Dissertation Topics...Victorian England?!?

Hi,
I really need some advice for my Dissertation question...
I really want to do something relating to Crime and Punishment in Victorian England but I am not sure if this is feasible.
or possibly something relating to living standards in Victorian England...
Or something about British empire and it's imperialist nature?
Any one got any viable ideas or advice for me?

Thanks

Reply 1

Beatlesmania101

OP

anyone help :frown:

Reply 2

ageshallnot

21

Original post by Beatlesmania101

Hi,
I really need some advice for my Dissertation question...
I really want to do something relating to Crime and Punishment in Victorian England but I am not sure if this is feasible.
or possibly something relating to living standards in Victorian England...
Or something about British empire and it's imperialist nature?
Any one got any viable ideas or advice for me?

Thanks

Why might something about crime in Victorian England not be feasible? They all seem reasonable areas in general...

Reply 3

Beatlesmania101

OP

But can't formulate a question :frown:

Reply 4

XMaramena

22

Original post by Beatlesmania101

Hi,
I really need some advice for my Dissertation question...
I really want to do something relating to Crime and Punishment in Victorian England but I am not sure if this is feasible.
or possibly something relating to living standards in Victorian England...
Or something about British empire and it's imperialist nature?
Any one got any viable ideas or advice for me?

Thanks

Those are all big topics that you could write several books about. To be able to cover things property within the confines of a dissertation, you need think about things on a more specific level - a dissertation on "Crime and Punishment in Victorian England" is far too vague and it will be hard not to get lost off topic. Perhaps you should do "The influences of the legal system in England during the Victorian era on today's justice system."?

Also, you have forgotten to actually tell us what your degree is in! :P

Reply 5

Beatlesmania101

OP

history! and i know it's too vague but can't think of a question to narrow it down :frown:

Reply 6

returnmigrant

21

You need to pick something very 'small' and with a VERY narrow question.

Many undergrds try and do something the size of a Masters thesis or even a PhD. You are not required to say anything or discover anything amazingly new - just that you can do a small research topic on your own.

So, you can either explore a topic that others have done work on ('Rational leisure' as a part of C19th Working Mens Clubs) and compare & contrast what others have said about this whole area, identify what the gaps might be in this research (alcoholism/temperance, women's participation or geographic locations currently ignored? etc etc) but you don't need to explore that gap in detail or come to any major conclusions. OR, you do some original research - this is more tricky/risky - and you need to make it very narrow/small (ie. Women's participation in the Working Mens Clubs of South Tyneside 1850/80). You'd have to be dead certain that there was enough primary and secondary source material out there to do this specific topic and that a few academics had written on the bigger area of women's role in WMCs before you started. Its usually better to do this the other way around - find a very small historical collection that interests you, see whats been done on it already and see if you can work on another aspect of this. Juvenile crime in your Uni/home town in the 1850s?

Think about the work you've done on your course so far. Can you pick something from any of that to look at in more detail? From 'Imperialism', could you look at the way late C19th Empire history was covered in school textbooks, or how one country was covered at the Great Exhibition?

Look at your local (Uni or home) archives catalogue. Is there anything that interests you there? A shipboard diary of an emigrant to Canada - could you research that person's life, and what others have said about emigrant diaries in general using this diary as an example? Or research a history of a local street or a building (a hospital? a workhouse? a school?), why was it built, who by, for whom and what did it represent in Victorian culture /social history etc etc - again archive based but also using existing local histories/accounts/articles to give you material to refer to.

Once you have an idea (however vague) go and talk to the relevant tutor/lecturer about it and they will help you hone it into a 'do-able' question.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

Beatlesmania101

OP

Aww, well thanks for your advice! I think I wanna do crime and punishment in the victorian age.
I have a few areas but still doing my research atm :smile:

Reply 8

XMaramena

22

Original post by Beatlesmania101

Aww, well thanks for your advice! I think I wanna do crime and punishment in the victorian age.
I have a few areas but still doing my research atm :smile:

Then might I suggest you focus on just one or two specific cases for which there is are a lot of resources for?

A trip to the British Library might be in order!

Reply 9

username1832041

3

Hi everyone!

I've just created an account, I'm completely new here. I have to write about Victorian England, too (English Philology, MA British Studies, Warsaw). I've got a problem similar to that of Beatlesmania101.

I wanted to write about Victorian schools and describe pupils' problems (particularly corporal punishment). I can't state a question (I mean, something I should prove or disprove. Please help. It's urgent!

Reply 10

username1832041

3

One more thing, please use the font size 3 or bigger, so that I can read it more easily. Thank you!