m-ttl

Agreed, re: their (her?) problems. I won't say which blog I run, but I've certainly had her stepping on my specialties before. It's great to bridge the gaps between academia and everyone else. It's not so great to disregard important scholarships and findings for the sake of doing so, however. (They use a lot of fantastic sources, for which I applaud them. And they're right about Greeks in history often being black, but saying the Ptolomies were black simply because the statues were done in a traditional Egyptian manner...well, most foreign /conquering rulers had themselves depicted like the people they were ruling. That's hardly a solid historic argument.) I dislike that they act like they are Art Historians when they aren't. But that aside, they do have a point in the purpose of their blog, displaying images with people of color in them from places that are thought of as "only/entirely white". The universality problem is one of the biggest ones I, and others run into. It's as simple as telling someone that, in the field, you simply don't exist, didn't contribute, aren't there to be seen -- and if you are, it's unusual. This is a field who is entrentched quite heavily in Western Europe, and for many people, Western Europe simply means "white". Working around that, or fleshing out the parts of our visual history that have been erased because of it, is difficult. Ultimately, people who talk about the universality of a work, but only apply "universal" to very *specific* subjects and as a contemporary descriptor tend to cause me to eyeroll.

I thought they meant the mixed drink for several seconds. Oops. Also, wheee my NU app finally reads as "complete" in nice purple letters.

The thing about microaggressions is they happen in a variety of ways, usually never intentionally harmful, and yet -- well, intent doesn't quite matter. And telling people why they're being offensive often doesn't amount to anything but defensiveness, so I weigh my options carefully before I tell them so. The thing about micro-aggressions is they are not always so direct as harassment. Before I got to UG, I had quite a few "friends" insinuate I was only getting into good schools because I was a minority, because Affirmative Action would give me anything I wanted. In art history, I think the clearest microaggressions are the lack of diversity. I had one guest speaker explain they refused to show a famous contemporary artist because the paintings had beads and feathers (being "too Indian") and thus didn't have a universal quality they wanted. Now I don't know about you, but I have say (for example), nothing in common with Andy Warhol and his prints of Marilyn Monroe -- "universal quality" generally means white. In this instance, my fellow classmate who is from the rez was more upset on a personal level than I was, but we commiserated afterwards. And while no art historian, I'd put forth http://medievalpoc.tumblr.com/ as a shining example of bringing attention to the lack and the arguments flaunted in return out of defensiveness. Hm. Off the top of my head: I get a lot of comments arguing my ethnicity if it gets brought up, my "mixed" qualities, the only class which covers my race (in America) in art history....doesn't count for a Diversity in the US credit. I had to take a history class on my heritage to get the same effect. I have had museum folks try to act condescending when I explained I don't speak Spanish, when it's a heritage language -- to which I have cheerfully replied: "My grandparents were beaten in school when they spoke Spanish, so they emphasized learning English to my mother, and in turn, to me." That usually gets people to stop being so confrontational about it. Trying to stop such comments would be pushing a rock upslope. There's no place in America where I'll avoid all of them (I'm Mexican-American, the very term illegals or aliens is an aggression, there's a wide variety of constant political streams which dehumanize and demean us), but in lieu of avoidance, you look for shared community that will validate the issues you face.

That would honestly make me the most wary -- even if they fix the problem, it's obvious this particular person (and maybe others) care more about reputation than the welfare of the people in the department.

I don't know if it affects it, but I wanted to save myself the trouble of getting my hopes up if schools weren't going to fund me at all, but still accepted me. I'd rather get rejected and pretend it was because of finances. I'd love to get in to schools and not have to worry about it, but at the end of the day, I'm still poor as dirt. I can really hope they'll accept me and give me enough money.

