history dissertation advanced higher

Department of History

Yale history dissertations.

During the late 1800’s, only a trickle of dissertations were submitted annually, but today, the department averages about 25 per year. See who some of those intrepid scholars were and what they wrote about by clicking on any of the years listed below.

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History: writing a history dissertation.

• Writing a History Dissertation
• Referencing and Style Guide
• Literature Search Plan
• American History

Starting a Literature Search

Conducting a literature search is a great way to find a viable topic and plan your research. It will also give you the opportunity to look for primary and secondary resources that can support the arguments you make in your dissertation. 

Starting your literature search early will help you plan your dissertation and give you an overview of all the resources you might want to consult. Below are examples of how you can start this process and how they can help.

Dissertation Books

Define your Topic

Start your search by identifying a broad subject area, such as a country, period, theme or person. You might do this by looking at reference works, such as a Very Short Introduction , Cambridge Histories , or Oxford Handbooks . These books will give you an insight into the many areas you can investigate in greater depth and they will also provide references to peer-reviewed material on more defined topics. 

Next , look at material which focuses more on the area you have identified from reference works. These might be books, chapters or articles which focus on a more defined area of the subject you have identified. Use these to formulate questions that you can answer in your research.

Then ,  read resources that will help you form your argument and answer the questions you have set. This material should focus on the topic you have chosen and help you explain what has been written on this area before.

Search for Secondary Resources

In order to successfully search for resources relevant to your study, you will need to use search-terms which will retrieve the best results. The tips below will help you do this:

Terms you have found in your reading

Keep a note of terms you have seen when you have been identifying your topic. This could be anything relevant your topic, including: places, people, jobs, religions, institutions, objects, periods, or events. Also, take note of terms that are related to your topic and had an impact on the area you are studying. Write down all the terms which relate to your topic and note which ones provide the most relevant results.

It can also be useful to keep a note of what you are not looking at so that you stay focused on your topic and do not retrieve too many results.

Authors who are written about the topic

You will start to notice that some authors are mentioned as specialists on the topic you are researching. Search a variety of catalogues to find what they have written on the subject in different formats. They might have contributed to edited works, written articles, given presentations to conferences or annotated works. They also might lead you to others who have written about your topic or research groups which are relevant to your studies.

Use subject searches

Most secondary resources have been indexed according to their subject. Through using these subject terms you can search catalogues more efficiently and find relevant resources without just searching the title or author. 

If you find a useful resources, try looking at its catalogue record. See if any of the subject headings look useful and note what terminology they use as this will be consistent across most databases. When you have found a useful term, copy and paste it into a subject search (or select the link) and see what other resources are available.

You can also use an online thesaurus to find search terms. The most commonly used terms are the Library of Congress Subject Headings  which provide uniform terms across international databases.

Use databases

The University subscribes to many databases that focus on different countries and topics. These will provide a comprehensive guide to what has been written in your area and may use different subject headings. Reference databases and bibliographies can be especially useful for finding citations of everything that has been written on a certain area of history. Biographical databases can also help find information about individuals and institutions. For a complete list of all the databases the University subscribes to, look at the A-Z of databases . 

Search for Primary Resources

There are plenty of primary resources that can be used in your dissertation. The University subscribes to many databases that provide access to primary resources and some of our libraries hold special collections which can be used in your research. Below are some examples:

The University subscribes to many newspapers from the past and present. They can be a really useful tool for finding contemporary accounts of events and provide more than just articles (including: advertisements, illustrations, family notices, sports, arts, court cases). Many newspaper databases will also include related content, such as pamphlets and newsbooks.

The University Library has a collection of print newspapers which can be consulted on site. The University also subscribes to electronic databases of national and local newspapers across the world. More information about the newspaper databases we subscribe to is available on our  dedicated website .

Special Collection Material

Many libraries and archives provide access to rare, unique and specialised collections of books and manuscripts. The University Library, for example, provides access to Manuscripts and Rare Books Departments , as do some of the colleges. Some of the more frequently used and important material is also available as part of an online library, such as Cambridge's CUDL .

Official Publications (Government Documents)

Documents produced by governmental and intergovernmental bodies can provide an insight into their decision making and governance. Several libraries in Cambridge have received official publications material and a lot of material is now available online. More information about the official material in Cambridge libraries is available on our Official Publications LibGuide .

Data and Statistics

Figures can be used to help illustrate a point and provide evidence as you answer the central question in your dissertation. You might chose to refer to census data, crime statistics, trade figures, or any other data set that relates to your area of history. This sort of information can be found in databases and replicated in secondary resources. 

Private Papers

If you are researching an individual (or someone who played a prominent role in the area you are focusing on) it is a good idea to see if they have deposited private papers in an archive. These might includes diaries, letters, draft works, or anything else that was kept and not published. These works are normally kept in an archive, so a good starting point is to look at a catalogue that might show where relevant papers are held (such as Archives Hub )

These can include maps, cartoons, paintings and photographs. Images are available both in print and online, but you need to be cautious of the copyright restrictions of images before you use them (check the information given by the source). Some databases will allow you to search images, like ARTstor , so use them as a good starting point for your search. 

