Paper Proposal Instructions

Paper Proposal Instructions I. Due Date: Wed, 21 February, at the beginning of class. II. Overview 1 : This 50 point is designed to make sure you are on track to completing your paper proposal in a timely fashion. Although the final paper is not due until the (nearly) end of the semester, it definitely is a good idea to get as early of a start as possible. In this paper proposal you will: Choose a topic area and work on narrowing the focus of your topic. Your topic must meet the following criteria: It must deal with history, in particular events prior to 1850. While it is fine to spend some time tying your topic to current events, the heart and soul of your paper must be on the past. Your topic deals with economics. i.e. Your paper must deal with production, or material living standards, or political/economic systems, or how people make decisions when facing scarcity, etc. It must relate to Europe s economic development. This European criteria is actually much broader than it first appears. You can examine economic issues in other regions as long as you can tie them to Europe. For example, you could look at the development of iron production in China as long as you spend some time comparing this to Europe s historical path. You could examine the Indian political state system during India s Medieval period as long as you have good comparisons, contrasts, and ties to that of Europe. Start your research by finding at least 4 academic or professional sources. These sources include academic journals or books. Review the above sources & think about how your research might proceed. You can change topic areas between this paper proposal and your final paper. Changing topic is extra work on your part. Nonetheless, your final paper is graded as a separate assignment. This proposal is primarily designed to get you started on the best path. 1

III. Structure of the Paper Proposal Although I do specify a minimum length, I would recommend shooting for about 3,000 words excluding your bibliography and outline. Page 1, Cover Page This should include an abstract at the bottom. Please see the back pages of this handout for an example. Pages 2?: Introductory Pages 1. Statement of Title and author (that s you) 2. Abstract (again): a short ( 200-250 word) summary of your paper (or your latest guess at what your paper will be). Your abstract should clearly state the question(s) your paper will be attempting to answer if you plan to use the journal/thesis format. Usually the abstract is in slightly smaller font, italicized, and has larger left and right margins. 3. Overview: Introduce and overview your topic in approximately 2-3 pages. For example, you might address the following: a. * What topic area are you interested in? b. Why is the topic of interest to you (very briefly)? c. Why is it of interest to the Field of Economic History? d. * What question(s) will you attempt to answer? e. What have you learned so far? Pages W X: Literature Review The Central Part of your Statement 1. Tell me about 4 or more sources you have read. At least 4 of these sources need to be professional (for lack of a better term) sources. Professional sources include books form good publishers, www.eh.net encyclopedia entries, and especially peer-reviewed academic journals (not magazines). You can include non-professional source(s) as your 5 th (or 6 th, etc) source in your paper proposal as long as you have at least 4 professional sources. Non-professional, in this context, include web sites and Wikipedia. 2. There are two ways literature reviews are generally organized. a. One source at a time o Tell the reader about the general nature of your first new source. Then, tell the reader what ideas or contributions this source will bring to your paper. At this stage, about half way between a book review and a review focusing only on the aspect of the source that is relevant to your final project. If the source conflicts with other sources, let the reader know. 2

o Traditionally, a source by source literature review is arranged chronologically. The source that was published first is discussed first, then the second published, etc. For this paper proposal, discuss your sources in any order you feel appropriate. b. By theme or idea o Organize what the sources have to say based on themes or ideas. Then, for one theme, discuss what your various sources have to say. Move on to the next theme, and so on until you have given the literature a good review. 3. The more sources the better. However, sheer quantity will not trump poor quality sources or poor reviews of each source. 4. Don t forget to use in-text citations!! Pages X Y: Finishing touches Tell me where you hope to go from here. Namely: 1. Are there ways you might narrow your topic down as your research continues? 2. What sources/information are you still looking for? 3. Include a rough outline of your proposed paper. Bibliography Use the APA (Social Sciences) citation style. Copies of the 1 st page of Each Source Print or photocopy the 1 st page of each source. A Staple Staple the above (cover page to copies of each 1 st page) together. IV. Some General notes Upon turning this paper proposal in, you should be reasonably certain as to what your final topic will be. You might have a bit more searching, pondering, and tweaking to do before you are ready to write your final paper. You should, however, be pretty certain about the particular topic you will chose for your final paper. Remember, you want a well defined and relatively narrow topic for your final paper. Knowing what you will conclude, at this point, is fine. However, make sure you do not prejudge your topic. If you have not finished your analysis or literature review (gasp!) yet, you can merely develop a list of possible conclusions, not the definitive conclusion. Being eloquent and fluid helps greatly. That being said, the structure of both Statements of Interest assignment is a bit more clunky than one would expect in a paper. Don t lose too much sleep over abrupt transitions, etc. 3

