Master thesis in history: writing about cycling?

[Hugo Koblet]

First of all, I'm not really sure if this is the right sub category to post this in, but if it's not please bear with me

I'm about to finish my masters degree in history and I only need to write my finishing master thesis. Due to my passion for cycling I would love if it was possible to do a paper about a certain topic of cycling. Now it might not just be as simple as telling some of the great stories that can be told about cycling because it must reach a certain scientific level.
There has to be something that can be analysed and interpreted like for instance the cultural or social impact.

Therefore I would like to hear if anyone on here have done anything similar or have ideas for a subject or formulation of the problem?

Also if you just don't think it would be a good idea because you don't think it would reach a scientific level for instance, please let me know so I don't start any project if it wouldn't be any good.

Thanks in advance

 

[rhubroma]

You might want to consider the working class history of the sport.

Perhaps a subject such as this might provide a sociological and anthropological slant to your thesis:

Hard Men, Sport at Work: Forging European working class identity in early twentieth century cycling in Belgium, France and Italy
Or something like that.

 

[JayKosta]

Hugo,

The purpose of the thesis is to demonstrate that you can -
1) find reliable sources about the topic.
2) identify areas of agreement & disagreement among the sources.
3) analyze the agreements & disagreements for logical consistency, errors in their sources or logic, etc.
4) explain the areas and why there is agreement & disagreement.
5) do your own thinking about those areas, make your own conclusions, and logically justify your conclusions.

If there is an area of cycling history that has enough good source material AND some 'open questions' or 'disagreements'
then it might be a good topic for a thesis. But your thesis must be more that just a 'report' about what has already been written.

I suggest you talk about this with your advisor (or someone on the review committee) to verify that you meet the goals they expect from a thesis.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[Hugo Koblet]

rhubroma:

Thanks for the suggestion, that's a nice angle. I will have to do some thinking about it though, as I still need to identify some sort of thesis or problem.

JayKosta:

Thanks for the answer. It's nice to get feedback from someone who knows about the formal demands.
I do realize that I can't just repeat what has already been writen and I'm not interested in doing that. I need to find a problem that I can discuss rather than just telling what happened in the 1935 Tour de France for instance, as that's not particularly academic.

And that's exactly why I made this post - to, hopefully, get some ideas to work on. Or simply just realizing that it might not be a good idea, by people telling me that there aren't enough sources for instance.

It could be something like the topic rhubroma suggested or something like "Cycling's impact on nationalism in France and Italy in the post war era" or something similar.

 

[TERMINATOR]

First of all, I'm not really sure if this is the right sub category to post this in, but if it's not please bear with me

I'm about to finish my masters degree in history and I only need to write my finishing master thesis. Due to my passion for cycling I would love if it was possible to do a paper about a certain topic of cycling. Now it might not just be as simple as telling some of the great stories that can be told about cycling because it must reach a certain scientific level.
There has to be something that can be analysed and interpreted like for instance the cultural or social impact.

Therefore I would like to hear if anyone on here have done anything similar or have ideas for a subject or formulation of the problem?

Also if you just don't think it would be a good idea because you don't think it would reach a scientific level for instance, please let me know so I don't start any project if it wouldn't be any good.

Thanks in advance

If your thesis curriculum allows you to write a paper on cycling, then you might want to consider matriculating at a real university.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

If your thesis curriculum allows you to write a paper on cycling, then you might want to consider matriculating at a real university.

Care to elaborate?

I take it you don't think it's a "real", "scientific" or "academic" subject then? That's perfectly fine but you could just have said it that way instead of trying to devalue my education and university.

We don't have a curriculum as such for the thesis. It's up to the individual to find a subject and problem to write about. Of course you need the approval from your advisor but that's part of the reason why I ask the question here.

 

[Rip:30]

If your thesis curriculum allows you to write a paper on cycling, then you might want to consider matriculating at a real university.

Obviously has never been through grad school...

 

[Michielveedeebee]

you could write something about the impact Coppi and Bartali had on post WW-II Italy...

 

[trompe le monde]

you could write something about the impact Coppi and Bartali had on post WW-II Italy...

I was thinking of something vaguely similar as a suggestion.

There was a book written by Judith Schueler, originally a PhD dissertation, called 'Materialising Identity' about how the Gotthard pass helped to forge a Swiss Identity by making previously difficult parts of the nation more accessible. I wonder if you could possibly take either the Giro or the Tour De France and examine a similar premise, unless of course this has already been done.

