Hi Guys! I get a bit of anxiety and nervousness talking to other people in my class or on campus, so I decided to finally create an account here and post this in hopes of getting some direction for my term paper. I have picked the topic of Norse Funerals for my research paper but I am just having troubles developing a thesis/central argument. I have already checked out a few books from the campus library and have a general idea of the content I want to include in the paper (brief description of norsemen and scandinavian vikings, the culture, social structure, burial sites, norse funeral - process), but I'm just not sure what my main point should be. The outline given to us said that the paper should be argumentative and one that will investigate a controversy. I think I may just be overwhelmed and thinking too hard because I am finding myself blanking out and getting worried more than anything.
Not looking for any direct answers, just some ideas on any events that you guys might know of that would be in connection to Norse Funerals (scandinavian vikings and their mortuary rituals). And of course, any tips on developing strong thesis' would be awesome too!
I appreciate any help I can get! Thank you :)
I recommend that you ask whether the classic Viking funeral with the burning boat ever occurred. There is plenty of archaeological evidence consisting of gravesites surrounded by stones arranged in the shape of a boat, and there are a few buried vessels used as graves, so the archaeology is good for this sort of grave-reference to ships. The archaeology of a boat burnt off shore is not likely to exist, so one must rely on primary sources. So where did this idea come from? How common was it? And more importantly, how did it evolve over time?
There are also cenotaphs, which is a nice topic, and it gives you an opportunity to use a word that rarely enters into everyday conversation.
Good luck.
First - and most importantly - don't fret! You're a first year undergraduate; no-one expects you to have historical practice down yet. The whole point of your degree programme is to build up your knowledge and crucially your skill-set; the process of learning how to write academic history, and how to write academic history well, is one that takes years of engagement with the discipline (there's a good reason why you aren't expected to write a dissertation every year!). When I was an undergraduate, I really struggled at first to understand how to come up with any kind of original thesis. To this day, I often go through half a dozen absolutely stupid or ridiculous ideas before I finally figure out something workable.
Whilst I can't help with the topic for your paper, there are two posts I've written here before that you might find helpful. I wrote this post to help a student in a similar situation understand how to develop narrow historical questions from broader ideas, and this one in response to another first year undergraduate on good skills and practices to get into as a history student. I hope you'll find them helpful! Whilst it won't be of much help to you at the moment, I'm also going to be doing a write-up on how to develop original theses for research papers for the final part of our ongoing Finding and Understanding Sources series (EDIT: a word), which is due to go out on Monday December 21st. You might find that helpful for future reference.
You might also want to check out the first two instalments of the series that have already been published (here and here) on finding and understanding secondary sources, just as a general primer on good practice.
I hope some of this is helpful. Best of luck!
Visit your college library! Expert help, all the sources you could want...seriously...
If you are really having troubles go and see your tutor. They will be able to point you towards (or at least point you towards someone in the know) specific readings, and the latest research which will help you to formulate your ideas.
You could look at the transition from Norse God to Christianity and see if and how burial practices changed. That would be a very interesting topic, and I can think of lots of questions which could be made around it. (for example would a Christian Viking still want to be buried with grave goods in a Norse God fashion?)
If you want a topic that is related to Norse burials and include a bit of controversy, why not do a gender study! There are quite a few interesting female burials, like the Oseberg burial in Norway, and maybe you could do a comparative study of grave goods in female vs male graves?