How University Students Write Graduation Theses

Author: (Italian) Umberto Eco
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-04-01
Features: Umberto Eco (1932-) is one of the most internationally renowned contemporary writers in Italy, hailed as the "Dante of the 20th century." A distinguished international critic, essayist, writer, and semiotician, he is a cultural giant and a towering figure in academia. Umberto Eco's How to Write a Thesis (Comesifaunatesidilaurea) is a classic work in a similar genre. It not only systematically analyzes methods of thesis writing but also profoundly reveals the nature and innovative characteristics of theses from a high intellectual perspective. Coupled with the author's encyclopedic knowledge and eloquent writing style, the book has become the benchmark for thesis writing in universities. Since its publication in 1977, it has been revised and reprinted 30 times. In Italy, its total sales are approximately 350,000 copies, with global sales exceeding 2 million copies. The book has been translated into 17 languages: English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Danish, Hungarian, Czech, Romanian, Albanian, Finnish, Bulgarian, Greek, Slovenian, Norwegian, and now Chinese, making it 18 languages in total. The author offers insightful advice on how to choose a thesis topic and also lists several things to avoid when writing a thesis. The book presents several principles and suggestions for supervisors guiding students in writing thesis papers. First, the topic must respect the student's interests; second, the required materials must be accessible, meaning they are within the student's reach; third, the required materials must be manageable, i.e., within the student's knowledge range; fourth, the research methods must align with the student's experience. These principles are well-articulated and entirely consistent with the fundamental advice I give to undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students in my classes. Although the book appears to discuss thesis writing methods and principles, its content seems to extend beyond that. The author points out that a good thesis must say something new, meaning that the principle of innovation is the highest standard. Additionally, for undergraduate students writing thesis papers, the most important thing is to develop their own innovative academic perspectives, which cannot be resolved by regulations alone. Whether they can write such innovative theses depends on the student's diligence, talent, and wisdom. Ultimately, whether they can propose new research perspectives and expand new research horizons during thesis writing depends on the author's insight and ability to grasp the thesis's objectives, which also involves luck.
Author Bio: Umberto Eco (1932-) is one of the most internationally renowned contemporary writers in Italy, hailed as the "Dante of the 20th century." A distinguished international critic, essayist, writer, and semiotician, he is a cultural giant and a towering figure in academia. Academic Honors: Graduated from the University of Turin with a degree in philosophy in 1954, became a lecturer in aesthetics in 1961, a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna in 1975, an honorary doctorate from the University of Cádiz in 1985, an honorary doctorate from the University of Aarhus in Denmark in 1986, an honorary doctorate from Loyola University Chicago in 1987, an honorary doctorate from Brown University in 1988, an honorary doctorate from the University of Liège in 1989, an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris in 1989, an honorary doctorate from Sofia University in 1990, an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow in 1990, an honorary doctorate from Kent University in 1992, an honorary doctorate from Indiana University in 1993, an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires in 1994, an honorary doctorate from Laurentian University in 1995, an honorary doctorate from Laurentian University in 1996, an honorary doctorate from the University of Constanta and Ovidius in 1996, an honorary doctorate from Santa Clara University in California in 1996, an honorary doctorate from Tartu University in 1996, an honorary doctorate from Grenoble University in 1997, an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University in 1998, an honorary doctorate from Queen's University in 2000, an honorary doctorate from Open University in 2001, an honorary doctorate from Rosario University in 2002, an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002, an honorary doctorate from Siena University in 2002. Member of the editorial boards of Semiotica, Poetics Today, Degrs, Structuralist Review, Text, Communication, Problemi dell'informazione, Word & Image, and other journals.