 

[Cobblestones]

rhubroma has a nice slant.

Maybe you could generalize it a bit. Cycling used to be really working class. Both the athletes and spectators. Now, especially in the US, it's really an upper middle class sport with gear which is really, really expensive. It would be something like a socio-economic history.

Or what others have said. How the Giro and the TdF have been used to create a national identity throughout their 100+ years of existence. Was there for instance a divergence in the 1920's and 1930s? When Italy drifted toward fascism while France had a string of socialist governments. Maybe it is reflected in cycling history as well? I don't know but it could be interesting to find out.

Alternatively, how these national events were handled after the war. That could be interesting as well.

I'm not really a history buff, so I don't know what would work and what wouldn't. The one thing I heard is that you should stay away from too recent stuff. Pre-war is probably ok, so is hopefully early post WWII. I wouldn't touch anything 1960s or later. Nothing of which your advisor might have a memory (so 1960s might actually be ok after all).

And from an academic point of view, the topic definitely has merit if you approach it well. I disagree with Terminator.

 

[ScienceIsCool]

It might be interesting to explore whether cycling can be classified into different "eras" and discuss the social, economic, sporting, and political characteristics of each era. The academic portion might consist of identifying the forces that drove cycling from one era to the next.

For example, what impact did live television have on cycling? Was there a subsequent increase in rider salary? Did it change the way riders raced (tactics, average speed, etc)? Did it change the types and lengths of courses that organizers created? Did the riders themselves start to come from a different socioeconomic background?

Another example: if there is a clearly defined pre and post WW II era, what caused that shift? Does it align well with redevelopment efforts - i.e., better roads?

John Swanson

 

[trompe le monde]

Perhaps another idea worth considering would be to track how the rationality of what it means to be a cyclist has changed in the Tour De France from inception to present day. Initially, and I may be wrong about this, much if not all of the bike repair was done by cyclists themselves, and cyclists were largely autonomous/independent (I think). And yet in modern day the cyclists at any Grand Tour are enveloped within teams where race directors dictate tactics, teams largely work for one or two riders within a team, and the requirement to be largely self-sufficient is pretty much gone from the sport.

I suppose the questions of when did the shift occur, from a sport of independence/self-sufficiency to a sport of team-based co-dependence occur and why, would be a few decent questions, if they have not already been explored somewhere else.

 

[Magnus]

A specific subject could be Bartali's 48 victory and how it (allegedly) prevented a civil war after the killing of the leader of the Italian communist party (iirc). Maybe the political influence on the italian team decisions in the pre wwii period.

For inspiration regarding an academic approach to cycling you could check out "The Tour de France 1903-2003, A Century of Sporting Structures, Meanings and Values", edited by Hugh Dauncey and Geoff Hare.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Another approach would be the changing of the sport when the Cold War ended. How riders such as Olaf Ludwig, Dimitri Konyshev, Uwe Ampler, etc. who had previously been relegated to rides like the Peace Race, finally got an opportunity to race in races like the Tour. And how races like the Tour of Poland, and many other riders from "Eastern Bloc" countries grew.

I also like John's approach - regarding changes in the last 30 years or so with television, and now the web, and how contracts went from cyclists hardly making any money at all as working class athletes, to now often making millions. And how the social status from that has changed.

Another approach may be the changes from the very old days when cyclists did all their own repairs and rode over mostly cobbled roads and dirt mountain passes and WW1.

If your thesis curriculum allows you to write a paper on cycling, then you might want to consider matriculating at a real university.

And you're the chair of which department, at which university?

 

[Bala Verde]

Just thinking out loud here, I haven't given it much thought.

Since there is a connection between story telling, journalism, the sale of newspapers and cycling some ideas could include an analysis about the creation of historical narratives, perhaps comparisons between or within particular journalistic traditions (cycling story telling in Italy v France), or within the framework of particular nation-states (cycling story telling and the creation of a nation state ie France); cycling journalism as a story telling event and the production of historical/mythical narratives; an analysis of these journalistic accounts, how have they changed over the years, how they reflect ie journalistic traditions, the evolution of nation state, culture, classes or other social groups; how the meaning cycling storytelling has changed as a reflection of x,y,z ; the production of historical narratives compared across several sports; an analysis of mythical stories/heroes/founding events to support a certain narrative, and then comparing 'cycling' story telling techniques to story telling techniques supporting the foundation of the nation, class, or other social constructs.

Also read Peter Sloterdijk's interpretation of the meaning of cycling, 'The Riders are Just Regular Employees' which might give you some ideas.

