Thesis Topics, 2003-2004:

 

Jahaira Arias	Euraque (Figueroa)	Struggles over Nationality among Spanish Immigrants to the New York area in the 1930s
Lorene Delson	Painter  (Alcorn)	“The Legacy of the Movement Throughout Fascist Italy”
Matthew Gallagher	Spencer (Chatfield)	“A Trial of Endurance: Confederate Soldiers  in the Trenches of Petersburg”
Zach Learner	Pennybacker (Kete)	“The Origins of Modern Citizenship”
Sarah Linscott	Elukin  (Leach)	“Joan of Arc”
Geoffrey Long	Pennybacker (Porter)	“The Institutionalization of Town and Country Planning in Britain, 1939-1955”
Andrew Morrison	Porter (Bailey)	“Development in Saudi Arabia:  A Product of  Complementary Interests, 1933-1973”
James Nadzieja	Leach (Pennybacker)	“Hartford’s Poles and the Church: Intertwined Histories, The story of SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish, 1873-1920”
Evan Uhlick	Chatfield (Kassow)	“The Marshall Plan”
David Warkoski	Chatfield  (Spencer)	“Connecticut Federalism”
Peter Webel	Painter (Alcorn)	“Mussolini and Rome”
Phillip Welshans	Painter (Pennybacker)	“Crisis South of the Alps: Metternich, the Habsburg Empire, and Austrian Italian Policy, 1809-1823”

Senior Thesis Application Procedure

All juniors who expect to write a full-year senior thesis during the senior year must submit a thesis proposal cover sheet. Applicants will be notified in writing by the chair of acceptance by the end of the spring semester. Students should follow the following procedure in developing a thesis proposal:

1. As early as possible, but no later than Friday, March 28, 2006, consult with your desired thesis sponsor about your topic. If you do not know the appropriate faculty member, ask your advisor or the department chair.
    
2. Write a draft proposal of no more than two pages plus bibliography. The proposal should explain the topic, indicate the historical questions you intend to address, discuss the methodology and sources you intend to use, and review earlier historical thinking on the topic, to the extent possible at this preliminary stage.
    
3. Submit the draft to your thesis sponsor and revise according to her/his recommendations.
    
4. When you and your sponsor are satisfied with the proposal and bibliography, fill out the cover sheet, sign it, have your thesis sponsor sign it, and turn the completed packet (cover sheet, proposal, preliminary bibliography) in to the Department.

The proposal is not a contract or an unbreakable commitment but a first step toward defining your topic. We expect that your thinking about your subject will change, perhaps radically, as you pursue your research. Nevertheless, the proposal is a serious exercise, the only instrument the Department has on which to judge your preparation to undertake a full-year thesis; we urge you to give it serious thought and to consult often with your thesis sponsor in the process of drafting it. Sample proposals are available from the Department administrative assistant, Gigi St. Peter, and online.

Thesis students must register for History 498, "Thesis Seminar," in the fall semester. Every student who is accepted to write a thesis is guaranteed a spot in the seminar, but students must enroll in the course, with permission of instructor, either during the preregistration period in the spring semester or in the add-drop period at the beginning of the fall semester.

History Department Thesis and Prize Deadlines, Spring 2006

Below we list in chronological order deadlines particular to the History Department. For College-wide deadlines, consult the 2004-2005 version of the Catalogue. For further information, contact the Department Administrative Assistant, Gigi St. Peter. For information on the graduate program, see the Graduate Program page.

• Friday, April 17, 2006 - 2006-2007 Thesis proposals due
• Monday, April 10, 2006 - Papers and Senior Theses due for 2006 History Prize consideration.