Need help to choose history IA about Cold War

[Guest]

Hi, I am really desperately looking for an IA history topic, preferably concerning the Cold War. It should be a topic that could help me answer possible test questions. I am generally interested in a more anthropological aspect of history. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks so much

[AndresLopez]

As a rule of thumb you should choose a specific aspect of the Cold War that interests you, since you will be spending a lot of time researching and reading about it. Don't expect or try to cover the entire Cold War; choose a specific topic instead, such as Glasnost or one of the Berlin Crises. Avoid mainstream topics such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, since they've been overdone and will be harder to give a more original insight. Since you're interested in anthropology, you can examine a particular aspect of life (education, feminism, sports) in the USSR/USA during a specific time period, how it progressed or how it affected the progress of the CW (e.g. the effect of improved education on anti-communist movements in the USSR). If you have trouble finding something that suits you, you can focus on people and leaders, e.g. analyse the impact of a particular leader in the outcome of a CW event.

Exam questions cover almost everything, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. When I took my History exams, there were questions about war tactics, feminism, the home front, etc. So, focus on doing an original IA about something you find interesting and worth spending your time doing - you will perform much better if you are engaged and looking forward to it. Keep it simple and don't try to cover too much - you simply won't have enough time and words to do so.

 

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Hi, thanks for your help. if I focused on how the Cold War influenced the progression of feminism, what time frame would you recommend?

[AndresLopez]

The influence of the Cold War as a whole may still be too broad - why not focus on, for example, the space race or arms race, or any other specific event in a single country, and see how those affected the growth of feminism? As for a time period, you should research significant changes in the movement, or interesting ones. The most obvious period would be the 1960s, but do some research on feminism in your chosen country during the Cold War before deciding which time period to use.