- Choose a topic that enables you to make an original contribution to scholarship.
- Choose a topic for which primary source materials are ample and reasonably accessible. This will make your research and writing much more enjoyable.
- Choose a topic that builds on and extends your knowledge of American studies methods and subjects.
- Choose a topic that is challenging and that will sustain your interest over the course of an entire semester or two-semester sequence.
- Do not choose a topic that has been exhaustively studied, or for which you lack the appropriate methodological training.
- In choosing a topic, don’t hesitate to consult American Studies faculty and reference librarians.