Failure to properly cite sources you use is, technically, plagiarism. It doesn t matter whether the plagiarism was intentional or not. Plagiarism is an example of academic dishonesty and can get you in big trouble. Keep yourself and your academic career safe both by properly citing sources within your text, and by having a proper bibliography. V. How I grade the statements of interest and the final paper. o Rough Grade: I first read each proposal and assign a rough grade based on a rubric. This rubric is broken down into the following categories. 1. Citation: The technical quality of your citations count for about 5% of the rough proposal grade. Don t forget to use proper citations (according to your chosen citation style). This includes the use of both in-text citations and a bibliography. Failing to cite a source or other forms of plagiarism are much more serious. If it appears your statement (or paper) contains examples of plagiarism, I will assign a zero (if you have no prior instances of reported academic dishonesty) for the assignment and file an academic dishonesty report. If you have prior instances of reported academic dishonesty, I will consult the dean regarding appropriate penalties. 2. Sources: This is about 45% of the rough grade. I look to see if you have the minimum number of sources (and hopefully more). I also try to ascertain the quality of your sources. Are they professional and directly relevant to your topic area? Do you have the seminal sources in your topic area? 3. Focus: This is a relatively small percent of the rough grade for this paper proposal (about 10%) but will increase to about 25% in the final paper. First, your topic area must meet the topic criteria (history + economics + tie to Europe). Second, I prefer papers that focus on one (or a few) theses or questions. For example, a paper on How British Institutions Affected Britain s Economic Success? is definitely too broad for a semester paper. A paper examining; Enclosure (privatization of common lands) in England versus France is a nice size and focus for a semester paper. That being said, it s normal for your paper project to start out relatively broad and become more and more focused as your project progresses. 4. Writing: This is about 20% of the rough grade. Please write using correct spelling, syntax, and punctuation. Nice transitions between paragraphs and a smoothly flowing paper are also good. I would suggest having someone else proofread your paper (and statements of interest) before you turn it in. 5. Analysis: This is about 20% of the rough grade. The more insightful your analysis of the questions, points of contention, etc. is, the better your project is. 6. Boldness: This is 5% of the rough grade for the paper proposal. It will be about 10% of the rough grade for the final paper. Boldness relates to pursuing a topic that is not easy because there is a general lack of pre-existing literature on that topic. Please note that I (the grader), not you (the student), determine the level of 4

boldness. An example of a bold topic is Reasons for the Failure of Sweden s North American Colonies: Lack of Investment or Wartime Shocks? Good luck finding a lot of literature on that topic. An example of a topic that is not nearly as bold is: The Black Death: Malthusian Blessing or Smithian Curse? Did the Black Death help Europe by reducing population (Malthus) hinder Europe by shrinking markets (Smith)? There is a lot of literature on this topic and we will discuss it at length in class. o Final Grade: I next order the papers (or statements of interest) in order of the rough grades. I scan the papers again to make sure I am confident that the grades reflect the relative quality of each paper. Occasionally, after reviewing the papers in (rough grade) rank order, I will tweak a paper s grade up or down to make it fit better. And finally How to Pick a Topic 1) A list of sample topics, albeit a pretty random list, is on the following two pages. 2) Start broad and start with your interests For now, think about and research the general history of Europe, especially from about 500 to 1850. Look for places (ex. Catalonia), events (ex. the 100 Years Wars, the French Revolution), or themes (ex. shipping, gender work roles) that interest you. It s normal to start out with a broad topic (ex. the Roman Empire) and narrow it down as your research progresses. Hyperhistory.com, eh.net, and Wikipedia are great for this stage of the process. Review the last 2 pages of the syllabus and skim through the course packet to see the types of questions we will investigate. 3) Ponder your above area(s) of interest. What economic questions could one investigate about said topic area? 4) Start your research using the library databases (ex. econlit and the library catalog). See what sub-topics within your area of interest you can find sources on. 5) Talk to John (aka me). He s generally nice, has recently bathed, and will not unleash rabid animals on you. I may be able to make some suggestions regarding where you can go with an area of interest. 6) Recognize that you will want to narrow down your topic quite a bit as the semester progresses. For example, you might start with a general interest in technological improvements to shipping. As your research progresses you might settle on the topic of copper bottoms, i.e. the British lining their ships hulls with sheets of copper to prevent worms and barnacles from attaching to the bottoms. Your final thesis question might be; Copper Bottoms: Were They Worth The Costs?, or Copper Bottoms: How Much Of An Advantage Did They Give The British Navy?, or Copper Bottoms: Were They Only Cost Effective For Naval (War) Ships? Do not start out with a topic as narrow as this, however. Instead, start broad and see where your research and interests take you. 5

