For majors in History or Law, History & Culture interested in taking their scholarship to the next level, the Van Hunnick History Department encourages students to pursue an Honors Thesis. This is an independent research project where students pick their own topic, do archival research for it, and then take two semester long classes (HIST 492 for HIST majors; HIST 493 for Law, History & Culture majors) where they work with a professor and other students to build their argument and write their final projects. The theses are usually three chapters long and usually end up being between 60 and 150 pages in length.

Our students have a tradition of writing stellar honors theses. Many have received the Discovery Scholar Prize. Besides providing students with a sense of personal satisfaction, these projects have also helped our students when looking to apply to graduate school, law school, or for jobs in general.

 

Some projects undertaken by past students include:

History

    • The Country Side & The City: How the Medici Rural Properties Influenced the Florentine Urban Experience
    • Descriptions of Reproduction and Agency in Abbasid-Era Slave Women
    • “La Lucha Por La Tierra”: The Indigenous Maya Struggle for Land Sovereignty in Guatemala, 1951-2000
    • How to Build a Utopia: State Building and Science in Oregon, 1860-1940

Law, History & Culture

    • Listening to Empire: Soundscape Regulation and Sonic Resistance in Great Britain and the British Caribbean
    • The Inclusiveness of U.S. Constitutional Law from an International Human Rights Law Approach
    • Making the Private Public: Testimonies of Sexual Violence at South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Special Women’s Hearings
    • Legal Avenues of Indigenous Protest in Seventeenth Century New England

 

How to Prepare to Write an Honors Thesis

 

Pre-Requisites: Maintain a 3.5 GPA in the course work for your major; Complete one 400 level course; be supported by a faculty member.

 

For the best experience students should consider the following pathway:

 

→First & Second Year: Ponder what topics you would like to research. Take classes in these general areas. Get to know professors who study things that interest you. Come to the presentations of that year’s theses at the end of the academic year.

 

→Second & Third Year: Take a 400 level class on a topic that interests you. The project you do in this class could form the foundation for your thesis. If no classes are offered that tie into your topic of interest, you can ask a professor to do a directed research course (HIST 490) with you, where you pursue your topic under the guidance of a faculty member. Also, continue to come to come the theses presentations at the end of the year.

 

→Third Year: Here is where the rubber meets the road. You will apply for the honors program in the Spring, applications are usually due in early April. You will need to submit a proposal, your STARS report, and have your advisor confirm their willingness to work with you. You should also consider applying for funding to do research over the summer. You can apply for a Foulke Fellowship or a Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship (PURF). These applications are usually due in late March.

 

→Fourth Year: Now to work! You will take HIST 492 (HIST) or HIST 493 (LHC) both in the fall and spring semesters. The classes will meet once a week for three hours. In the fall you will work on streamlining your topic and argument, do additional research, and complete a draft of your introduction and first chapter. During the spring semester you will write your second and third chapters and revise your thesis. You will submit the thesis in April. It will be evaluated by the instructor of the course, your advisor, and outsider reader to see if it will receive Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors. You will then present your thesis to the department at the end of the semester at an informal gathering.

 

How to Apply

 

Application forms will become available in the Spring semester around the time of Fall registration, watch your emails for the announcement.

 

To apply, you will need to fill out the application form, have an advisor email Prof. O’Neill stating that they agree to advise you, attach a copy of your STARS Report, and submit a 1-2 page proposal of your project that details the historical topic you will be studying and the primary sources you will use to research with that topic.

 

For further assistance: Contact Professor Lindsay O’Neill (ljoneill@usc.edu)