I really love studying history, particularly classical history. I have written a research paper in the past, and that was Tecumseh. I had the pleasure of reading Lyman Draper's Tecumseh manuscripts as part of my research. I kind of know what I am doing when it comes to researching and writing, but I am having trouble coming up with a specific topic.
As I said earlier, I am a big fan of classical antiquity. I particularly enjoy reading about Alexander the Great, Carthage, Greek City States, the Huns, and Rome. Something like "how did the Roman Empire fall" would be possible but a bit too broad, I was told. Maybe, researching the evolution of Rome's government would be a possibility. I just need something that has enough sources for me to write a paper about.
What fascinates you about this time period? Thanks.
I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the Ancient Greek perceptions of Persians around the time of the Greco-Persian Wars.
This was fun, though you have to rely on a very limited number of sources -- basically, Herodotus and Aeschylus, though maybe one or two other less significant examples but can't recall.
Currently, I am very interested in the Huns. And more generally, I am fascinated by the Greek and Roman perceptions of Horse Nomads / Steppe Peoples -- Scythians, Sarmatians, Cimmerians, Issedones, Alans, etc.
Might be something there regarding settled peoples interactions with and perceptions of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples residing along their frontiers. Civilized vs Barbarian
This is the book I am currently embroiled in on the subject:
The Mirror of Herodotus: The Representation of the Other in the Writing of History by François Hartog
Deals heavily with the Scythians and the ways in which Herodotus utilize them in his writing of his "Histories" -- i.e. using them as a trope, almost, with which to compare Persians and contrast Greeks.