Ancient History Research Paper Topics
Tips For Selecting Western Civilization Term-Paper Themes
May 7, 2009
Coming up with a good paper topic is the number one obstacle students face when assigned a research paper. It is a chief cause of paper procrastination. Often, little guidance is given other than to write a paper “on any topic or period we will cover in the semester.” Here are some tips for developing paper topics in Western Civilization Ancient History.
Compare and Contrast Topics
With a compare and/or contrast topic, students can develop great paper themes using an almost limitless supply of general beginning points:
- Comparing/contrasting the role of women in Athens and Sparta
- Comparing/contrasting the geography of Egypt and Mesopotamia
- Comparing/contrasting religious practices in Greece and Egypt
- Comparing/contrasting the philosophies of Zeno and Epicurus
- Comparing/contrasting the leadership traits of Cyrus and Alexander
- Comparing/contrasting hieroglyphics with cuneiform writing
- Comparing/contrasting Plato and Aristotle
What makes these topics so fluid is that students can substitute areas of focus. For example, in topic one, instead of Athens and Sparta, students could compare/contrast women in the Minoan civilization with Egypt or Etruscan women with Roman women. Instead of women, students might focus on slaves: compare and contrast early Roman slavery with Mesopotamian slavery.
Every topic example noted above is flexible enough to allow for substitution. In topic five, for example, a number of ancient leaders can fit the theme:
- Ramses II
- Hannibal
- Julius Caesar
- Augustus
- Constantine
- Pericles
Additionally, each of these topics is easily researched as many good sources exist both on-line and in book form.
Cause and Effect Topics
As with contrast and compare, cause and effect highlights two aspects of one single theme: The causes of the Second Punic War resulted in defeat for Carthage. Students can also choose to do either cause or effect:
- Causes of the Peloponnesian War; Effects of the Peloponnesian War
- Causes of the fall of the Roman Empire
- Effects of Greek Hellenization on the Mediterranean world
- Effects of Paul’s missionary trips to Asia Minor and Greece
- Causes of the decline of the Etruscan civilization
How and Why Topics
Phrasing a topic as a question allows for a more focused study of one particular aspect. In some ways, this is a variation of the cause and effect:
- Why did the Roman Empire fall? The Roman Empire fell because…
- Why did Egyptians practice mummification? Egyptians mummified the dead because…
- How did Sargon establish the first empire? Sargon established the first empire by…
- How did Philip of Macedonia united Greece?
- Why did ancient people use oracles?
- How effective was the Roman legion?
Each of these questions can be turned into a statement that forms the thesis of the paper.
To what Extent Topics
Starting the topic selection by asking “to what extent” provides an open-ended response based on facts:
- To what extent did the reforms of Augustus result in the Pax Romana?
- To what extent did the geography of Egypt influence religion?
- To what extent did Stoicism influence Roman beliefs?
- To what extent did civil wars in Rome cause the end of the Republic?
In each of these topics, there may not be one conclusive answer. In topic four, students may conclude that civil wars, such as those under Sulla and later the triumvirates, did play a significant role in the end of the Republic, but other factors assisted the process like slave revolts and governmental corruption.
Open-Ended Paper Assignments
If there are no definite parameters given in the assignment, students are free to select a topic. Some students may research something of personal interest that can involve lots of research: Flood stories of the Ancient World; most students, however, have trouble coming up with a topic. In all cases, however, students should run the topic by the professor if there are any doubts.
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