History 101: Possible Topics for the Research Paper

History 101: Possible Topics for the Research Paper
Suggestion: approach your subject through the general lecture heading by finding keyword
equivalents and alternative terms for the heading from the Library of Congress Subject
Heading Index. Also, look your specific subject up in the LCSH Index in order to see the
range of options available. Then use the keywords to search the databases and indexes to
see what historians have been studying within the topic area.
The following are possible general topics listed, in italics, under the lecture headings. Each
will have to be narrowed, sometimes drastically, to find an acceptable thesis for a 5-7 page
research paper.
Pre-history. This topic subdivides geographically, so you will need to specify the continent,
or, in some cases, the country.
the ancient mother goddess. NT: Cybele (goddess), Grain goddesses,
Mother goddesses.
early Turkish urban sites. Start with Turkey, antiquities
megaliths of northern Europe (e.g. Ireland or Brittany) or
of southern Europe (Malta)
Mesopotamia. USE Iraq, antiquities.
ziggurats, their construction and uses in ancient Mesopotamia irrigation systems
the impact of specific luxury items (ivory, spices, gold, olive oil, wine, etc.) on trade
in the ancient Middle East
a comparison of two or more creation myths
the afterlife as an idea in two ancient religions
courtship and marriage in ancient Babylon
Hammurabi’s code and everyday life in Babylon
ancient calendars
Ancient Egypt. USE Egypt, antiquities.
irrigation and flood prediction
Egyptian medicine and surgery
ship construction (compare with Phoenicia)
the impact of luxury items on Egyptian trade
cat-worship in ancient Egypt
Egyptian sculpture or painting
Queen Hatshepsut, pharaoh of Egypt
organization of workers in construction of the pyramids
female figures in Egyptian mythology
the Isis-Osiris myth
religious changes in Egypt from zoomorphism to anthropomorphism
Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife
The Hittites and the Phoenicians. USE Turkey, antiquities. Syria, etc.
Phoenician trade routes in the west
the city of Carthage
games of chance and gambling in ancient societies
Phoenician ship construction
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the organization of Hittite towns and farmlands
Hittite ironworking
The Assyrians and the Persians
the chariot in Assyrian warfare
Assyrian social class structure
Assyrian and Persian road building
sun, moon, and fire deities
the development of Persian ideas of divine kingship
Persian artistic traditions and their influence on carpet design
Paradise, a Persian idea
Zoroastrianism and Mithraism
Persian astrology
Persian cuisine
The Hebrews.
wedding customs of the ancient Hebrews
creation in Genesis and in ancient Mesopotamia
ancient musical modes and instruments
Hebrew kingship, its development and decline
the role of the prophet in ancient Hebrew political life
dietary restrictions and purification rituals in ancient Hebrew culture
Jewish religious cults and the Dead Sea Scrolls
social welfare in Hebrew religious thought
ceremonial foods
Ancient India.
the horse in early Hindu religion and warfare
domestic architecture in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
the origins of yogism
the impact of Buddhism on Indian sculpture and architecture
Buddhist monasticism and the missionary spread of Buddhism
marriage and family under the Hindu cast system
development of the Hindu law codes
Ancient China.
early Chinese irrigation and flood control systems
bronze working in early China
Confucianism and the Chinese family
yin and yang in Chinese art
the Mandate of Heaven, a Chinese concept
Chinese ship design
the centralization of Chinese imperial government
peasant social customs
food and family celebrations
Minoan Crete, Mycenae and Archaic Greece.
Cretan trade in the pre-Mycenaean era
Minoan painting
2

