Dissertation Topic

[fortunatelynot]

Am at the dissertation stage of my MA (distance) in Modern Literature. My study has spanned Romanticism, Modernism, Dystopian Literature, Children in Literature amongst others with 20 plus key texts per area. I have done well so far but now I am flummoxed. I just can't seem to narrow down my ideas for my dissertation questions even to the point of deciding which area I want to do!

Has anybody any advice upon how they decided their dissertation topic?

Probably not very helpful, but I was in exactly this position when my research proposal for my MSc was due last year. Really panicking. Then a charity posted a competition for project funding if we studied something of use to their service users. So I applied and won funding and have been able to run a research project which will result in I and 3 other students’ dissertations, will help people in the real world, and my supervisor believes will be publishable in a peer reviewed journal. It’s been brilliant experience in running a project, and we’ve all been motivated by the idea of helping people.

Are there any businesses, museums, galleries or similar that might be glad of someone to analyse a collection or something? Sorry if this is not helpful, I’m not sure I completely understand what arts study entails at this level.

What’s the question that grabs you the most? Where’s the biggest gap in the literature on your subject? There’s sure to be something that excites you, which will make the research more interesting, besides anything else.