Audio-Visual

Similarly to images, the University provides access to a variety of audio-visual resources, including interviews, recordings, radio and films. If there is a particular DVD you would like to use, try searching the title in iDiscover. For example, " Interviews with Historians " will take you to a comprehensive collection of DVDs available at the Seeley. Many films are also available online, such as British Pathe .

Organise and Save Your Research

You will be able to do a comprehensive and efficient literature search if you keep a record of what you have read, where you read it and what each item means to your research. 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 .

2. Save citations you have looked at so you do not struggle to find them again. Also, this will help you when you come to do your references. There are many reference managers available to help you store this information and create a fully formatted bibliography.

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Advanced Higher History Dissertation

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Advanced Higher English - project-dissertation topics

• Introduction

Candidates should be made aware that the primary purpose of the Advanced Higher English project-dissertation is to write a sustained critical analysis, analysing and evaluating literary technique. The wording of the dissertation topic should reflect this wherever possible. Dissertations which set out to deal with a particular theme or themes should always include supporting analysis of appropriate literary techniques. All dissertations should present and analyse appropriate textual evidence, and should contain a clearly structured and well-supported argument. All elements of the dissertation should be relevant to the task. Therefore, care needs to be taken to ensure that candidates choose specific and manageable topics.

Here you will find examples of topics that have been chosen by candidates along with a commentary on their suitability for the project-dissertation. The examples can be browsed from the tabs above or the full document accessed/downloaded from the link below.

► Advanced Higher English - Project-dissertation topics - Examples (PDF)

An examination of the complex symbolic significance of trees in ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison.

This is a concise statement with a clear focus on a single technical aspect of the chosen text. This should allow the candidate to offer an effective literary analysis of this element of the novel.

Explore the dramatic means by which David Harrower forces the audience to face any moral ambiguity they may experience in his controversial play, ‘Blackbird’.

This topic could be more clearly expressed as:

An exploration of moral ambiguity in ‘Blackbird’ by David Harrower.

This would allow the candidate greater scope in their analysis of moral ambiguity and not restrict it to audience reaction alone. The words “controversial” and “forces” are perhaps too assertive for the topic statement. Such evaluative comments would be best kept for the dissertation itself, perhaps forming part of the candidate’s emerging line of argument and/or conclusion.

An analysis of the oppression of women throughout time and society in ‘The Help’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.

Whilst a topic looking at the “oppression of women” in these texts is a valid approach, the reference to “throughout time and society” is too broad in scope. Also, the focus is upon a more sociological approach to these texts and it would benefit the candidate if they made more explicit reference to literary technique. For example:

An analysis of the use of characterisation and narrative in dealing with the oppression of women in ‘The Help’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.

A critical analysis of the role women play within society as they fight for freedom, self-liberation and challenge the gender roles. A comparison between ‘The Miniaturist’ and ‘A Doll’s House’ analysing the approaches they use to allow the female characters to break stereotypes with reference to characterisation, symbolism and themes.

This title seems overly complicated and it is not immediately clear what the focus of the dissertation actually is. It might be reworded in a number of more helpful ways. For example:

• Challenging Gender Roles – a comparison of characterisation and symbolism in ‘The Miniaturist’ and ‘A Doll’s House’.
• A comparison of some of the literary means by which themes of freedom and self-liberation are presented in ‘The Miniaturist’ and ‘A Doll’s House’.
• Breaking Stereotypes – a comparative analysis of female characters in ‘The Miniaturist’ and ‘A Doll’s House’.

As this is a “mixed genre” dissertation on two disparate literary forms, it is likely that the candidate will have to concentrate on broader elements which are common to both genres, such as theme and characterisation, in their analysis of these two texts.

A literary examination of how Tennessee Williams explores the theme of illusion versus reality through the main characters in ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’.

This is a concise statement with a clear focus on a single theme shared by the two selected plays. This should allow the candidate to offer an effective literary analysis of these two very popular drama texts.

A Study of Religion, Morality and Character Motivations in Cormac McCarthy’s ‘Blood Meridian’ and ‘The Road’.

While the study of themes of religion and morality is a perfectly valid area to focus on in this dissertation, the inclusion of the third element, “Character Motivations” is an unnecessary addition to the task and could weaken the structural balance. Character motivations might well be one of the ways by which the author illustrates the themes present in these texts and as such could still be covered and analysed as a technical element.

The Diverse Scottish Female Experience: The Candid Depiction of Scottish Women in Literature.

This topic is too broad. While the “candid depiction of Scottish women” is a potentially interesting area for a candidate to consider, the lack of a more precise focus or reference to the actual texts under consideration is unhelpful. The topic could be reworded along the following lines (or similar):

An analysis of the depiction of the Scottish Female experience in ‘Sunset Song’ and ‘The Panopticon’.

