What to do...

[d0r4]

So I've just moved into year 12 and am studying extension history - but have absolutely no idea as to what to write?! Everybody is telling me to incorporate something I love and something that interests me into my major work but it's so difficult and lol like I'm gonna cry. I want to maybe incorporate some aspect of French history into the major work as I've always had a extreme fascination with the country and its history but I'm completely stuck. What do I do!!

[katie,rinos]

Hey,
Hope your enjoying Extension so far!
I was in exactly the same position this time last year! Honestly, it took me forever to come up with a question (and then I changed it twice). Obviously, yep do something you should do something you are really interested in (but that didn’t really help me too much last year either). Keep in mind that it needs to be historiographical (so based on the historians and their account of the event). Also, try to make sure your question is not too broad so it is easy to research and you don’t go too much over the word limit (my first question was incredibly broad).

From the syllabus some areas that you can look at include:
•   a historical debate or controversy
•   a historian’s or archaeologist’s work
•   changing analysis of an archaeological site over time
•   ethical issues surrounding an archaeological site
•   contrasting approaches to a historical personality, issue or event
•   museums as history
•   history in the media – film, documentary, fiction, docudrama, drama, poetry, opera
•   an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the history of a personality, issue or event
•   the impact of global or national events at a regional or local level
•   oral history
•   historical biography
•   local history
•   the history of an institution
•   critical analysis of a major historical work
•   the use and misuse of history in either a specific context or over time.

Your essay also needs to fit into one of these enquiry questions (which as long as your focussing on the historians should be ok):
•   Who are the historians?
•   What are the purposes of history?
•   How has history been constructed and recorded over time?
•   Why have the approaches to the construction of history changed over time?

My major was on a historical debate between two Holocaust historians (on why the German people of police battalion 101 were involved in the Holocaust), and I wrote about their context, methodology and interpretations and compared/criticised them. I looked at the Who are the historians? (context/background) and How has history been constructed over time? (Methodologies) enquiry questions.

I hardly know anything about French history so I can’t help you too much there. Is there something particular about it’s history that you enjoy? Do you have any ideas at the moment?

If you haven’t seen it already, Susie has posted an amazing guide to the major here!
Hope this helps! Feel free to post any further questions! 

[sudodds]

Hey,
Hope your enjoying Extension so far!
I was in exactly the same position this time last year! Honestly, it took me forever to come up with a question (and then I changed it twice). Obviously, yep do something you should do something you are really interested in (but that didn’t really help me too much last year either). Keep in mind that it needs to be historiographical (so based on the historians and their account of the event). Also, try to make sure your question is not too broad so it is easy to research and you don’t go too much over the word limit (my first question was incredibly broad).

From the syllabus some areas that you can look at include:
•   a historical debate or controversy
•   a historian’s or archaeologist’s work
•   changing analysis of an archaeological site over time
•   ethical issues surrounding an archaeological site
•   contrasting approaches to a historical personality, issue or event
•   museums as history
•   history in the media – film, documentary, fiction, docudrama, drama, poetry, opera
•   an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the history of a personality, issue or event
•   the impact of global or national events at a regional or local level
•   oral history
•   historical biography
•   local history
•   the history of an institution
•   critical analysis of a major historical work
•   the use and misuse of history in either a specific context or over time.

Your essay also needs to fit into one of these enquiry questions (which as long as your focussing on the historians should be ok):
•   Who are the historians?
•   What are the purposes of history?
•   How has history been constructed and recorded over time?
•   Why have the approaches to the construction of history changed over time?

My major was on a historical debate between two Holocaust historians (on why the German people of police battalion 101 were involved in the Holocaust), and I wrote about their context, methodology and interpretations and compared/criticised them. I looked at the Who are the historians? (context/background) and How has history been constructed over time? (Methodologies) enquiry questions.

I hardly know anything about French history so I can’t help you too much there. Is there something particular about it’s history that you enjoy? Do you have any ideas at the moment?

If you haven’t seen it already, Susie has posted an amazing guide to the major here!
Hope this helps! Feel free to post any further questions! 

Couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks Katie (answering questions after you final exam today what a gun, hope it went well <3) Just a tiny point, but when people say incorporate stuff that you are interested in, don't feel confined to different areas of history either! If you are someone that really loves art, or film, or politics, etc. etc. those are all things that you could incorporate as well! A girl at my school did her major work on the historical accuracy of horrible histories (as in the TV show!)

In terms of French history, remember that you still want the overarching focus to be historiography, so think bigger than just writing about an event. France has a very complex political history, that I'm sure you'd be able to explore historiographically. First thing that comes to mind is maybe looking at the concept of "bottom-up" vs. "top down" history in relation to the French Revolution? Why do we focus on the "big men" of the revolution - eg. Napoleon, Robespierre - when the revolution was literally one where the people wanted to be heard? Why aren't we focusing on the ordinary people instead? (hope that makes sense - just an idea, feel free to ignore).

Hope this helps!

Susie

[d0r4]

thank you so much!!