As long as you have a theoretical framework to work from and you are comfortable with and which forces you to analyze your sources and come to meaningful conclusions, there are opportunities.

In addition, since doping is an element of cycling, there are also opportunities there to explore the 'dark side' of cycling and analyze the why, how and changes over time (if any) for the use of PEDs, what the meaning of 'PEDs or drugs' are over time, if perceptions reflect cultural, socio-economic, national attitudes etc. An interesting theoretical read could be Rhétorique de la drogue and Points...interviews

 

[MAK204]

Do you have training in a specific historical field? For example, are you going to be coming at the thesis from the perspective of a cultural, social, or intellectual historian? This might help you to determine a particular thesis statement with which you'd like to grapple.

With that being said, the basis of an MA thesis are primary source documents and your ability to analyze them effectively. Are there particular source materials with which you'd like to work? Furthermore, are there enough of those primary sources to make such an endeavor worthwhile?

As far as source material goes, I think the most plentiful and easily accessible are newspaper articles that cover or address the sport in general, but more than likely, a particular race. For example, you might be able to follow the changes in coverage of the Tour over time by a few different newspapers to address some type of thesis about historical memory. Does the Tour mean something different to a particular segment of French society than it does to another? Or does the French embrace the Tour differently than other Europeans? A comparative study utilizing source material from a few different nations might be interesting, but whatever you do, you'll have to find secondary source material which you can use to situate your argument. It may be that the question you are asking in your thesis about French society or national identity, etc. has little to do with cycling initially, but that your narrative about cycling serves as an original and persuasive case study of some sort.

 

[trompe le monde]

Also read Peter Sloterdijk's interpretation of the meaning of cycling, 'The Riders are Just Regular Employees' which might give you some ideas.

Thanks for sharing that Sloterdijk link. I have the Critique of Cynical Reason, but have yet to crack it.

 

[Black-Balled]

If your thesis curriculum allows you to write a paper on cycling, then you might want to consider matriculating at a real university.

...
And you're the chair of which department, at which university?

Quieter than a mouse peeing on a cotton-ball.

 

[nvpacchi]

Just thinking out loud here, I haven't given it much thought.

Since there is a connection between story telling, journalism, the sale of newspapers and cycling some ideas could include an analysis about the creation of historical narratives, perhaps comparisons between or within particular journalistic traditions (cycling story telling in Italy v France), or within the framework of particular nation-states (cycling story telling and the creation of a nation state ie France); cycling journalism as a story telling event and the production of historical/mythical narratives; an analysis of these journalistic accounts, how have they changed over the years, how they reflect ie journalistic traditions, the evolution of nation state, culture, classes or other social groups; how the meaning cycling storytelling has changed as a reflection of x,y,z ; the production of historical narratives compared across several sports; an analysis of mythical stories/heroes/founding events to support a certain narrative, and then comparing 'cycling' story telling techniques to story telling techniques supporting the foundation of the nation, class, or other social constructs.

Also read Peter Sloterdijk's interpretation of the meaning of cycling, 'The Riders are Just Regular Employees' which might give you some ideas.

As long as you have a theoretical framework to work from and you are comfortable with and which forces you to analyze your sources and come to meaningful conclusions, there are opportunities.

In addition, since doping is an element of cycling, there are also opportunities there to explore the 'dark side' of cycling and analyze the why, how and changes over time (if any) for the use of PEDs, what the meaning of 'PEDs or drugs' are over time, if perceptions reflect cultural, socio-economic, national attitudes etc. An interesting theoretical read could be Rhétorique de la drogue and Points...interviews

Working off Bala Verde's journalism/story telling idea, 1949 Giro, Coppi vs. Bartali book by Dino Buzzati (translated into English) marvelously depicts how cycling storytelling in Italy goes beyond simply detailing the recap of the stage.

Please keep us updated on your progress Hugo!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Also thinking of Coppi and Bartali (especially Bartali) it would be interesting to note the impact of the sport during the war years (and its role in resistance and national fervour). The rise of cycling in South America could be an interesting topic all of its own, as could cycling beyond the Iron Curtain.

Perhaps the role played by the sport in establishing national and regional identities (particularly thinking of Flemings and Walloons in Belgium here, but also the Basques and Franco-era Spain fall under this umbrella).

