help need idea for mw! (1 Viewer)

[ganeden]

possible ideas include

charlemagne
napoleon compared to hitler using their marches to russia
louis 14

i am in desperate need of ideas and or opinions, my focus is on europe though, any suggestions for a good historiographical topic?

 

[ganeden]

another idea i have is bolivar

 

[DominiqueSydney]

Charlemagne, Louis XIV and Bolivar are interesting but you would have to come up with a really specific question to narrow your focus - if your focus is too broad it is very easy to drown in all of the information available. Napoleon can be tricky, but by comparing him to Hitler might make it easier.



Some more ideas...
- Did Robin Hood exist?
- How has the Holy Grail been portrayed throughout history? (Arthurian legends are really fun to do)
- The Princes in the Tower (this is not a common topic, but is really interesting and is still a controversial case today. It's about the 'murders' of Edward V and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury)
- The impact and legacy of Eleanor of Aquitaine
- The impact and legacy of Richard the Lionheart
- The abdication of Louis-Phillipe, last king of France
- The death of Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria
- Did Noah's Ark exist?
- The division of the House of Habsburg and the legacies of the Austrian and Spanish Houses



Remember, don't cross the boundaries of HSC topics for Ancient and Modern, and make sure that your question is specific.



Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[ganeden]

thanks thjose are some cool ideas but ive narrowed it down to either:

1.the importance of the six day war and differeing interpretations over time

2.was hitler and napoleons losses in the invasion of russia caused by megalomania or sub-par tactical decisions


they both sound good to me, any thoughts.?

 

[DominiqueSydney]

They are both really good ideas.

Personally I would choose 1 - the six day war. Talking about different interpretations over time would be much easier than determining whether the losses were caused by megalomania or sub-par tactical decisions (although Hitler clearly was a megalomaniac).

You would have to compare the differing natures of the 1812 Napoleonic invasion, as well as the 1941 Nazi Operation Barbarossa; compare Hitler to Napoleon; AND make a conclusion on the cause of the losses. It sounds a bit much to me, so I would stick with the first choice so you can focus on historiography. You don't need to overload yourself with extra work. Good luck with your proposal.

: )

 

[ganeden]

cool, thanks very much you have been a great help!
im just rather indecisive about the topic atm, bc i do think that if the napoleon-hitler idea is done well enough it will get better marks, but i have gotten to a point of fatalism i guess, as i need to make a decision i just dont know which one to choose

 

[live.fast]

Well, any topic that you elect will usually do. But the test really, is one of controversy. Is your topic controversial enough amongst modern scholars? In this case, bigger is better. (Controversy that is).

Remember this - the topic should have points in time where there are conflicting forces being applied to the historical writings and revisions. That's where you get to adequately appreciate context as a shaping force in history.

You need to locate THOSE points of time within your topic's timeline, and examine them CRITICALLY - what 'schools of thought' do they reflect? What were the implications of personal context in these writings? Did a particular historical perspective stem from a desire to apply a radical approach to the sources? Or from one that remained within the scope agreed upon by historians at the time?

As long as your topic remains within perceptible levels of controversy, you should be A-OK loll.

(I hope this helped!)