Help Me Choose My Essay Topic

[Breakwood]

Ok I need some ideas on what to write for my Western World History essay. The subject has to do with the western world, and it can be anything that happened since the beginning of the Renaissance to the end of the Second World War.

So far I'm leaning towards writing about the Spanish Civil war durring the 1930's, and maybe more directly looking at the bombing of Guernica(sp?).

The hardest part of the essay is finding an argument to use. So I'd just like to see what some people find interesting through this timeframe. Thanks for any suggestions.

[russ]

Both Germany and the Soviet union used Spain as a testing ground for equipment and officers.

Guernica is a good precursor to the "terror bombings" used by the Luftwaffe against Rotterdam,Coventry,and London.

What level class is this?

[dmar]

The proble with Guernica is that there are not officially accepted figures (for casualities, number of planes involved, etc...) At the time each side had a different version and both tried to use it as propaganda.

I think you might find more interesting topics for research in the events leading to the war, though it may be more difficult.

[Breakwood]

Im sorry I didnt say earlier. This is my Grade 12 High School history course. So It's not as intense as a university paper.

[DoctorD]

Pick something controversial.

Compare and contrast the behavior and roles of Native Americans during the French and Indian War, and the War of 1812.

[KevTheGooner]

Pick something with plenty of literature to refer to.

Peter the Great grabs Russia by the horns and personally man-handles it into Europe, stomping on the church, his wife, the nobility, and his son in the process. Are his tactics just?

[Zenit]

Pick something with plenty of literature to refer to.

Peter the Great grabs Russia by the horns and personally man-handles it into Europe, stomping on the church, his wife, the nobility, and his son in the process. Are his tactics just?


Excellent idea, and like the G. said, lots of reference material available. You should get some creativity points, my guess is that is not a common subject for 12th grade papers.

[YankHibee]

Hmmm, something on Victorian sexuality and the use of "shock dogs." Certainly cannot go wrong with that in highschool. Your teacher will love it.

[John Galt]

Writing about ANYTHING from the Renaissance to WWII leaves the door pretty wide open for suggestions. I can think of a million history topics, but maybe you could pick a theme that shaped the entire western world. Here's what i'd pick:

How about the international slave trade?

You can trace it from its beginnings to when the US finally outlawed it in the 1830s (the last nation to do so).

Plenty of arguments or theses to choose from, ranging from why some countries outlawed the trade earlier than others to why some countries profited more than others. Plus, you get to show how the western world expanded and grew at the price of the rest of the globe. Not to mention the race and class angle, which is usually a guaranteed thriller in history courses.

(Writing about wars is boring.)

[DoctorD]

Writing about ANYTHING from the Renaissance to WWII leaves the door pretty wide open for suggestions. I can think of a million history topics, but maybe you could pick a theme that shaped the entire western world. Here's what i'd pick:

How about the international slave trade?

You can trace it from its beginnings to when the US finally outlawed it in the 1830s (the last nation to do so).

Plenty of arguments or theses to choose from, ranging from why some countries outlawed the trade earlier than others to why some countries profited more than others. Plus, you get to show how the western world expanded and grew at the price of the rest of the globe. Not to mention the race and class angle, which is usually a guaranteed thriller in history courses.

(Writing about wars is boring.)
Riffing on your slave trade idea. What were the religious backgrounds of those slave ship owners? Were the slaver boats that participated in the American slave trade owned/captained by Americans or by other nationalities?

Of course the British outlawed slave trading before the US did - they had the Irish to mistreat without it being formally slavery.

[Toon³]

A comparison of of Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone and their infulence on the world.

Thats what I did for my final paper in high school. You can live in a house of books on the subject and have several different arguements depending on your political feelings.

[nicephoras]

Writing about ANYTHING from the Renaissance to WWII leaves the door pretty wide open for suggestions. I can think of a million history topics, but maybe you could pick a theme that shaped the entire western world. Here's what i'd pick:

How about the international slave trade?

You can trace it from its beginnings to when the US finally outlawed it in the 1830s (the last nation to do so).

Plenty of arguments or theses to choose from, ranging from why some countries outlawed the trade earlier than others to why some countries profited more than others. Plus, you get to show how the western world expanded and grew at the price of the rest of the globe. Not to mention the race and class angle, which is usually a guaranteed thriller in history courses.

(Writing about wars is boring.)

Wars are very interesting (at least from the causes that lead to them). However, wasn't Brazil the last nation to outlaw the slave trade? Or did they do so in 1824?

[bojendyk]

I suggest you write an essay about the themes on Metallica's Master of Puppets and the influence that they've had on today's society. I'd also recommend that you open the paper with "In today's society . . . "

[Dr. Wankler]

I suggest you write an essay about the themes on Metallica's Master of Puppets and the influence that they've had on today's society. I'd also recommend that you open the paper with "In today's society . . . "

A better, more impressive opening, one that has pleased teachers since the beginning of time, would be...

"Since the beginning of time in today's society, people have wrestled with the question of finding interesting topics for high school term papers. I believe I may have found a solution to this topic by writing about the influence of Guernica on Metallica's great work, Master of Puppets...

[John Galt]

Wars are very interesting (at least from the causes that lead to them).
The causes of war was separate and distinct in my statement from how many people charged up the hill at San Juan.

[nicephoras]

The causes of war was separate and distinct in my statement from how many people charged up the hill at San Juan.

Fair enough. However, there are blurry lines in military history these days. One of my favorite recent historical books was an in depth study on Roman warfare and the subsequent (real or imagined) agrarian crisis based in large part on demography. You still need military history for it though.

[Breakwood]

Thank you everyone for you suggestions. I'm going research abit in to the slave trade and how it affected different nations and then decide what my topic will be. Thanks ago for the help.

[John Galt]

Well?!?! ... we're waiting. . .

[needs]

However, wasn't Brazil the last nation to outlaw the slave trade? Or did they do so in 1824?

1888, I believe, but since the British had decided that it was an international crime, the African trade functionally ended well before the American Civil War. There was still some isolated trading, I'm sure, but the days of huge trans-Atlantic slavers were over.

One suggestion for the author of said paper is to look at slave narratives (Oludah Equiano, Mary Prince, etc) as propaganda pieces designed to attack not only slavery but the slave trade in particular.

[DoctorD]

If I ever win Powerball, after I build a SSS and buy a USL team, I'm going back to college and major in history. Every paper I write will support some revisionist or non-PC position just for the hell of it. Yeah I'd be an asshole, but I'd be a rich asshole.