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

It all depends on what you've specialized in (time period, perspectives, methodologies,...)
Maybe something like this:

-Transition from modernity to postmodernity in cycling, Nation-states to global interconnectedness cf racing in country teams to commercial teams
=> also: globalization in cycling. Expending of the sport influenced by multinational commercial interests. Why did cycling break through in South America (Japan), and not Africa

-The changing role of the female in cycling through history. Both the wife as the female rider, which represent two opposite female gender roles

-Cycling for elite or the people? Sports as emancipation of the working class, or as entertainment (Panem et circenses)

-Or you could abandon this macro perspective, and look more micro. Pick out a case, investigate that, link it with the current society and some theories,...

-It might be interesting to study cycling during the world wars. Some races continued, regardless of the German/Nazi occupation.
=> it would be very interesting to find a case linking cycling and the resistance movement...

Maybe some of these a bit too sociological in intention (i'm a sociology student), but like i'm said, all depends on what you've specialized in...

 

[Hugo Koblet]

A big thanks to everyone for sharing their ideas and opinions, and an additional thanks to anyone who has recommended books or articles. It really has helped me getting into the brainstorming process.

Unfortunately, a major obstacle might be my inability to read French, Belgian and Italian which in the end could mean that I might not be able to go through with this if it's necessary to read a lot of sources from these lands. I still have my hopes though, and I will look into the possibilities.

It's interesting that quite a few mention Italy and post world war II with especially the Coppi and Bartali rivalry.
At this point in history, Italy was basically divided in two camps in which Coppi and Bartali represented each of these cultural and social directions. It might be interesting to examine the influence of Fausto and Gino on the italian identity.

The story of the 1948 Tour is an amazing one. I remember reading a book about the history of the Tour de France, and this story is definitely the one I remember the best.

A fierce fight between the Christian Democrats and the Italian Communist Party affected the political situation in Italy. The Christian Democrats with Alcide de Gasperi as their leader had just won the election and the country was marked by street fights and simmering unrest. An attempt was made on the life of Palmiro Togliatti, the leader of the Italian Communist Party, and a riot was on the verge of breaking out.
Meanwhile in France, Bartali had returned to the Tour de France to do his best to win it. Things didn't look good for Bartali as he was more than 21 minutes down in the general classification. That night he recieved a phone call from no other than Alcide de Gasperi who desperately needed Gino to help soothing the revolt. de Gasperi asked Gino if he could win the Tour for the italian people and Bartali responded "I don't know. I can't do magic and there's only a week left". The next day, de Gasperi got his answer. Bartali attacked with a long distance to go and won the stage with 18 minutes to the leader of the race, Louison Bobet. Gino was back in the race. But he wasn't at all done. He went on to win the next two stages aswell and took over the leaders jersey with a 14 minutes lead, which he kept all the way to Paris. That same day Palmire Togliatti woke up from his coma and asked how the Tour de France was going. As he found out that Bartali had made one of the most amazing comebacks in the history and had won the Tour, all disputes and conflicts were put aside and in the end a revolt was avoided as the whole country was celebrating the magnificient feat of Bartali.

The story might be exaggerated, and Gino probably wasn't the sole reason why a civil war was avoided, but he no doubt helped ease the situation.

That was quite a screed - during the day, I'll try getting back to anyone who has responded so far

 

[PinchFlat]

Unfortunately, a major obstacle might be my inability to read French, Belgian and Italian which in the end could mean that I might not be able to go through with this if it's necessary to read a lot of sources from these lands. I still have my hopes though, and I will look into the possibilities.

Don't be in such a hurry to graduate. When could you better learn those languages if not as a student - and how are you ever going to evolve your passion for cycling history if you don't? (no, I'm not being sarcastic)

 

[ksmith]

I would like to suggest you have a look at the book "The tour de France" by Christopher S. Thompson.

It's not a run down of GC winners, it deals with the tour from a historical and social perspective in France.

I hope you find it usefull, it's also a very good read.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I was thinking of something vaguely similar as a suggestion.

There was a book written by Judith Schueler, originally a PhD dissertation, called 'Materialising Identity' about how the Gotthard pass helped to forge a Swiss Identity by making previously difficult parts of the nation more accessible. I wonder if you could possibly take either the Giro or the Tour De France and examine a similar premise, unless of course this has already been done.

This sounds like a good idea. I will definitely look into that dissertation (if possible) and see if I can get any ideas. I think a good angle would be how cycling has helped creating identities in some way.

For instance, before the Tour de France, many people in France didn't know what the country looked like. As the Tour became increasingly popular, people would start reading about it in the papers - especially in L'Auto - and there would often be a route map. That way many people realized how France actually looked like by reading about the Tour.

rhubroma has a nice slant.

