杏吧论坛

This course is compulsory on the MA in Asian and International History (杏吧论坛 and NUS) and MSc in International and Asian History. This course is not available as an outside option.

The dissertation is an exercise in using primary sources to write on a precise topic in International and Asian History. The only formal limit on the choice of subject is that it must fall within the syllabus - i.e. it has to be a topic in International History with an Asian angle, and the dissertation has to be a study in the discipline of history. Dissertations that represent contributions to disciplines outside history, such as International Relations or Politics, will not be approved or accepted. Dissertations must therefore be based substantially on a critical analysis of primary sources, and candidates should aim to include an element of originality in the argument and/or the treatment of the evidence. The subject must involve an element of engagement with the analysis of relations between states and/or societies; alternatively it may involve the study of the history of attitudes and/or policies in one society towards others or comparative studies involving at least two states and/or societies. The topic must not be confined purely to the domestic affairs of one society or state. The dissertation supervisor is the final judge of whether a particular topic falls within the syllabus.

Four one-hour sessions in the Autumn Term.

Dissertation (100%, 10000 words) in September.