Help! I don't know what to pick!?

Question

Okay so I was assigned to write a thesis paper on anything in history. The catch is I need an arguable thesis. The problem is that history already happened and most of it was recorded and is accepted as truth. If you have any ideas of what I should write about, please enlighten me, because I am totally stumped. I was thinking something having to do with either the crusades or the influence of punk music and culture. Please give me some suggestions.

Answer 1

~YOUR problem is that you accept as truth that which has been written. Do some reading, draw you own conclusions and devise your thesis, then support it from that which you have read. For instance, if Gouverneur Warren hadn't taken a ride up Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, the British Isles would be German states today.

Answer 2

um. truth doesn't exist. sorry to tell you. there are two histories, the one that happened and history the interpretations of that elusive past. "history already happened and most of it was recorded and is accepted as truth" that is completely wrong, though not an uncommon perception in people. for instance: The Hurons went to war with Dollard because they were patriotic to the french and wanted to defend them according to the frenchmen and the laymen of the era. but according to other people, they did it for revenge on the iroquois. how can you say in this case that history is something that is accepted as truth? many things we concieve of as being in the past influence current events (how many people do you hear saying that muslims live in the 15th century as today when in the 15th century, they were a much more evolved and civilised and knowledgeable society than medieval europe?).

as for your thesis. pick ANY subject: anything can be turned into a debatable argumentation. want to do something about the crusades? how exciting! I'd read up a general article, pick something, some event, a person, etc. part of the crusades and then research on that, you can then narrow down your thesis to something really specific. "This person did this because of this, this and this" etc.

I honestly don't know enough about the crusades to give you a specific thesis to work on. start perhaps by asking a question like "why did people crusade". a really cool question might be "what is the difference between the crusade and the djihab (Holy war in muslim emirates at the time)"

Answer 3

Here are some suggestions:
I Were the actions of the Crusaders morally right. Was their
ultimate aim right or wrong. And was the consequences of
the crusades good or bad or whatever?
(This you can start a contraversy which will be argued about for centuries to come. It is a very emotive subject and bound to bring excitement all around)

II The Roman Empire began in wars, built by wars and was
maintained by wars-was this a good thing or a bad thing.
Considering what they accomplished-were the wars
justified. Were they worth it:?
(The Roman Empire was not only very famous and strong-but it is well known by many many people. There is so much history that one can write on and on to answer this)

III If Hitler had have won World War II- what kind of world would
he have brang about. Could an empire of the German Third
Reich have developed to be a benificial or a manelovent
empire?
(Here we have history's favourite villian and madman. Not only is this an intreging possibility but also it will fire up the emotions and have people argueing not for centuries but for millenium.)

IV What do you think of the Mongols. Did any good come out of
them or were they just a band of ruthless cutthroats and
butchers. Did they have any saving grace?
( Here we have the greatest butchers in history. An empire that is now becoming popular. There is so much below the surface of this one that one will have a great time in answering this one)

It would be a good idea to read some books on the subjects first if you haven't already done so. For instance try reading Mein Kamp(Hitler's book) and try getting his second book which was written in 1928 but never published. Many years later a U.S. army historian discovered it in a shipment of things that had been transferred to the United States after World War II. He then had the thing published. It is at some libiaries. As far as the Mongols are concerned some of the best books about them were written by a man called PASHA GLUBB. His books are good as although he was known as a person who leaned towards the Arabs(the Arabs having suffered greatly at the hands of the Mongols)-(he having commanded the Arab Legion for Jordan in the 1948 war against Israel) he treats the subject with great impartiality. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

The trick is just to find a part of history that you think is interesting and then choose an angle. I have had to write tons of papers like this. One that I used once was about the cattle drives in America in the late 19th century. I argued that the cowboys who worked then were America's version of the knight in shining armor. So for the crusades, this is just off the top of my head, you should probably do some research to see what kind of assertion you could actually support, here is a thesis idea: "Although the ostensible reason for the crusades was religious, the wars were actually caused by land disputes and the need to give European knights something to do besides fight each other."

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

*** You've missed the obvious -- you refer to it as an "either/or". You could do a brilliant paper on the influence of the crusades on punk music and culture, beginning with the early madrigals. Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) admitted that the lyrics to "No One is Innocent" were an adaptation of a madrigal the Crusaders sang on their way into Jerusalem. Green Day's rock opera, "American Idiot," has several songs that stem from the music of the crusades. The song "Jesus Of Suburbia" is the most famous one. Your teacher would probably be very impressed.

Answer 6

Ohh, I like the punk music influence on culture thing. But you know there are things in history that have in my opinion (and probably yours) happened, that people don't think have happened.
For instance, some people don't believe the Holocaust ever happened and others don't believe we ever landed on the moon. If you research both sides you would have a better idea on how to write it.
Rhetoric class?

Good luck.

Answer 7

This will require some in depth research - but a theses on why Major General Daniel Sickles did not deserve the medal of honor after the civil war would be a good one. He managed to get the medal for himself, in the fine print in a bill suggesting the creation of a national park at Gettysburg. Its a great one to argue.

Answer 8

I think you will find there is more than meets the eye when it comes to The Crusades, a good choice.

Answer 9

Tobacco in america because it is killing millions of americans today but it saved this country 400 years ago in James town.

Answer 10

well, I recently learned that Marie A. didn't say "Let them eat cake" . Watch the movie. Very fun.