55 Research Paper Topics in Literature and History

Introduction

Literature and history offer endless possibilities for research. These humanities disciplines ask fundamental questions about the human experience — who we are, where we came from, and what our stories mean.

This list of 55 research paper topics in literature and history is organised by category.

American Literature

1. The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
2. Race and identity in Toni Morrison's Beloved
3. The role of nature in the works of Henry David Thoreau
4. Individualism in American transcendentalist writing
5. The American South in the fiction of William Faulkner
6. Gender roles in the novels of Edith Wharton
7. The immigrant experience in American literature
8. War and its aftermath in American war novels
9. The evolution of the American short story
10. Social criticism in the works of Mark Twain

British Literature

11. Power and politics in Shakespeare's tragedies
12. Class and society in Jane Austen's novels
13. Colonialism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
14. The role of nature in William Wordsworth's poetry
15. Madness and sanity in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre
16. The Victorian novel and social reform
17. Identity and empire in postcolonial British literature
18. The Gothic tradition in British fiction
19. Love and marriage in the novels of George Eliot
20. Dystopian vision in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

World Literature

21. Magical realism in Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude
22. Identity and exile in the works of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
23. Postcolonial themes in the literature of the African diaspora
24. War and memory in Japanese literature after World War II
25. The role of storytelling in indigenous literature
26. Translation and cultural exchange in world literature
27. feminism in the works of Margaret Atwood
28. The city as a character in modern world literature
29. Diaspora and belonging in contemporary immigrant literature
30. Oral traditions and written literature

Poetry and Drama

31. The use of metaphor in the poetry of Emily Dickinson
32. Love and loss in the sonnets of Shakespeare
33. Modernist poetry and the fragmentation of experience
34. The role of the chorus in Greek tragedy
35. Contemporary poetry and social protest
36. The absurd in the plays of Samuel Beckett
37. Nature and spirituality in the poetry of Mary Oliver
38. The Harlem Renaissance and its influence on American poetry

Ancient and Medieval History

39. The fall of the Roman Empire: causes and consequences
40. Daily life in Ancient Greece: evidence from archaeology
41. The role of religion in Medieval European society
42. The Crusades: motivations and outcomes
43. The Black Death and its impact on European society
44. Women in Medieval society: roles and representations
45. The legacy of Ancient Egyptian civilisation

Modern History

46. The causes of World War I: a reassessment
47. The Russian Revolution and its global impact
48. The civil rights movement: strategies and achievements
49. The Cold War: origins and key turning points
50. Decolonisation in Africa and Asia after World War II
51. The Great Depression: causes and government responses
52. The Holocaust: memory and historiography
53. The Vietnam War and its impact on American society
54. Women's suffrage movements in comparative perspective
55. The history of immigration policy in the United States

How to Approach Humanities Research

Develop a thesis: Humanities papers are not just summaries of what you read. They make an argument about how to interpret a text or historical event. Your thesis should be an arguable claim supported by evidence from primary and secondary sources.

Use primary sources: Literature papers use the text itself as a primary source. History papers use documents, artifacts, and records from the period. Always ground your argument in primary source evidence.

Engage with secondary sources: Show that you understand what other scholars have said about your topic. Your paper should enter an existing scholarly conversation.

Close reading: In literature, close reading means paying careful attention to language, structure, imagery, and literary devices. Your argument should be grounded in specific details from the text.

Context matters: Historical and literary works are shaped by their context. Consider the social, political, and cultural circumstances in which a work was created.

Summary

Literature and history offer rich opportunities for meaningful research. Choose a topic that genuinely interests you, develop a clear argument, and support it with evidence from primary and secondary sources.