to make it short, as the abstract shouldn't exceed 300 words or so.
The best way to achieve this is to: 1. Record the key ideas, themes and quotes from what you have read. Try to find a uniform way to do this as it will make it easier to find information when you come to write your dissertation. Some formats are freely available on the internet, such as the Cornell Note Taking System.
Student. Title. 'Best dissertation' prize. Eleanor Johnston. A Revolution in Emotion: Madame Roland and the Politics of Feeling 2019_Johnston (PDF, 609kB) Winner of the 'Best History dissertation of 2018' prize. Victoria Brown. Capturing the 'Forbidden Zone': British Female Frontline Photographers of the First World War. Ellie Copeland.
2. Develop a Thesis Statement. To create a thesis statement, a student should establish a specific idea or theory that makes the main point about a historical event. Scribbr, an editing website, recommends starting with a working thesis, asking the question the thesis intends to answer, and, then, writing the answer.
gle honours students and an option for all joint degree students. The dissertation is weighted at 30 CATS and must be based on a final year History or CAS module that the student is enro. ed on, a Special Subject, an Advanced Option, or Historiography. It is expected that most student will attach their dissertation to their Special Subject, as.
United for a Better World: Internationalism in the U.S. Women's Movement, 1939-64. Luther Hillman, Betty. America Dresses for Culture Wars: The Politics of Self-Presentation, 1964-80. Marrero, Karen Lynn. Founding Families: Power and Authority of Mixed French and Native Lineages in Eighteenth Century Detroit.
History 99: Senior Thesis Seminar Course jectivesob The Senior Thesis Writers' Seminar has a twofold purpose . The first is to provide you with practi-cal guidance and writing advice as you complete a senior thesis in History . We will discuss many of the common hurdles and pitfalls that past students have
The Destruction of Louisiana Wetlands: An Environmental History, 1900-2000, Gloria H. Adams. PDF. The Perpetual Progression in the Schleswig-Holstein Duchy: History, Politics, and Religion, 1460-1864, Christian Anthony Ahlers. PDF. A Refinement on the Principle of Resistance: The Puritan Roots of Political Resistance in America, Michael P. Berry.
Exercise A (20-30 minutes): Brainstorm topics of interest. In the first brainstorm, your job is to write down all of the possible "topics" that you m. ght be interested in researching further with your thesis. Here is where you list all of the themes, people, places, texts, events, movements, ima.
Theses/Dissertations from 2021. Building a New (Deal) Identity The Evolution of Italian-American Political Culture and Ideology, 1910-1940, Ryan J. Antonucci. "It Seemed Like Reaching for the Moon:" Southside Virginia's Civil Rights Struggle Against The Virginia Way, 1951-1964, Emily A. Martin Cochran.
An evolving guide of resources for thesis writers in history. Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwai Smith To the colonized, the term 'research' is conflated with European colonialism; the ways in which academic research has been implicated in the throes of imperialism remains a painful memory. This essential volume explores intersections of imperialism and research - specifically, the ...
Sample Thesis Proposals. 'My broken dreams of peace and socialism': Youth propaganda, personality, and selfhood in the GDR, 1979-1989. Lanfranc of Bec: Confrontation and Compromise. The ecclesiastical history of Europe in the 11th century revolves around the investiture conflict and the Gregorian reform effort.
The Northumbria Dissertation Repository was launched in October 2015 to share the best of the university's undergraduate research in History. While online repositories already exist for postgraduate theses, few include undergraduate research - despite the fact that many dissertations are original in conception, argument, and in their use of primary sources.
History Masters Theses Collection. This collection contains open access and campus access Masters theses, made possible through Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The full content of open access theses is available to all, although some files may have embargoes placed on them and will be made available as soon as possible.
Your thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your paper. It expresses your main argument succinctly and explains why your argument is historically significant. Think of your thesis as a promise you make to your reader about what your paper will argue. Then, spend the rest of your paper-each body paragraph-fulfilling that promise.
Many feel however that something is historically amiss when you find in a footnote something like 'Plato [1996b]' or 'Locke [1975]'. In some fields of research there are standard systems of reference: you will find that this is the case if, for example, you write an essay/dissertation on classical history or philosophy of science.
The dissertation committee is composed of either three or four members, at least two of whom are ordinarily members or formal affiliates of the History Department. The adviser must be a member of the History Department. First Reader / Adviser: The Dissertation Committee is chaired by a member of the History Department who has been designated as ...
ProQuest Digital Dissertations: A database of 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations from 700 academic institutions worldwide, offering full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997. Apollo: Cambridge University's institutional repository. Includes a collection of voluntarily deposited Ph.D. theses.
History 99: Senior Thesis Seminar Course Objectives The Senior Thesis Writers' Seminar has a twofold purpose . The first is to provide you with practi-cal guidance and writing advice as you complete a senior thesis in History . We will discuss many of the common hurdles and pitfalls that past students have encountered .
By January 13 candidates will submit a 15-20 page written prospectus to the graduate coordinator that forms the basis of the presentation. The prospectus should include a select bibliography and the names of archives in which research will be conducted. For examples of last year's conference see the Graduate Student Resources site.
The prospectus is simply a plan for your dissertation. Your prospectus does not commit you to particular answers, but rather is a preliminary statement of what you know and think, and what you plan to do. There are two primary audiences: yourself and the members of your dissertation committee. (You also might share your prospectus in a workshop ...