100 History Dissertation Topics

Updated: June 14, 2023
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The history dissertation must address a scientific problem, analyze a certain period, one or more events, political activity, etc.

How to Select the Best History Dissertation Topic?

When choosing the topic of a history dissertation, professors are often advised to use their scientific works of past years as a basis. It makes sense to continue to explore a familiar topic in greater depth than to develop a new one. However, if your interests have changed, you can change your direction and take on new issues. In addition, the topic is very much dependent on the department.

Usually, they specialize in specific historical periods:

  • Ancient history;
  • Middle Ages;
  • New and Recent history.

💡 Interesting fact: The Middle Ages are a fairly well-studied period of history, with clearly formed opinions about them. For this reason, the Middle Ages is the most popular period for choosing a topic for a history dissertation.

List of History Dissertation Topics: 20 Favorite Ideas

  1. U.S. – Soviet relations.
  2. Adolf Hitler and his the road to power.
  3. State of New York at the end of the 19th century.
  4. Analysis of the Yugoslav model of socialism in the context of the causes of the Balkan crisis of the 1990s.
  5. Battle for Kyiv.
  6. Struggle for power in party-state leadership 1921-1941.
  7. Marriage and family in early medieval France.
  8. The relationship between church and state in the 17th century.
  9. The impact of the First World War on social and political processes in Europe.
  10. China’s foreign policy in the late ’70s. XX – beginning of the XXI centuries.
  11. French foreign policy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  12. Foreign trade of England in the 10th and 17th centuries.
  13. Freemasonry in the sociocultural space of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.
  14. The emergence of the Ottoman Empire.
  15. War of Poland in the second half of the 17th-first quarter of the 18th century.
  16. Leonard Euler’s outstanding role in the development of algebra, geometry, and number theory.
  17. Bismarck is a person, an age, a symbol.
  18. Activities of the American Relief Administration in Stavropol during the famine of 1921-1922.
  19. European and colonial direction of French diplomacy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  20. The Indian factor in the British-Russian confrontation in the East in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries.

15 Interesting History Dissertation Topics

  1. Business life in London on the eve of the First World War.
  2. Historiography of the Crimean Khanate.
  3. History and historical figures.
  4. History of the development of social democracy.
  5. The Chinese War of 1894-1895.
  6. Constitutional policy in India.
  7. The royal power of the Franks and Anglo-Saxons in the I-IX centuries.
  8. British-Argentine relations in the 1980s.
  9. Culture, spiritual life, and everyday life of Scandinavian people in XIX in.
  10. Inter-ethnic conflicts in the post-WWII years.
  11. The development of the workers’ movement in Germany in the 1860s and 1870s (from creating the workers’ party to the adoption of an exceptional law against the socialists).
  12. Rural migration in XVII century, historical and psychological aspects.
  13. American National Culture in the 19th century.
  14. Ukrainian National War of Liberation 1648-1654.
  15. Austro-Hungarian national policy in the 19th century.

15 Ph.D. Dissertation History Topics

  1. Filiki Eteria National Liberation Movement in Greece.
  2. The formation of the British parliamentary system in the first third of the 19th century.
  3. The social and state structure of Poland in the 17th and 18th centuries.
  4. Order of the Templars as a subject of international relations of the 12th to 14th centuries.
  5. Realization of the tradition of teaching history in the 1960s and 1970s in schools.
  6. Features of the foreign policy of the State of Israel during the period of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
  7. From a regime of personal power to collective leadership.
  8. Evolution of 19th century American family values
  9. First constitutions of Asian States. Comparative analysis.
  10. People’s Democracy in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
  11. Poland from 1914 to the outbreak of the Second World War.
  12. Jacques Chirac’s policy.
  13. Political activities of Mahatma Gandhi.
  14. The political evolution of the Southern States during the Reconstruction Period.
  15. Cardinal Richelieu’s political will.

10 Ancient History Dissertation Topics

  1. Bronze Age Burial Monuments.
  2. Origin of Eastern Slavs.
  3. Measures of the length of the ancient Roman state.
  4. The Roman-German confrontation in IV B.C.
  5. The status of women in Assyria under Middle Assyrian Laws.
  6. Sociopolitical ideas in Isaiah’s prophecies.
  7. Political formation of Lydia in VI B.C.
  8. Forms of dependency by Hittite law.
  9. The crisis of Roman statehood in the 3rd century.
  10. The Spartan kings by Herodotus.