An analysis of the theme of stoicism in Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Return of the Native’ and Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’.

This is a concise statement with a clear focus on a single theme appropriate to the selected texts. This should allow the candidate to offer an effective literary analysis of these two large and wide-ranging nineteenth century novels.

Proposal: To explore the limitations and themes of Love, Death and Isolation in Robert Frost’s poems.

The opening statement of the proposal perhaps lacks clarity (“limitations and themes of . . .”) but the selected themes themselves are appropriate in an analysis of Frost’s poetry. There should be a statement of which poems are to be consider. For example:

An exploration of love, death and isolation in a selection of four poems by Robert Frost – ‘The Sound of Trees’, ‘Out, Out – ’, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ and ‘Fire and Ice’.

Coming of Age in . . . ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by Steven Chbosky and ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger.

This topic identifies an appropriate theme in two very popular texts. A little more detail might be helpful for some candidates in establishing their approach to the novels. For example:

A comparative study of some of the literary techniques employed by Chbosky and Salinger in their presentation of the theme of “coming of age” in ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and ‘The Catcher in the Rye’.

The Fear of the Other in Victorian Gothic Horror.

This is another example of a topic which is too broad in its scope. A more precise focus and reference to the texts being studied is required.  For example:

The Fear of the Other – a comparison of two examples of Victorian Gothic Horror: ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker and ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ by Robert Louis Stevenson.

A comparative study analysing the impact of displacement caused by the war and how this changes the dynamic of relationships.

This task offers no specific texts and no specific focus on any literary aspects of the texts being dealt with, albeit it states that the study will be “comparative”. The general statement within the task points to ideas of “displacement caused by the war” and how this impacts “the dynamic of relationships”. To bring some focus to the task, it could be written as:

A comparative analysis of characterisation in highlighting displacement and disconnection in Virginia Baily’s ‘Early One Morning’ and Bernard Schlink’s ‘The Reader’.

This reworded task brings some focus to the literary nature of the task, and the thematic focus which will be dealt with in the two named texts.

The American Dream’s failure displayed through classic American novella.

This task points towards a topic which is possibly too broad in scope, and to texts which are not named, with no particular literary focus. The use of word “displayed” as a possible means by which the texts will be interrogated does not immediately suggest a literary analysis. A more focussed task could be:

An analysis of symbolism, setting and characterisation in exploring the failure of the American Dream in John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’.

This would bring focus, clarity and an acknowledgement that a literary analysis will be at the heart of the dissertation.

A comparative analysis of the devices used to explore the theme of masculinity in ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Julius Caesar’ by William Shakespeare.

The task is clear and precise in its focus. It states the specific texts being dealt with and the focus on “comparative analysis” and “devices” points towards a technical analysis of the texts, and a thematic focus.

A comparison of the similarities in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’, as depicted through narrative, symbolism and setting.

This task has a specific literary focus on two texts. However, “comparison of the similarities” is not as precise and could limit the scope of the response. Although the task is looking at literary techniques, it does not define to what end. A slight adjustment could be made to the task. For example:

A comparative analysis of how narrative, symbolism and setting highlight the theme of prejudice in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and David Guterson’s ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’.

This would bring some more focus to the task yet still allow the candidate scope to offer a literary analysis of how the theme is explored by these authors.

The prevalence and subsequent significance of gender stereotypes in the work of Daphne du Maurier.

This task has a valid and specific idea of “prevalence and […] significance of gender stereotypes” at the heart of it, which is positive. However, looking at “the work of Daphne du Maurier” suggests a large range of texts and there is no specific focus on literary analysis and/or techniques. A more focussed and concise task would be:

A literary exploration of the prevalence and significance of gender stereotypes in Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ and ‘My Cousin Rachel’.

A Wasp in the Bell Jar: The consequences of misogyny in ‘The Bell Jar’ and ‘The Wasp Factory’.

This task is a very broad statement which has a focus on the texts and thematic concern. It is a sophisticated task which could work well, however, some more clarity and precision may be helpful for candidates. For example:

A comparative literary analysis of misogyny in Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ and Iain Banks’ ‘The Wasp Factory’.

A study of the visibility of personal experience in the poetry of Seamus Heaney with reference to the poems ‘September 1969’, ‘Casualty’ and ‘The Strand at Lough Beg’.

This task is a concise summation of what the candidate has chosen to look at in their dissertation. Three poems are specified and the focal point of the dissertation is outlined well in the “visibility of personal experience”.

Exploring the role of an unreliable narrator in contributing to the reveal of psychotic or impulsive behavior.

This task has the technical focus of the “unreliable narrator” which supports an approach to the task which is literary, but it would be beneficial to include the specific texts being dealt with. Also, “the reveal of the psychotic or impulsive behaviour” is less helpful in defining its focus. The task could be adjusted to, for example:

An exploration of the function of the unreliable narrator in Brett Easton Ellis’s ‘American Psycho’ and Patrick McGrath’s ‘Asylum’.

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