History Program Senior Thesis Sample Topics

1. Gladiator: Film and History
   When a historical movie as as big a critical and box office success as Gladiator, historians must take notice. Analyze the film's historical accuracy and usefulness as a teaching tool. Does it get the games "right"? Does it characterize the personalities and reigns of the emperors correctly? Does it tell us more about ancient Rome or the time in which the film itself was made?
   
2. Gender in Chinese History
   Women in traditional Chinese society are often seen as little more than slaves, bound to the "inner quarters" and oppressed by harsh Confucian social teachings. Is this view of women in traditional culture accurate? And what has changed since the 19^th century with the advent of modernism and Maoism? You may focus on one of the following topics: 1) Women in traditional China; 2) Women in 20^th Century China; or 3) The Construction of the "Traditional Woman" in Modern Times.
   
3. Race and Masculinity in Western Films
   Historians love Westerns, but it has been only recently that they have begun to examine the ways gender and race are represented in the films. This project requires you to 'read' a selection of important westerns and devleop an argument about how images of race and masculinity have transformed (and remained the same) over time. Be particularly attentive to the intersections of race and gender. The broder context of your argument should be addressing the question of what accounts for these changes and continuities.

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