I am currently in the early-stages of working on my final dissertation at university, my first choice for a topic was 'Rhetoric, Love and Laws - How Elite Groups Developed Social Narratives in Democratic Athens.' but was discouraged on this for its broadness as a topic and that it seemed more like a life's work than a ten-thousand word essay. Fair enough. My initial thought process behind this though was that I have no idea what career path I want to take following my graduation in a few months and figured this would fit well if I were to choose to go into law / marketing / writing etc.
Currently, I am figuring out what on earth I can choose as a topic now, but the small voice at the back of my head continues to urge me towards something tailored towards a possible post-graduate career.
Speaking to ex-students of my university, one has used his dissertation topic on rape, prostitution and gender in the Roman empire to land a job working for the British Red Cross working with female refugees, often victims of rape. Others however have suggested that their topics have been completely irrelevant to their current jobs and some have even had to be very selective of what they put onto their CV (specifically a dissertation on sexuality when applying for a job working with children).
I completely understand that regardless of my dissertation topic, I will be able to boast of research, analysis, critical thinking etc skills but is it worth deciding on a topic that is open to certain career paths or work with complete disregard for the voice in the back of my mind?
Bonus question: those who have a Classical Civilisation degree, what career path did you end up taking?
Thanks in advance!
My Classicist friends, who tend less towards philology these days and more towards social and cultural history writ large, seem all to have faced the same issue you have. They were working at the PhD level, however, so they had about ten or more times the words to work with, and many years besides.
Honestly, the choice of one's BA Hons thesis topic has little relevance for job prospects straight out of undergrad. It has much greater import for any intent to pursue classics or related disciplines at the postgraduate level. In the latter case, you will need to impress potential mentors and admissions committees with your command of sources (and, for some, your understanding of the big picture). Honestly, I'd say that choosing a topic you find interesting and that drives you to do research you enjoy is far more important--and will be completed with much greater energy and interest--than a purely tactical effort. But then, I feel like your initial broad topic could very easily be narrowed down to demonstration of a particular link between society, class, and law in one case, to suggest the depth of the interrelationship. It's the kind of thing you might then expand at the masters' and doctoral level if you wanted (in the vein of what /u/Peoplewander is pointing to) or you might parlay it into something relevant for a variety of possible career paths.
It's honestly hard to say--none of my undergraduate thesis writers have indicated that their topic made a difference in what job they took up if they stopped at the BA level (and in fact they did not include the title on CVs/etc--only the fact that they did an honors degree). Most who went on to graduate study, however, found it to be directly relevant and essential for gaining admission to a good program. The important thing for all was that they chose something they could finish in the time allowed, and that would hold their interest enough to offset the drudgery factor that hits you in the late stages of such projects.
Most of my professors went on to write books based on their work they did for their dissertation. It is an easier way to go when on tenure track and needing to get something published I guess.
Our class has this discussion the other day actually. Granted we are not in the classics so there will be differences. Our program is in flux and we are looking for a lot of new faculty so the ones that we do have are sitting a lot of interview boards. The insight they shared with us is that right now on the job market it is much more important on how broad you can go with your teaching than individual merits of scholarly work. This is shaped in part by my program being filled with Atlantic historians, but I think they made a fair point. While publishing and bringing credit to yourself and prestige to the institution is great, history programs are trying to do more with less all over the country, and the more you can teach the less they have to higher.
As always take it with a grain of salt. I am not a classicist.