In each term, you will be writing a research essay; in the first term you
will also be writing book review and an annotated bibiliography on some subject
relevant to Europe in the early modern period.
There are many possible topics for your written work, which is an advantage; however, you may find all that choice a bit daunting. To give you a hand, I have compiled a list of possible topics for research papers.
You may find one of them appealing, or one might suggest a different topic
to you. It is not a restrictive list of topics. In fact, writing
a good paper will mean taking control of the topic, which includes defining
it precisely, so even if you adopt one of these for a paper, you will probably
modify the topic as you work on it. Before you even get to choosing
a research topic, however, the list may help you identify books that you
may find suitable for your book review.
1. Charles V as world-ruler: self-image, challenges, accomplishments.
2. Portuguese imperial expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries.
3. Impact on Spain of the colonization and conquest of Mexico (or Mexico and Peru).
4. The conquest of Constantinople: its significance.
5. Development and effects -- on Europe, Africa, and America -- of the Atlantic slave trade.
6. Henry VIII and the reform of the English church.
7. Calvin as thinker/Calvin as leader.
8. Inventors in 18th century England. Who were they? What did they accomplish? Why did they have such impact?
9. Galileo: his work and the reaction to it.
10. Robespierre -- birth of a revolutionary.
11. Cardinal Richelieu -- his aims, his methods, his impact on 17th century France.
12. The English Levellers. Where did their ideas come from? What effect did they have on Civil War England.
13. Dutch overseas expansion: describe and explain it and its significance for the Netherlands and the world.
14. Ireland: religious strife and English colonization in the 17th century.
15. Louis XIV's foreign policy and its effects on Europe.
16. The English Civil War -- what factors led to revolt against the king?
17. Piracy in the 17th and 18th century: describe it and account for its rise and decline.
18: The Counter-Reformation -- how did it succeed in reviving the Catholic church?
19: Peter the Great of Russia: his goals, methods, degree of success.
20. Seventeenth-century Sweden as an imperial power.
21. Wallenstein as an example of the 17th-century entrepreneur-warlord.
22. The exploration of the South Pacific: what does it tell us about the economics and politics of the 18th century?
23. Turks, Habsburgs and the wars of the 16th century Mediterranean.
24. British victory in the Seven Years' War -- How?
25. The dynamics of British parliamentary politics in the 18th c.
26. France in 1789 -- a backward country or a progressive one?
27. French and British competition for India.
28. The Jesuit order -- rise and significance.
29. The artists of Renaissance Italy -- who supported them and why?
30. Martin Luther and German society. Why did so many respond to his message?
31. Rise and fall of early modern Poland.
32. Decline of the Ottoman empire to 1800: did it? Why?
33. The building of the Habsburg Austrian empire 1550-1780.
34. Frederick the Great and the rise of Prussia.
35. The effects of the Thirty Years' War on Germany.
36. The French Enlightenment -- what was it?
37. The foundation of Pennsylvania as an event in British political and religious history.
38. The union of Scotland and England (1707); causes and effects.
39. The politics and ideas behind the career of Joan of Arc.
40. The reign of Bloody Mary: background, events, significance.
41. The career of Henri IV of Navarre and France: background, image, success, significance.
42. The foundation of New France as an example of French royal policies in action.
43. The fall of the Florentine republic.
44. The Wesleyan (Methodist) movement: what does it tell us about 18th c. England?
45. The Gunpowder Plot -- background and significance.
46. Elizabeth I's religious policy.
47. Russian expansion into Siberia as an example of European expansion.
48. The rise of Switzerland in the early modern period.
49. The Restoration of Charles II of England -- Why?
50. The decline of Venice in the early modern period.
51. The American Revolution in British Politics.
52. The impact of the American Revolution on Europe.
53. Peasant revolts in the early modern period.
54. Absolutism. What was it? Who supported it? Who opposed it?
55. Representative government in 18th century Europe. Institutions and limitations.
56. The German city-states of the early modern period.
57. Scotland and the Reformation: causes, institutions, impact.
58. Charles I of England -- goals, challenges, failures.
59. The Duke of Marlborough as politician, general, and diplomat.
60. The end of the Great Schism.
61. Early Brazil in European imperial politics.
62. Jews in early modern Europe. Perils and progress.
63. Europe and Japan in the 17th century.
64. Impact of Europe on China and vice-versa in the early modern period.
65. The Dutch settlement of South Africa.
66. English Restoration politics and culture.
67. The Hussite movement and the Hussite wars of the 15th century.
68. Jesuit missionaries overseas.
69. The Jacobite factor in 18th century British politics.
70. Revolutions in France before 1789
71. The development of steam power in the 18th century.
72. Divided Hungary in the 17th and 18th century: how did national identity survive?
74. The Papacy after the Reformation
75. Italy after 1650 -- backwater?