Thesis Examples

Occasion: 19th Century - 1800s - Arrival of Europeans to Hawaii. Arrival of Missionaries to Hawaii. The development of epidemic disease and the decline of the native Hawaiian population. Adoption of European, American customs. Abandonment of native Hawaiian customs. Introduction of American work day - American companies.


Position: Despite the fact that "outsiders" greatly influenced the Hawaiian culture in the nineteenth century, native Hawaiians were able to preserve their traditional sport of surfing.

Evidence:
1. Many travelers and missionaries to the Hawaiian islands recorded seeing Hawaiians using surf boards and surfing canoes.

2. Surfing was an important aspect of Hawaiian folklore that was preserved in Hawaiian language newspapers in the nineteenth century.

3. The sport of Surfing quickly resurfaced in the twentieth century when Caucasians (Europeans, Americans, Austrailians) became interested in the sport.