Jump to content

jsolo25

Members
  • Posts

    13
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Location
    U.S.
  • Program
    History PhD

jsolo25's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

6

Reputation

  1. Thanks for the advice, everyone. It's a regional archive in a pretty underdeveloped part of Brazil and from what I can tell the technological capacities are limited. That being said, there's definitely a lot there (maybe too much), the bulk of which has been largely ignored by historians/researchers. I think I'm going to go for reading smaller amounts of material, not trying to look at everything and anything. In the future I'll have more time to explore the archive. It also seems like a good idea to get to know the archivists, which probably won't be a tough task considering how small the place is. They also said I probably would be able to take non-flash digital photos of certain (although not all) materials.
  2. I'm a first year PhD student (Latin American history) and so far so good... Yes, the coursework is challenging and keeping up with one's peers can be daunting but all in all, I've enjoyed it way more than what I was doing before. One thing is concerning me a little bit... I won a modest fellowship (internal school one) to go abroad this summer and do some archival research. Taking travel expenses into account, I have worked it out so that I'll have 11 days in the city where my archive of choice is located. Of the 11, 8 will be total research days... The archive, a small regional Brazilian one, is open 10 hours a day and I realistically expect to spend about 6-8 hours a day researching. I know this is all contingent on many factors, but for some of you more seasoned PhD students on here (especially those in international fields), does about 48-60 hours of total research seem sufficient to gather enough to write a reasonably good short paper to begin send to conferences? I have a fairly solid idea for the specific period/issue I'm interested in dealing with, and every exchange (via email) I have had with the staff at the archive has been highly positive (I don't really think they get too many international researchers). Still, am I deluding myself by thinking that I could get anything of true value in 8 days of dedicated work? thanks!
  3. Echoing the general sentiment here, I think a lot of the comments that have bothered me have been from people who think I'm getting paid to complete some sort of extended Bachelor's Degree. In this economy of course I am incredibly grateful to receive compensation for something I have such a passion for, but it's still a job, and just like it would be in any other job (probably more than most I have had) you have to earn you keep. Trying to convince my unemployed or sporadically employed friends that I didn't win the lottery has been a mostly fruitless endeavor. The other consistent annoyance has been the incredulous questioning about my academic interests: "Why are you doing Brazilian history? You're not Brazilian." The thing is, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't receive so many questions if I was going into fields like UK, Central/Eastern European or East Asian history despite having no familial ties to any of those regions... Look at me, already getting that Latin Americanist chip on my shoulder. People also can't understand why I am continuing to push myself so hard studying Portuguese after having done so much work with it in Undergrad and study abroad opportunities. It's incomprehensible to them that someone who can speak very fluently would need to dedicate so much time to improving. In my opinion, strengthening your use of a language is a lifelong process (1st languages included) and it's certainly a major component for us non-Americanists. Despite the somewhat off-putting questions I'm genuinely excited to start the program and be surrounded with people who push me to constantly improve and grow as a historian... really couldn't picture myself doing anything else.
  4. This is actually an interesting thread to me, because I find language acquisition to be such a loosely-defined thing among grad students in the humanities. I only have one outside of English that I can make a legitimate claim for--Portuguese. I have described myself as fluent before, maybe even on this site, but I'm probably really high proficient. After all, I began taking it in college. I put my all into learning it, studied in Brazil extensively, but I think true fluency is really a life-long thing, as in it's your first language or you've lived in a country for at least 5 years. I can understand a lot of Spanish, especially when I read it, but I would never tell anyone that it's one of my languages. Same for Italian. Even though I could, if absolutely necessary, get by in a conversation in either one. Not trying to be a wise-guy, just a little skeptical about all of the people on gradcafe who are fluent in 3 or 4 languages.
  5. jsolo25

    Language Exams

    Thank you for the responses, everyone. After looking at some sample Spanish exams on the Columbia/Harvard sites, I'm not really so concerned anymore. The texts seem like pretty straightforward secondary source material that I don't have a problem understanding. I know it will probably vary from department to department, but it seems like it's not nearly as daunting as I originally imagined. Still, I think it will be important for me to improve my Spanish as a Latin Americanist, even though I am not so interested in studying Spanish-speaking Latin America (and possibly French, for research purposes). I feel like every scholar purports to be "fluent" in everything, but, from personal experience, fluency is used as a stand-in for proficiency. I have even met linguistics PhD's whose speaking fluency in their language of focus is very debatable. I think my main goal will be to increase my exposure to other languages without pressuring myself to attain fluency.
  6. jsolo25

    Language Exams

    But if they say you can use a dictionary do you know if it's a bilingual one, typically, or one strictly in a given language?
  7. jsolo25

    Language Exams

    I am a Latin Americanist interested in researching Brazil. I was recently accepted to my top choice program, but, perhaps more than a little irrationally, I am becoming anxious about certain requirements. My Portuguese is not a problem--though not a native speaker, I am fluent due to intense coursework and study abroad experience. What worries me is that I probably have to pass a Spanish exam for my Latin American concentration during my first year. So does anyone have any experience with the language exams that they could share? When I read Spanish I can always get the gist, I know basic grammar, but the vocabulary is always a struggle. When they say you can use a dictionary do they mean a bilingual dictionary or an actual dictionary entirely in the language (Spanish)? Someone tell me I'm blowing this out of proportion.
  8. Just got the official NYU PhD acceptance!!!! So thrilled! After getting rejected at one of my top choices and an unfunded offer at another, this is a real dream come true (NYU was my preferred destination from the start).
  9. Yeah, It's a very bizarre notification system, the email came after the online posting for me.
  10. Damn, 2 weeks! NYU is really taking its sweet time in comparison to virtually every other school. Kind of ridiculous, a little annoyed with this whole PSW event... feeling a little fruitless.
  11. New member here... Anyone have any word on NYU decisions, when to expect them? This past weekend I attended Prospective Students Weekend, which was just as awkward and disconcerting as one would expect. Based on previous cycles, how long does it take them to send out the bulk of their decisions after hosting their Weekend?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use