Maybe you could generalize it a bit. Cycling used to be really working class. Both the athletes and spectators. Now, especially in the US, it's really an upper middle class sport with gear which is really, really expensive. It would be something like a socio-economic history.

Or what others have said. How the Giro and the TdF have been used to create a national identity throughout their 100+ years of existence. Was there for instance a divergence in the 1920's and 1930s? When Italy drifted toward fascism while France had a string of socialist governments. Maybe it is reflected in cycling history as well? I don't know but it could be interesting to find out.

Alternatively, how these national events were handled after the war. That could be interesting as well.

I'm not really a history buff, so I don't know what would work and what wouldn't. The one thing I heard is that you should stay away from too recent stuff. Pre-war is probably ok, so is hopefully early post WWII. I wouldn't touch anything 1960s or later. Nothing of which your advisor might have a memory (so 1960s might actually be ok after all).

And from an academic point of view, the topic definitely has merit if you approach it well. I disagree with Terminator.

I'll remember that
Although it might be hard to completely steer away from recent stuff, most of the historical impact is to be found many years ago anyway, so I don't think it will be a "problem"

It might be interesting to explore whether cycling can be classified into different "eras" and discuss the social, economic, sporting, and political characteristics of each era. The academic portion might consist of identifying the forces that drove cycling from one era to the next.

For example, what impact did live television have on cycling? Was there a subsequent increase in rider salary? Did it change the way riders raced (tactics, average speed, etc)? Did it change the types and lengths of courses that organizers created? Did the riders themselves start to come from a different socioeconomic background?

Another example: if there is a clearly defined pre and post WW II era, what caused that shift? Does it align well with redevelopment efforts - i.e., better roads?

John Swanson

Thanks for your suggestions.
One thing though, since this is a history assignment and not a cycling assignment, the focus should be on what impact cycling has had on history - not the other way around if you know what I mean I can't really focus on what impact live television had on cycling as that would change the focus to the evolution of cycling.

The different eras, however, might be worth looking into as a way of understanding changes in society.

Perhaps another idea worth considering would be to track how the rationality of what it means to be a cyclist has changed in the Tour De France from inception to present day. Initially, and I may be wrong about this, much if not all of the bike repair was done by cyclists themselves, and cyclists were largely autonomous/independent (I think). And yet in modern day the cyclists at any Grand Tour are enveloped within teams where race directors dictate tactics, teams largely work for one or two riders within a team, and the requirement to be largely self-sufficient is pretty much gone from the sport.

I suppose the questions of when did the shift occur, from a sport of independence/self-sufficiency to a sport of team-based co-dependence occur and why, would be a few decent questions, if they have not already been explored somewhere else.

Good idea - but once again, it will probably be too focused on cycling - and not on what impact cycling has had on history. It sounds like it would be very interesting, but I just don't think I'll be able to pull it off in a history thesis

A specific subject could be Bartali's 48 victory and how it (allegedly) prevented a civil war after the killing of the leader of the Italian communist party (iirc). Maybe the political influence on the italian team decisions in the pre wwii period.

For inspiration regarding an academic approach to cycling you could check out "The Tour de France 1903-2003, A Century of Sporting Structures, Meanings and Values", edited by Hugh Dauncey and Geoff Hare.

I do think that cycling's influence on social and historical changes in Italy is a very nice angle to start with. There seem to be a lot of interesting stuff to be explored in this era.

Thanks for suggesting the book - I'll definitely read it sometime soon!

Another approach would be the changing of the sport when the Cold War ended. How riders such as Olaf Ludwig, Dimitri Konyshev, Uwe Ampler, etc. who had previously been relegated to rides like the Peace Race, finally got an opportunity to race in races like the Tour. And how races like the Tour of Poland, and many other riders from "Eastern Bloc" countries grew.

I also like John's approach - regarding changes in the last 30 years or so with television, and now the web, and how contracts went from cyclists hardly making any money at all as working class athletes, to now often making millions. And how the social status from that has changed.

Another approach may be the changes from the very old days when cyclists did all their own repairs and rode over mostly cobbled roads and dirt mountain passes and WW1.

I haven't really thought of eastern european cycling - there might be a lot of interesting stuff to be found out there. Once again, though, it would be a lot better if for instance cycling had helped creating a national identity after the cold war instead of focusing on the opportunity for riders after the cold war ended. I don't really think it would work in a history dessertation. Thanks for suggesting something else though