10 Modern History Dissertation Topics

  1. History and main modern historical figures.
  2. American-Chinese relations: history and modernity.
  3. Comparative characteristics of totalitarian systems in Eastern Europe.
  4. Turkey—from empire to republic. State bureaucracy and modernization challenges.
  5. Formation and activities of the Indian National Congress.
  6. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the context of history.
  7. Iranian Culture from the Middle Ages to Modern Times.
  8. Japanese-American relations in the XX-XXI century.
  9. Democratic transformation in Egypt (1952-1956).
  10. US domestic political development under R. Reagan.

10 American History Dissertation Topics

  1. The American Revolution Revisited: Exploring the Social, Political, and Intellectual Contexts of the Revolutionary Era
  2. Manifest Destiny and its Legacy: Analyzing the Ideological Foundations and Consequences of Westward Expansion
  3. Slavery and Abolitionism in America: Investigating the Causes, Impact, and Legacy of the Antebellum Period
  4. The Reconstruction Era: Assessing the Successes, Failures, and Unfinished Business of Reconstruction in the United States
  5. The Civil Rights Movement: Examining the Struggle for Racial Equality and its Impact on American Society
  6. The Progressive Era: Analyzing the Reform Movements and Political Change in the Early 20th Century
  7. The Great Depression and the New Deal: Evaluating the Economic Crisis and Government Responses in the 1930s
  8. World War II and American Society: Investigating the Impact of the War on the Home Front and Post-War America
  9. The Cold War and its Influence on American Politics and Society: Examining the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and the Nuclear Arms Race
  10. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Assessing its Significance and Legacy in the Fight for Equality and Social Justice.

10 Art History Dissertation Topics

  1. The Renaissance Revival: Examining the Rediscovery and Reinterpretation of Classical Art in Renaissance Europe
  2. The Role of Women Artists in the Modern Art Movement: Exploring their Contributions, Challenges, and Influence
  3. The Birth of Abstract Expressionism: Analyzing the Evolution and Impact of Non-Representational Art in the 20th Century
  4. Decoding the Symbolism in Renaissance Art: Unraveling Hidden Meanings and Allegories in Paintings and Sculptures
  5. Art and Politics in the Soviet Union: Investigating the Role of Artistic Expression and State Control in the Soviet Era
  6. The Influence of African Art on Modern Western Art: Tracing the Impact of African Aesthetics on 20th-century Art Movements
  7. Exploring the Intersection of Art and Technology: Examining the Use of Digital and New Media in Contemporary Art
  8. Art and Identity: Analyzing the Representation and Construction of Identity in Visual Art throughout History
  9. The Impact of Colonialism on Indigenous Art: Investigating the Appropriation, Resistance, and Cultural Hybridity in Artistic Practices
  10. The Power of Performance Art: Examining the History and Significance of Live Art and Performance-Based Installations.

10 History Dissertation Ideas

  1. 1960’s Youth Protest Movements in the U.S.
  2. The national policy of Austria in the 19th and 20th centuries.
  3. Neo-fascist organizations in Italy in 1960-1990 and their activities.
  4. Daily life and social awareness of American Citizens (20th century).
  5. Major United States historians of ancient history.
  6. Development of the law of Kyiv Rus.
  7. Reform of 1861. Abolition of serfdom.
  8. Kyiv Rus in the 9th and 13th centuries: from unity to fragmentation
  9. The role of the military factor in US history.
  10. The United States and World Wars: Main lessons.

More Writing Tips from Our Pros

Writing a dissertation history is, in our opinion, more difficult than in economics or other subjects. The reason for this is that in order to write a full-fledged historical study, you need to work with a lot of sources.

The length of a dissertation history introduction alone usually exceeds 15 pages. In the introduction, it is necessary to reflect the historiography of the topic—the degree of its value in science. The difficulty is that in history, there are different periods of development of scientific schools and numerous positions of historians on a given problem.

In the main part, it is necessary to highlight all the stages that have existed in studying a particular topic. It is also necessary to evaluate whether, from the perspective of modern science, have been researchers from previous periods right (or not) and how the topic is covered in historiography today. For most dissertation topics about history, there are dozens of sources for research—archaeological data, chronicles, ancient manuscripts, scientific histories of past eras, memoirs, etc.

In addition to the above, the history dissertation should assess the ideological component of the topic, summarize the available scientific works, and describe the most important of them.

Need More Than a Tip? Hire an Expert Here!

Whether you have chosen the topic of your history dissertation dedicated to the Middle Ages or have chosen an earlier or later period, you can always contact our dissertation writing service for help in writing, editing, and formating. The experts of the company know how to create academic papers that get A+. We can deal with any other study work: from the coursework and essay to dissertation.

George Lynch
George Lynch
Literature, Psychology, Religion
Experience: 3+ years
I’ve been enjoying academic writing since day one in college. Today, having a full-time job, I’m still looking forward to writing essays and research papers online for others.
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