La_Di_Da

Lydialiu, I've only looked at a profile or two on Researchgate, so I'm ignorant of the extent to which it is used for social networking, but I really like academia.edu. There is an area for posting questions at academia.edu as well, but it's not quite the same as having a forum. Wish there were an all-inclusive site. BTW, I don't recall, did you decide to accept Northwestern's offer?

I sent my first POI query letter in the spring of my intended application year/cycle. I didn't end up applying that year, but I maintained intermittent correspondence with POIs at each program of interest. I realize it is late summer already, but, in my opinion, earlier is better; gives you a chance to establish a rapport and possibly eliminate a program or two based on an underlying misalignment of interests or lack of support. I think it is important that prospective grad students give themselves the requisite time to suss out program compatibility and establish contacts when and where possible. That said, I'm sure you're in fine shape. Best of luck to you!

Check out Northwestern, just in case. I think there are a few faculty and several students focusing on East Asia.

To the above response I'd add that Radcliffe-Brown departed from an historical/ethnological social science tradition, in which anthropologists merely reported on or superficially described cultures, and thus intitated an interpretive analytical turn. Though he is not known for ethnographic fieldwork, RB began to interpret ethnological data. He segmented human culture into constituent parts and interpreted how these structures worked together to create integrated sociocultural systems. He was one of the first anthropologists to examine how these 'structures', such as kinship, functioned with and in response to one another (as well as in addition to other external conditions) to generate a bounded cultural identity or unified practice. Like Malinowski, he was very focused on function -- how behaviors and sociocultural structures functioned strategically to generate particular outcomes or responses. He is also known for cross-cultural comparative anthro; still, more interested in utilizing interpretive methods for analyzing current cultural practices than relying on historical description, which a lot of armchair anthropologists were inclined to do. I'm sure there are others on this board, more current in their anthro studies, who will be able to assist you further with your question. It's been some years since I completed my anthro major, but I did go through a big Malinowski phase as an undergrad, and he and Radcliffe-Brown are the founders of British social anthropology. Unfortunately, my knowledge of RB is informed mostly by way of Malinowski and partly by what I recall from a requisite History of Anthropological Thought course. Good luck!

My stepmother did a lot of ethnographic research as a corporate anthropologist. There is little difference between her work and market research, really. In your SOP, I would emphasize the similarities between market research and ethnographic research. Explain how the knowledge and skills you acquired as a marketing student are easily transferrable to anthropological scholarship. I second socanth's comment. Working as a baker would support your anthropological turn, especially given your research interests. You may even wish to qualify it as fieldwork. Are you taking ethnographic notes?

Regarding finding a program of interest, the ASA publishes the Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology. In addition to perusing the guide, I found a combination of a literature search, which included both books and papers relevant to my topics of interest (this helped me identify POIs as well as schools), and a general internet search particularly helpful. Once I identified potential programs, I visited each department's web page and began reading about each faculty member's area of interest and expertise, which helped me to further refine my options. I also acquainted myself with the research of the faculty I was interested in working with. This helped me get a better feel for potential fit. As for the ADD, or any other extenuating circumstance that may have contributed to low scores or education breaks, some applications will provide a text field wherein you may enter that information; some will request that you upload a brief summary of the incident/situation; and others will advise you to briefly address it in your SOP. Regardless of where in your application you disclose this information, if ADD negatively affected your undergraduate performance, and you're going to highlight it as the primary cause, then I would suggest that you also disclose what measures you have taken since then to ensure that the issue is resolved and will not impede future academic performance/scholarship. Personally, if the rest of your application is solid, I wouldn't write off any program. I say, shoot for the stars! If you're going to "go for it," then I think it's best to apply to and go where you really want to be, where you can see and imagine yourself doing your best work and becoming your best future self. Just my humble opinion.

