The Centre for Macau Studies (CMS) will conduct the ” Intersecting Histories of the Greater Bay Area (1820-1940) Research Paper Workshop“, aims to provide a platform to aid graduate students in choosing a research topic, with the following results:

  • write an original research paper
  • make the paper presentable at our annual conference
  • aid students in revising the paper for publication

Our Team: Agnes Lam, Paul Van Dyke, Sheyla Zandonai, Dennis Tam

Workshop Schedule

Day 1: Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 14:00 to 17:00

14:00 Introduction

  • Welcoming Ceremony: Agnes Lam, Dennis Tam
  • Introduction to Intersecting Histories: Paul Van Dyke
  • Objective of the Workshop with Q&A: Sheyla Zandonai

15:00-15:15 Refreshments

15:15-17:00 Getting Started: Choosing Your Research Topic

  • Determining the potential of a topic
  • Finding potential sources
  • Assembling and organizing data
  • Structure and conceptualizing the research
  • Choosing the right methodology

Goal of Day 1: All students have one or more potential topics to explore over the next two weeks

Day 2: Wednesday, 28 January 2026, 14:00 to 17:00

Topic Presentations (15-20 minutes per student) and Examining its Potential

  • Discuss the procedures you went through over the past two weeks and your findings
  • Group Discussion: Examining your topic with our team (Agnes Lam, Paul Van Dyke, Sheyla Zandonai, Dennis Tam)
  • Determining the topic’s potential: is it worthwhile doing?
  • Exploring the secondary sources: has it already been done?
  • Exploring the primary sources: are there enough data?
  • What methodology might work best?

Goal of Day 2: All students have a path forward

Day 3: Wednesday, 11 February 2026, 14:00 to 17:00

Data Presentations (15-20 minutes per student)

  • Discuss what you have learned about your topic over the past two weeks. What are its strong points and weak points?
  • Group Discussion: Examining your data with our team (Agnes Lam, Paul Van Dyke, Sheyla Zandonai, Dennis Tam)
  • How to move the project forward?
  • Is the methodology a good match with the topic?
  • What is needed to make the paper presentable at a conference?
  • What is needed to make the paper publishable?

Goal of Day 3: All students have a topic that has potential for our conference in May.

Historic Document Database