About the History Dissertation Database

The History Dissertation Database is a comprehensive resource for exploring the landscape of historical scholarship through doctoral dissertations and the academic networks that shaped them.

What's in the Database

This database contains detailed information about history dissertations, including:

  • Dissertation metadata: titles, authors, institutions, and completion years
  • Committee information: advisors and committee members who guided each project
  • Academic genealogies: mentor-student relationships across generations of scholars
  • Institutional networks: connections between universities and their scholarly communities

How to Use This Resource

Browse Dissertations

Search and filter through dissertations by title, author, institution, or year. Click on any dissertation to view detailed information including committee members and advisor relationships.

Explore Academic Networks

Discover scholars who served as dissertation advisors and committee members. View interactive visualizations showing academic family trees and scholarly genealogies.

Research Applications

This database supports various research inquiries:

  • Tracing the intellectual development of historical fields and subfields
  • Understanding patterns of mentorship and academic influence
  • Analyzing institutional relationships and scholarly networks
  • Exploring the geographic and temporal distribution of historical scholarship

About the Project

The History Dissertation Database is developed and maintained by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. The project aims to provide scholars, students, and researchers with tools to explore the rich history of historical scholarship and understand the networks that have shaped the discipline.

Technical Information

The database is built using Django and features interactive visualizations powered by D3.js. The data is provided by the American Historical Association.

The project team is:

  • Savannah Scott, 2024—present
  • Jason Heppler, 2024—present
  • Lincon Mullen, 2024—present

For technical questions or data inquiries, please contact the RRCHNM team.