Quickly, I want to echo Chuck's advice to postpone for a year. Based on a cursory review of your post, it appears to me that you may need some additional time to 1) request and secure LORs, which will require you to establish and/or re-establish connections with your undergraduate profs, and 2) research programs and their faculty to see which ones are a good fit. Determining which programs were not only of interest to me but to which I and my research were also of interest was crucial to my success. I took a year to research schools and establish contacts with faculty at programs that were prospectively a good fit. I likewise took that time to develop relationships, correspond, and visit upon request. Even with that preparation behind me, it took all of the fall term, September through December, to complete my application; much of that time was spent polishing my writing samples and statement of purpose. Making sure each piece of your application is as solid as you can make it can take time. Be good to yourself and the process by giving yourself the time you need to pull each piece together and make your complete application as stellar as possible. This way, if you incur some delays or resistance from profs along the way, or haven't found several schools to which you really want to apply or persons of interest with whom you'd LOVE to work, you'll have some latitude--some time to slog through and sort it all out. If you do still plan on applying in the fall, I strongly suggest contacting prospective POIs now and also securing those LORs. These efforts will produce tangible results. All my best!

Apart from the GRE, something else you should seriously consider is the fact that most sociology graduate programs will require you to take one or two (sometimes three) statistics courses. Many social science programs -- anthropology, sociology, and psychology included -- require stats. If you wish to avoid math altogether, and you cannot find a school where stats and the GRE are not required, you may want to consider a graduate program in the humanities, such as cultural studies. Wishing you all the best, both on the GRE and in your program search. Keep us posted on your progress.

Indeed, I do. And I'm sure Yale University is not the only one. From the Yale Sociology Dept. web page: "The doctoral program in sociology prepares students for careers in research and teaching. While most of our graduates teach in colleges and universities, others hold research appointments in government agencies, medical and mental health centers, consulting firms, or other non-profit or research settings." Have you researched prospective PhD programs? I'm sure you'll find several that support appointments outside of academia.

Tayo: Your stats are up to par, your background compatible, and yes, it would be best to retake the GRE, but other than that, as JMU noted, whether sociology is the right doctoral program for you will depend on your research interests. What are your research interests and what makes them particularly sociological? If your answers to this two-part question align with the discipline, I'd most certainly recommend pursuing it further.

I haven't been online to check listings in a while, but I imagine there will be a few 9/1 apartments listed in August. To be on the safe side, though, I would begin searching now for anything coming available September 1st and just have your friend tour any listings that interest you. That's how I found my August 1st lease. Cheers

Communicated in writing via email or an official award that you had to officially decline or accept? The latter, receipt of official award followed by an official decision, is legally binding and yields a paper trail (something one can present in a court of law). It is my understanding that the former, a conversational email, would not constitute a legally binding contract. Hence, specificity here is important. If they entered a legally binding contract with you, you can litigate.

Gilbertrollins has offered you some solid advice.

I'm not familiar with the film, so I read a review or two online. Apart from the metaphorical value of a politician, who is accustomed to being 'handled', getting lost in the woods, where he must rely on his own originality and wit, it seems to me that the most sociological component of the narrative concerns reputation/image making, maintenance and repair. Unless your paper must offer a sociological analysis of a film, I would consider writing instead something on the sociology of reputation-making and management. Regarding that subject, you might wish to look at some of Gary A. Fine's work (http://www.sociology.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/gary-alan-fine.html). There is a lot of literature on image repair in communications journals, too, some of it more sociological, which may be of value to your endeavor. As for the film, it's a satire, yes? So what is the message of that satire? Is it attempting to reveal the circus of political farce? What does the alteration between the protagonist's authentic 'mushrooming' self and his (assumably) disingenuous political performance convey to the audience? Is the film cautioning audiences to be politically circumspect? Is it humanizing politicians? Can film, even when a work of fiction, influence how we participate in politics, how we 'read', interact with and reproduce political dramas? What is it you want to examine by way of this film?

Confirmed that you would need to be a member of the ASA to join the section. However, you can read the AMSS mission statement and access all forum/newsletter archives at http://www.csun.edu/~hbsoc126/