Since 2009 the Department of History at the University of Bristol has published the best of the annual dissertations produced by our final-year undergraduates. We do so in recognition of the excellent research undertaken by our students, which is acornerstone of our degree programme. As a department, we are committed to the advancement of historical knowledge and to research of the highest order. Our undergraduates are part of that endeavour.

Listed below are the the best of this year’s undergraduate history dissertations, with links to the dissertations themselves where these are available. Please note that these dissertations are published in the state they were submitted for examination. Thus the authors have not been able to correct errors and/or departures from departmental guidelines for the presentation of dissertations (eg in the formatting of footnotes and bibliographies). In each case, copyright resides with the author and all rights are reserved. 

Student	Title	'Best dissertation' prize
James Monroe	Reinterpreting the Jerusalem Massacre of 1099 in the Context of the Other Massacres of the First Crusade James Monroe 2016 (PDF, 505kB)‌‌ Joint Winner of the 'Best History dissertation of 2016' prize
Grace Robertson	Radioactive Sheep: Constructing the Identity of the BritishOvine Character in the Context of the Chernobyl Disaster Grace Robertson 2016 (PDF, 1,554kB)‌‌ Joint Winner of the 'Best History dissertation of 2016' prize
Harry Adams	‘Art begins where words fail’? Reassessing the Politics of theArchitect Sir Edwin Lutyens Harry Adams 2016 (PDF, 1,168kB)‌‌
Richard Assherton	‘On foot… it is impossible to be out of touch’: Laurie Lee andPatrick Leigh Fermor walking in Europe 1933-36 Richard Assherton 2016 (PDF, 1,135kB)‌‌
Alice Best	‘Britain has taken the lead’: an exploration of British involvementin World Refugee Year 1959–1960 Alice Best 2016 (PDF, 8,354kB)‌‌
Louis Dawson Jones	‘Our heritage and our birthright’: North Walian Nationalismand the Empire, 1880-1914 Louis Dawson-Jones 2016 (PDF, 588kB)‌‌
Clare Ford	Mind the Gap: A History of Mind and the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on its Development Clare Ford 2016 (PDF, 3,697kB)‌ ‌‌
Billy Holt	Luminal Landscapes: A Study of Artificial Illumination and theExperience of Modernity in Bristol 1815-1915
Dan Keir	History as a ‘Battleground’: The Spanish Civil War, NationalistVisual Sources, and the Manipulation of History for Political Purpose Dan Kier 2016 (PDF, 3,802kB)‌‌
Joe Kelly	Passive Protest: Investigating Middle Class Absenteeismduring the Bristol Riots, October 1831 Joe Kelly 2016 (PDF, 874kB)‌‌
Louisa Laughton-Scott	Fallen through the cracks: the unrecognised contributionof the LIA and its members to the Human Rights Movement Louisa Laughton-Scott 2016 (PDF, 1,689kB)‌‌
Ariana Pughe	The Unwritten Social Contract: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Social Welfare in Abu Dhabi, 1966-1972 Ariana Pughe 2016 (PDF, 971kB)‌ ‌‌
Emma Rutter	A Community in Crisis?: Birmingham Irish and the 1974 IRA Pub Bombings Emma Rutter 2016 (PDF, 977kB)
Olivia Salter	Mania, Madhouses and Moral-Management: What light does the case study of moral-management shed on the gender dimensions ofasylum treatment in the Bethlem Lunatic Asylum under the Resident PhysicianSuperintendent William Charles Hood (1852-62)? Olivia Salter 2016 (PDF, 1,192kB)‌‌
Hester Saunders	‘The Surgeon’s Mate:’Exploring cultural constructions of scent inseventeenth-century England Hester Saunders2016 (PDF, 421kB)‌‌
Ellie Sherrard	The Kindertransport: Journeys of Trauma 1938-1939 Ellie Sherrard 2016 (PDF, 2,404kB)‌
Vita Unwin	‘Ladies Delight’: Examining the role and status of women inthe gin retailing trade 1751-1760 Vita Unwin 2016 (PDF, 1,901kB)‌‌
Josh Vallance	Agent of Imperialism: The Aborigines’ Protection Society andthe Indenturing of Bechuana Rebels in 1897 Josh Vallance 2016 (PDF, 571kB)‌‌
Bethany Warner	The Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent:constructing a collective identity Bethany Warner 2016 (PDF, 657kB)‌‌
Ben Whitman	Radical Resistance? The Opposition to the Impressment of British Seamen into the Royal Navy, 1770-1779 Ben Whitman 2016 (PDF, 710kB)‌‌
Tom Woodward	Tom Woodward 2016 (PDF, 897kB)‌‌