Process Paper
When choosing a topic for research, I considered which lessons I enjoyed the most in my study of European History this school year. enjoyed the Eugenics movement in class because it is a topic that is not discussed enough in history textbooks and is important to understand where we come from. I then narrowed down my topic to study my native country, India, and how British colonization of India has affected peoples’ mindsets about Indians today. This topic is important to me because it is unique in how the gradual colonization of India led to Social Darwinistic ideas of “superior” and “inferior” races.
After conducting tertiary research, I decided that I needed to find secondary resources that not only discussed what happened, but gave a subjective analysis of why it happened. Specifically, I searched for both the British officer and Indian sepoy or civilian point of view of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Upon researching the rebellion in 1857, I was able to create a chronological argument about the relationship between the British and Indians, using this rebellion as a major turning point.
I explored the databases provided by the school such as Britannica and EbscoHost when searching for primary source documents. After exploring these databases, which primarily had letters exchanged between British officers, I went in search of Indian accounts of the rebellion and their views of British political control. Using Google Books, I found newspaper articles in which Indians publish their discontent and desire to be independent of Great Britain both before and after the rebellion.
One problem I encountered while researching was developing my thesis. At first, my research topic was Social Darwinism, which was too broad to develop an analytical thesis. I chose British control of India because the topic is important to me, but I then had trouble relating it back to Social Darwinism. Much later, after developing my thesis, I had trouble finding primary sources from the Indian sepoy or civilian perspective. Since my thesis goes back to the 1600’s, there is minimal record of Indians having discontent with the British
My topic fit the chronological approach of a turning point in history because I found the sepoy mutiny to be a watershed event in the relations between Great Britain and India. After this rebellion, the Government of India Act of 1858 was passed which transferred power from the East India Company to the British crown. I have learned from my research that peoples’ notions and judgements about Indian culture and traditions have stemmed from a long and complex series of events, which can be traced back to the tension between Great Britain and India. These findings are important to having a thorough understanding of history because they helped me to question my perceptions about other races and ideas, and empathize more with minorities that have suffered being regarded as the “inferior” race. I also have developed more respect for my native country, which after three centuries of political and social oppression, has perpetuated its rich and beautiful culture.
After conducting tertiary research, I decided that I needed to find secondary resources that not only discussed what happened, but gave a subjective analysis of why it happened. Specifically, I searched for both the British officer and Indian sepoy or civilian point of view of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Upon researching the rebellion in 1857, I was able to create a chronological argument about the relationship between the British and Indians, using this rebellion as a major turning point.
I explored the databases provided by the school such as Britannica and EbscoHost when searching for primary source documents. After exploring these databases, which primarily had letters exchanged between British officers, I went in search of Indian accounts of the rebellion and their views of British political control. Using Google Books, I found newspaper articles in which Indians publish their discontent and desire to be independent of Great Britain both before and after the rebellion.
One problem I encountered while researching was developing my thesis. At first, my research topic was Social Darwinism, which was too broad to develop an analytical thesis. I chose British control of India because the topic is important to me, but I then had trouble relating it back to Social Darwinism. Much later, after developing my thesis, I had trouble finding primary sources from the Indian sepoy or civilian perspective. Since my thesis goes back to the 1600’s, there is minimal record of Indians having discontent with the British
My topic fit the chronological approach of a turning point in history because I found the sepoy mutiny to be a watershed event in the relations between Great Britain and India. After this rebellion, the Government of India Act of 1858 was passed which transferred power from the East India Company to the British crown. I have learned from my research that peoples’ notions and judgements about Indian culture and traditions have stemmed from a long and complex series of events, which can be traced back to the tension between Great Britain and India. These findings are important to having a thorough understanding of history because they helped me to question my perceptions about other races and ideas, and empathize more with minorities that have suffered being regarded as the “inferior” race. I also have developed more respect for my native country, which after three centuries of political and social oppression, has perpetuated its rich and beautiful culture.