Writing history (ii): the dissertation

Abstract

the dissertation is the longest piece of work you have to write for a degree in history. Dissertations vary in length, up to 15 000 words, with 10 000 being the norm. For the dissertation, unlike other written assignments (such as essays and reviews), you will be asked to choose the topic and define the question(s) answered. Most institutions require students writing dissertations to work on primary material. These might be reasonable criteria for a dissertation:

An original piece of work which demonstrates the student’s:

• (i) Understanding of relevant secondary material;

• (ii) Ability to evaluate a small but significant body of primary evidence;

• (iii) Ability to bring the primary evidence and secondary material to bear on a question of historical importance.

More recently, university teachers are appreciating the difficulties associated with finding primary evidence. With overseas history, of course, this problem is particularly acute. Thus some institutions will say that the dissertation should be either like that mentioned above or a rigorous re-examination of an important historical controversy or the application of theoretical insights to a problem to give it a new focus. These last two options (i) increase the scope for historians studying overseas history; and (ii) allow for historians concerned with perhaps more sociological (theoretical) history rather than the traditional, empirical type of history. You must check this with your institution, as some will tend towards the empirical, evidence-based dissertation because it demands that you show the full range of the historian’s skills. Also note that the examination of primary evidence does not preclude theoretical exposition. This chapter, therefore, assumes that an element of primary material will be demanded of you.