A really, really random list of potential paper topic areas. The failure of the Roman world to break into modernity The failure of the Islamic (Mediterranean) world to break into modernity Technological Progress during the Dark Ages and Middle Ages The Changing Role of Women in Society. For example, how textile machines invented in the late 1700 s changed gender roles and opportunities Male versus female property rights and economic opportunities The Black Death s effects on European development Was there a link between the Black Death and the peasant revolts of the 14 th - 15 th centuries? The effects of a particular event (ex. the Crusades, the 100 Years War, etc) Banking and finance The structure of business organizations What caused the (relative) decline of the Dutch Republic? From about 1590 to 1670, the Dutch Republic was arguably the most modern and wealthy (on a per capita basis) economy in the world. However, the Dutch Republic was soon eclipsed by England. Much later, when it came to industrialization, the Dutch were laggards among the nations of Western Europe. What caused the relative decline in the Dutch Republic? What caused the decline of the city states of Northern Italy? The rise and decline of late Medieval trade fairs Private versus public funding of early railroads: A comparison of Britain and France The role of learned societies in Britain s Industrial Revolution Britain had many intellectual societies such as the Lunar Society and the Royal Society? How prevalent were these institutions prior to the Industrial Revolution? How did British learned societies differ from those on the continent? Did the unique nature of British learned societies facilitate the Industrial Revolution? If so, how? Colonialism s effect on the development of late Manchu (Qing) China The Development and economic effects of Britain s toll roads Peter the Great s push for modernization: A Description of his Policies and their Likely Effects. 6

A critical analysis of Lynn White s feudalism thesis. In 1962, Lynn White published Medieval Technology and Social Change. In it, he argued that two technological innovations (or adoptions) led to the feudal system: the stirrup and the heavy plow. The stirrup made the mounted warrior much more effective in combat. Knights, however, were much more expensive to equip than foot soldiers. Lords attempted to retain mounted warriors by giving them land in exchange for vows of military service. As for the heavy plough well the book is still a good read even after 50 years. Have White s arguments stood the test of time and historians scrutiny? The enclosure movement in Britain Economists such as Deirdre McCloskey have given much attention to the enclosure movement that occurred in England during the 18th and 19th century. During this time, many of the open fields of England were converted to private land both by market transactions and acts of Parliament. How and why did these enclosures take place? Was this enclosure movement really as pivotal in increasing English productivity as McCloskey and others have argued? Innovations in Agriculture. Moving from the 2-field System to More Advanced Systems Innovations in Agriculture. Were the padded horse collar and heavy mouldboard plow really as important as many historians argue? The Attempted Reforms of Egypt s Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805 1848) Muhammad Ali Pasha is often considered to be the father of modern Egypt. During his reign he attempted to modernize Egypt and increase it stature relative to the European powers. He also left Egypt heavily indebted. What were the policies of Muhammad Ali? How effective were they given the constraints Egypt faced? The Long-run Economic Effects of the Black Death (although be very careful with this one. We ll investigate it in class. You ll need to go beyond what we do in class). The English Witan, Key to England s Restrained Monarchy or Cultural Myth? From about 600 AD to 1000 AD, Kingdoms in Anglo-Saxon England had a tradition of the Witenagemot or Witan. This was a meeting of lesser lords who would advise the king and sometimes even choose the king s successor. In many histories, the Witan has been portrayed as the root of England s tradition of liberty and restrained monarchy. How did the Witan operate? How unique was the Witan to England? Did the Witan truly act to both empower and restrain the King? How much of the English tradition of liberty and restrained monarchy is actually due the Witan. The English Magna Carta, Key to England s Restrained Monarchy or Cultural Myth? The Glorious Revolution and England s 1688 Bill of rights, Key to England s Restrained Monarchy or Cultural Myth? Technological innovations in shipping and their effects 7