Laura Schmitt Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 I need help choosing a historical investigation topic. Right now my topic is, "How did Hitler's up-bringing influence him as a leader?" or something along those lines. I don't think this is a very strong question though. I was debating investigating his relationships with women, because all of his mistresses attempted or committed suicide, but I'm not sure if that is a historical topic IB is looking for. Honestly, I'm open to any suggestion for a topic. I just really need some feedback or new ideas! Please help me out! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luka Petrovic Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 I think you current one would be interesting but with a slight modification to the scope. When you mean upbringing do you mean family life? socio-ecnomic status? pre WW1 german culture? up-brining is a very all encompassing broad word and you would have difficulty using that. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Schmitt Posted November 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 I do agree up-bringing is a pretty vague term. I was thinking about focusing on his family influence, failures as a child, etc, and how that influenced his ideology and personality as a leader. My only concern is that this topic might be more psychological than historical. Is this topic something IB would accept? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 I think you highlighted the problem quite aptly:My only concern is that this topic might be more psychological than historical. Is this topic something IB would accept?I think the IB would accept it, but it wouldn't be a very good History essay. it's impossible to predict how a family background and upbringing affects a child, the whole nature vs. nurture argument has never been resolved. History IAs and essays in general are based on the analysis of key factual events and ruminations as to their causation or consequences.It would be impossible to use Hitler's childhood experiences as a key factual event for historiographic analysis.I would change the topic and start from a different vantage point. Surely there is something else, related to WW2 or otherwise, that interests you in history? My ernest suggestion is that while this topic is certainly interesting, it's not very appropriate for its intended purpose.Best of luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Schmitt Posted November 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 How about "To what extent did the invention of the cotton gin promote slavery in the United States?" Is that a good question? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luka Petrovic Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Thats actually not too bad, probably been done before, however at the high school level you never do anything that no one hasn't studied before. I like the "to what extent" as its too easily argued wether or not it promote slavery ( it did). This allows for some counter points and limiting the scope. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 I think that's a much better question than what you started out with. But maybe specify if it really was about 'promoting' slavery, or 'reinforcing' or 'perpetuating' it. Wording is key here. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Schmitt Posted November 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 I have changed my mind so many times about this topic but I think I have come to a final decision! How is this:How did modernist writers bare witness to the trauma of the youth following The Great War?I will then discuss the coining of the term "the lost generation" by Gertrude Stein and use examples from Ernest Hemingway's "The Wasteland" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" to show how writers exemplified the lost generation and how their work can be credited as being historical in the aspect of portraying the young adults of the 1920s. Feedback??? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 That sounds more literary than historical tbh. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flinquinnster Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 As Arrowhead said, there's a danger it will start becoming a literary analysis as opposed to a historical, especially if you get into technical analysis (which is easier than you might think). However, I think that it may be possible to look at how writers have used and interpreted the term "lost generation" - however you would need a strong understanding of the context and deliberate intent of the authors regarding their treatment of America in that time. I think maybe stirring your question towards the causes or effect of such war writing might be easier to focus on historically, but to be honest I'm not really sure. Definitely try and talk to a teacher.I've changed my History IA idea countless times, and I'm still not 100% sure that I've got the wording of my question right. I think you can tell from your gut whether you have a good IA topic or not - and once you've done most of your research, you won't want to turn back. Good luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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