Example history dissertation topic 4:

An analysis of the factors that best explain the growth and movement of population within the East Midlands region c.1801 and 1914

Between 1801 and 1911, the populations of the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire grew from 140,350 to 161,142; 130,081 to 208,557; 604,098 to 683,423; and 476,553 to 563,960 respectively. These rises were, however, neither consistent in terms of the decennial percentage rises over the period, nor uniform between or within the individual administrative counties. For whilst the cities grew at rates at or above the national rate in nearly all the inter-census periods under study, the individual counties not only ‘traded’ persons between themselves, but also lost population through outward migration to other parts of the country and overseas throughout the nineteenth century. This dissertation therefore addresses the reasons underlying these differences.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Strachan, A.J. (1972) ‘Patterns of population change’, in, Pye, N. (ed.) Leicester and its region. Leicester: British Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 424-454.
• Wells, F.A. (1966) ‘Industrial structure’, in, Edwards, K.C. (ed.) Nottingham and its region. Nottingham: British Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 405-415.
• Weber, A.F. (1965) The growth of cities in the nineteenth century: A study in statistics. New York: Cornell.