HIST 100

HIST 100

Suggested Topics for Research Papers

Try to begin your work on the paper as soon as possible. Your topic should be connected with one of the broad themes that we are studying: crusades, women and industrial revolution, Stalinist period in the Soviet Union, Tokugawa Japan. Below I provide a list of possible topics for each theme; these are just examples; there are many other possibilities. If you have your own topic in mind, you need to clear it with me.

Whatever topic you choose, you need to come up with a specific research question. It is easy to develop the research question if you look through several articles on your topic (the more the better). You should be able to determine some argument or uncertainty if you read attentively. If it is hard to formulate a research question, I will be glad to help.

Your first task is to compile a bibliography. Itshould include at least one scholarly book and at least two articles. If you aim for a better mark (A/A- range) your bibliography should containat least five sources. Do not include encyclopedias, general textbooks, children’s books, book reviews and popular magazine articles.The annotated bibliography for the paperis due on November 16. This is a preliminary bibliography; it indicates that you have already done some work, and you are free to make changes to it later. The paper is due on December 7.

1. Crusades:
2. a) write about one of the crusades (causes, results, significance),
3. b) or about one of the leaders (Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Innocent III)
4. c) women and crusades,
5. d) crusading warfare.
6. Industrial Revolution and Women:
7. a) industrial revolution and family,
8. b) women’s clubs and mutual help societies in the nineteenth century,
9. c) the role of women in the industrial revolution in general or in some specific industry.
10. Stalinist Society:
11. a) crash industrialization and its influence on the welfare of the Soviet population,
12. b) collectivization and peasant life,
13. c) women in Stalinist society,
14. d) survival mechanisms in Stalinist camps.
15. Tokugawa Japan:
16. a) samurai during the Tokugawa period,
17. b) opening of Japan,
18. c) ukiyo-e as a historical source,
19. d) life of peasants during the Tokugawa period.