Research Paper
Assignment Due
on April 16
Length: 15-20 typewritten pages
Weight: 300 pts. or one-third of course grade
Objective: Familiarize the student with the literature and historians of Renaissance and Reformation period.
Choose your topic from the list printed on this page, or develop your own topic with the approval of Dr. Fritze.
Particulars:
1) Each research paper should be typed. Handwritten papers will not be accepted.
2) The margins should be standard. Please do not try to conceal a short paper with over-generous margins. Everyone knows that trick.
3) Each paper should have a cover sheet that gives
a. the title of your paper
b. your name
c. the class
d. the professor's name, if you know it.
e. the semester and year
4) The paper should be documented with footnotes/endnotes. Follow the forms given in Turabian's guide.
5) There should also be a bibliography of works cited. Also follow the form in Turabian's guide.
6) Your bibliography should be substantial and include books and articles. You should have at least five books and five articles. Yes, you will need to go to the library to get them. Yes, you might need to use inter-library loan.
7) The bibliography does not count toward the page total of the paper.
8) Use of internet sources is fine but you still need five books and five articles in addition to any websites you find.
9) Do not rely on internet sources. Most of them are superficial. Some are quite inaccurate. Others have strong biases.
10) Please feel free to contact me for help with your paper.
11) Back up you files on the computer. Your computer dying or your dog eating the disk are not good excuses. Disks fail. They have failed for me. Viruses corrupt files. I have lost work from a virus and I have lost work from a failing hard-drive. Now I back everything up multiple times. You should do the same.
Schedule of Due Dates
Tentative topic, January 28.
This will involve turning in one typewritten page containing your name on one line and the topic you have chosen on the next.
Tentative bibliography, February 9.
This will involve turning in one typewritten page or more of bibliography. While there is no set number of items required, it ought to list at least eight books and articles.
Preliminary outline, February 23.
This can be a rough general outline of one page.
Research paper to be submitted, April 16.
Please Note: I am putting you on this schedule so that you will work steadily on your paper throughout the semester. That way, I will get papers that are well written and well researched. For those of you who have had the research courses in history or English, please use what you learned in them. The amount of material you will need to turn in on the first three dates is minimal. But I will expect it to be submitted. Papers not turned in on 16 April will have a half grade deducted for each day they are late, including the weekend.
Papers that are not typed will not be accepted. Papers containing excessive typos and misspellings will be penalized.
If you have any questions, please ask. It is permissible but not advisable to change paper topics.
Possible Research Topics
 Changing biographical interpretations of Cardinal Richelieu.
Changing biographical interpretations of Louis XIV.
Changing Biographical interpretations of Peter the Great.
Changing biographical interpretations of Voltaire.
Changing biographical interpretations of Galilleo.
Changing biographical interpretations of Frederick the Great.
Changing biographical interpretations of Catherine the Great.
Changing biographical interpretations of Gustavus Adolphus.
The Revolt of the Netherlands.
Printed books and Seventeenth Century culture.
Printed books and Enlightenment Culture.
Was there a military revolution in seventeenth century Europe?
Catholicism after the Council of Trent
European rivalries in Africa and the slave trade.
The European rivalries over the Indian Ocean trade.
The Impact of the New World on European Thought.
The Impact of Asia on European Thought
European attitudes toward the Ottoman Turks.
Kepler and Seventeenth Century Science.
Galileo and Seventeenth Century Science.
High Magic and Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century.
Popular Religion in the Seventeenth and /or Eighteenth Century.
The Place of Women in the Enlightenment.
The nature of the family in early modern Europe.
Fernand Braudel as a historian of early modern Europe.
Immanuel Wallerstein's Interpretation of early modern history.
Peasant Revolts in France or Russia or ?.
Witchcraft in the Seventeenth Century.
The Spice Trade and the European Society and Economy.
The Thirty Years War and European Society.
The Pretender Phenomenon in seventeenth and eighteenth century Russia.
The Court of Louis XIV.
Court Intrigues in the Reign of Louis XV.
The Concept of the General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century.
Also, if you are interested in theology, literature, art, or music during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, please feel free to suggest a topic. If you are not certain about a topic but have a general area you are interested in, I would be glad to help you develop one.
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