KevinYoungX

MathCat - I've been doing a lot of research on graduate schools and have been talking about such with a lot of academics, yet never heard that. That's good advice - thanks!

Can't you just accept the first offer you get and then later turn it down if a better offer is later offered?

Right, but do they ever tend to be more conservative than other scholars? They will certainly be liberal - it's academia, after all. However, I have noticed that Jewish Studies scholars (at my university and at Israeli universities) tend to be pro-Zionist and interested in researching and combating radical ideologies like Islamic terrorism, while many scholars in the related discipline of Middle Eastern Studies tend to not be like that. Perhaps it is just isolated to my university or is more of an Israeli scholar phenomenon than a Jewish Studies scholar trend...

Tomasdavis - Have you decided where you're going yet?

I have noticed recently that most American universities apparently do not have Jewish Studies departments. I thought they all did, but apparently not... Then again, my university does not have a Department of Religious Studies, and I think most universities have that...

At my university, scholars in the Department of Jewish Studies tend to be waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more conservative than scholars in other Liberal Arts disciplines like Political Science, History, English, French, Arabic, and Literature. (And by conservative, I mean conservative for academia - so classical liberal, centre to centre-right, Zionist, anti-far left, anti-radical feminism, opposed to Edward Said, etc.) Is this how most Jewish Studies departments and scholars are? I wouldn't say the Jewish Studies scholars seem as right-wing as Economics or Business professors, but they are still pretty conservative compared to others in the Liberal Arts at my university. (I think this is a part of the reason I get along with some of them fairly well.) Or, is this an anomaly just limited to Jewish Studies scholars at my university? I did some research, and it appears that a lot of the professors at Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, and Bar Ilan University are more conservative (as in conservative for academia) than many other universities' professors. They tend to use more traditional scholars like Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis, for instance. Perhaps the pattern is one of Israeli professors, rather than Jewish Studies professors? Many of the Jewish Studies professors at my university are Israelis. I asked one of the Jewish Studies professors at my university about this and he said it is a very common pattern of Jewish Studies professors, but I wanted others' thoughts on it too. He also has a very, very conservative educational background, so I am wondering if that has affected his thinking on the matter. A big part of the reason I ask this is because I don't want to go off to graduate school thinking most of the Israeli/ Jewish Studies professors will typically be a certain way, if they are all completely different than the ones at my undergraduate institution. It's not that I have anything against liberal professors, but I just think it would be interesting to see if this is a pattern among Jewish Studies professors, or just an anomaly that is occurring where I study. Thanks for your thoughts and I can't wait to hear what you have to say - l'chaim!

Well, it looks like not too many people on these forums are going to Tulane in the fall... But I think you'll like Tulane! Of course I'm biased, since I already go there.

Thanks for the information, everyone. I have a question about getting external funding for a graduate degree. For instance, one of the Masters degrees I am most interested in is the Middle Eastern Studies Masters degree at Tel Aviv University. What kind of external funding (meaning funds that are not from the university) can I apply for to cover the program's Cost of Attendance? Does a university have to be partnered with FLAS in order for one to apply for FLAS or can accepted students of any graduate degree program apply for FLAS funding? What other kinds of external funding out there exists for graduate school? I know many of these questions seem pretty basic, but my university does not have a Middle Eastern Studies program and thus few people I can talk to about these sorts of things. My university has a very strong Jewish Studies program and I have been talking with them more, but they only know so much about Middle Eastern Studies in general (except for the one person in the department who studies Islamic philosophy).

Right, that's my point. There is definitely a decent bit of funding out there for interdisciplinary MAs, but not History MAs. For instance, you got two offers in fully-funded Latin American Studies MAs, but if you wanted to get two offers of fully-funded Latin American History MAs, that would typically be much more difficult to obtain.

My stats are sour, so I am considering getting a Masters degree before applying to PhD programs. I have noticed that there is a decent bit of funding for Middle Eastern Studies Masters degrees, but is there any way one could get a fully-funded Masters in Middle Eastern History (or Middle Eastern Studies)? I appreciate any and all help. Thanks for your time.

Stephanie - that seems like a neat idea and I do those sorts of things a lot. This past winter, I was chosen for a leadership trip to Israel and got to meet a bunch of those sorts of communities (Druze, Bedouin, Palestinian, etc.). It is quite different, however, because I am in the safe premises of a Western country. The only problem, however, is that learning about different cultures in Western countries (say the US, Israel, France, Turkey, and others) only provides one with a piece of the picture.

Hey -vive2ladifference, thanks for your suggestion. It is a good question. There are many ways to answer that question, but probably the main reason is that politicians are stupid and I do not want to get involved with those governmental loonies. Also - I simply like learning. To work for the government, you have to make yourself stupider everyday to fit in. And by the way - I never said being gay was a big obstacle to learning foreign languages. I don't know where you got that from. I did, however, say that being gay in the Middle East is an issue. Anyone who studies the Middle East knows that being gay is either illegal in all of those countries (except Israel & Turkey) or pretty close to it.

Stephanie, I appreciate your thoughts on my situation. The idea of Cultural Studies has been something that has only briefly crossed my mind. As for the white male & traveling issue: I do not mind being a minority. After all, I am a gay white guy studying in a majority heterosexual/normative African American city. Nevertheless sitting around and enjoying an Arab country and their amazing food (I really love their food) is not an option when those same people nearly all of the time (according to polling) think you should be killed or at least imprisoned. Thanks for your time.

Farsoodgee - I have to disagree with you there. Israel is 20% Arab and I will be studying Arabic at the best university in the Middle East. (Also, East Jerusalem is mostly Arab, although that should have no effect on the quality of the program). But if you really feel that way, could you try to give some suggestions for where in the Middle East a gay guy like myself should study Arabic?

To clarify: I will study abroad in Jerusalem, then visit Jordan, West Bank, and maybe Saudi Arabia or Egypt (while studying in Jerusalem).