the destruction of Knossos
the collapse of Mycenaean society
development of the polis in archaic Greece
weaponry of the Homeric Greeks
the myth of the labyrinth
Classical Greece.
development of the Greek city-state (polis) in Athens or Sparta
the role of the Delphic oracle in classical religion and politics
Greek naval battles of the Persian Wars
the role of women in Spartan or Athenian society
public architecture in Periclean Athens
development of Greek drama and structure of theaters
Sappho of Lesbos and the poetry of love
voting rights and civic obligations of citizens in Hellenic Athens
free speech: the role of Old Comedy in Athenian democracy
the plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War
Herodotus’s descriptions of the Persian allies in The Persian Wars
the death of Socrates
the institution of ostracism
Hellenistic Civilization. USE the specific country involved, eg. Egypt for the Ptolemies,
etc.
the development of Greek military organization from the classical period to the
time of Alexander
Alexander’s conquest of northern India
a comparison of classical and Hellenistic sculpture
Philip of Macedon and the unification of Greece
science and mathematics in ancient Alexandria
the nature and role of the great library of Alexandria
Hellenistic town-planning--the new Greek cities
Hellenistic trade in spices
Hellenistic geographers
the cult of Isis in Hellenistic Egypt
Cleopatra, last of the Ptolemies
Hellenistic medicine
The Rise of Rome and the Roman Republic.
development of Roman military organization and tactics
Etruscan influences on early Roman art and society
the education of the Roman senatorial class
the impact of the Punic Wars on Roman political and military life
development of Roman military technology
Roman Life.
the impact of malaria or another major disease on Mediterranean life
gladiators, civic games, and other public entertainments
the Roman baths, the architecture and social role
Roman house design
3

Roman cookery
fortune-telling and horoscopes in ancient Rome
Fortune’s wheel and the role of gambling in Roman society
the ideal of citizenship in Republican and Imperial Rome
life in a Roman villa
Stoicism and the thinking of Roman patricians
a detailed look at a Roman colonial settlement in France or Britain
slave revolts
The Roman Empire.
Cicero and the transition to Empire
the role of the Roman army in the “election” of the later emperors
the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish diaspora
the idea of citizenship in Republican and Imperial Rome
Roman aqueducts, sewers and hypocausts
The Celts.
Celtic religious practices and the role of the druids
the Roman conquest of Gaul
the role of women in Celtic society
bards and brehons: men of learning in early Irish society
Celtic warfare
Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, & the revolt against the Romans
The Advent of Christianity.
imperial persecutions
St. Paul and the mission to the gentiles
the role of bishops and deacons in the early church
Christianity and slavery--the impact of Christian ideas on the treatment of slaves
“accommodations”--Christian holidays and pagan celebrations
the catacombs
the role of women in the early church
The Growth of Christianity.
the Rule of St. Benedict and early monasticism
St. Augustine and Christian ideas of marriage and family
double monasteries
Pope Gregory the Great and the emergence of the papacy
major symbols and rituals of early Christianity
Celtic religious practices and the role of the druids
the role of Irish monks in the conversion of the Germanic tribes
Irish scriptoria and the development of medieval calligraphy
transformation of Celtic deities into Christian saints
The Germanic Tribes.
kingship in Germanic tribal society
the Vandals and the decline of Roman government outside Italy
Germanic lawcodes and ideas of justice
the relationship between lords and retainers
4

the relationship between Pope Leo and Attila the Hun
Byzantium.
the Empress Theodora and Byzantine politics
the Iconoclastic controversy and Byzantine Christianity
St. Basil and Greek monasticism
patterns of landholding the Byzantium
Islam.
Bedouin society before Islam
the explosive spread of Islam in the century after the Prophet’s death
Islamic justice and the People of the Book
Arab medical practices and the establishment of hospitals
China and Japan.
porcelain manufacture and export from China
Chinese ship design
Japanese transformations of Buddhism
the early stages of Japanese feudalism--the bushido code
Chinese herbal medicine
The Carolingians and Feudalism.
Frankish law and the new empire
the invention of the stirrup and its effects on mounted warfare
missi dominici
the early development of kingship in Scotland
The Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
Viking towns and trade networks
the emergence of Northumbria as a center of learning in the 7 th and 8 th centuries
Alfred the Great and the kingdom of Wessex
Arthur and British resistance to the Anglo-Saxons
Early Africa.
the emergence of Christianity in Ethiopia
the Nok culture
Meroe
Meso-America.
Maya agricultural practices
temple architecture in early Maya culture
decipherment of Maya writing
mythology of early Mexico
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Common/RefHandouts/history101_topics