Date of Award
1975
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Graduate Group
History
First Advisor
Martin Wolfe
Second Advisor
Lee Vincent Cassanelli
Abstract
In a dissertation, or any research subject for that matter, there are generally both narrow and broader queries that can be pursued on a given theme. The narrow theme in this case concerns the "motives for French railroad-building in Senegal." Unfortunately, despite prolonged searches through archival sources available in Senegal, it soon became obvious that there were simply too many missing particulars to be able to complete this story well. Even while searching out the missing information gaps for the narrow theme, however, it also proved possible to gather abundant material for the broader theme of the social impact of the railroad in Senegal, on trade patterns, on labor, and on land— sufficient material at the end of a two-year sojourn in Senegal to write a dissertation regardless of the missing gaps in the narrow theme.
Recommended Citation
PHEFFER, PAUL EDWARD, "Railroads and Aspects of Social Change in Senegal, 1878-1933" (1975). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2135.
https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2135
Included in
African History Commons, European History Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Social History Commons