....Because I'm poor?? For other people, it might be a GREAT idea. I know MAPH is heavily beneficial and would be academically rigorous. That doesn't mean taking on that debt is always a wise choice for everyone. You can't divorce money from the point for someone who lives on the poverty line. I cannot, in any reasonable, sensible state of mind attend a program which does not fund me. Why? Because my mother struggles, because I work two jobs and still can't afford my undergraduate degree so I have (gov't) loans in which to feed, clothe, and educate myself. I am not begrudging other people who have money, I am just being cognizant of the fact that I cannot continue to fund myself in that way (with loans, etc). Two years for a MA, say at about $30,000 a year (never mind living expenses, what have you) would put me over $100,000 in student loans debt. I'm passionate about what I do and want to go to graduate school, but I'm not insane. If it doesn't work out, I could maybe try again in a year (if I manage to find a new job, my current ones are student only) or two, but if a second round doesn't cut it, I can't keep trying. But I am not every single person, which is why I said: I'm not really sure what your issue is here? If people can make that financial choice - if they have the money available to do pay for it, what do I care? That's fantastic! An MA with a re-eval into the PhD program sounds like a great opportunity if it's financially feasible for the person who got in! If I got offered that and thought I could: 1.) fund myself 2.) they'd fund me or 3.) I could handle more loans, I would be pretty enthused. However, my EFC for last year was something like $36, which meant the government thought my mom could maybe scrounge up $40 for me to go to school with. This is perhaps why I'm more stingy than other folks might be. It's also why I clarified. I'm sure there are lots of successes to be had for students who pay their way through an MA, who have the money, or borrow the money, or whatever. This is great for them, and if that's the opportunity you get, and you can take it, it's awesome. I do not wish to take away from this success. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people, so every "unfunded MA" program is stamped with a cautionary: "Academic Success doesn't matter if you're drowning in debt for the rest of your life." Money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure as hell buys food, shelter, doctor's visits, clothes, and security. My perspective is vastly different from most of the fellow art historians I've met, and I'd wager, a good chunk of people on this thread. When your family offers to pay the fee to apply to your top choice, and you consider telling them they shouldn't because you know that $80 could be your brother's school lunches, supplies, snacks, or christmas present, you start to think about paying for things on your own a little differently. At any rate, when schools had the option to say "Please don't accept me if you can't fund me" I checked that box. An acceptance without funding is a rejection for me.

It also depends on nationality. As far as I'm aware (from what friends abroad have told me) in Europe, a CV is an American Resume (1-2 pages), whereas here (in the US), a CV is as long as it needs to be, accounting for those who list 3-6 pages. My resume is far more concise, and can be a single page. My UG department holds seminars on preparing CVs vs resumes and I've had to turn mine in for grades before. So at any rate, I don't think mine deviates from the norm. Plus I didn't really need to list "skills".

I've had three separate dreams -- two acceptances to my top PhD programs, and 1 rejection to an MA (for, in dream, absurd reasons that made absolutely no sense). Of course, I haven't heard anything yet, either...

I would certainly wait to hear if the MA admit has funding, etc. Personally if I got accepted into a UChi MAPH-like MA I would have to pass on it, no matter how rigorous the coursework was. That said, if you potentially have funding for the MA or think the reevaluation in two years is financially worth it, I would go for it! ...Anyone else keep having Acceptance/Rejection dreams? Not sure if they're prophetic or not.

To be sure, I have noticed the gender balance is, I think, comparatively much better (even just examining the forum's conduct/reactions). But that certainly doesn't say, alleviate concerns of general bullying or unprofessionalism. It also doesn't address other concerns some of us might have -- sure, the old boy's club might not be as wide spread anymore, but does that fix other micro-aggressions? I've rarely faced sexist comments (and never harassment) in my undergraduate art history classes. But micro-aggressions about race? Well, that's another story entirely. It doesn't come from Professors, as often as it comes from fellow students and "guest speakers", etc. I don't honestly believe I would find a place free of such behavior, but I would like to think I could find a department or school which would have support for me when it does happen. Being a person of color, or someone who is LGBTQ also comes with its own concerns to navigate. I wish it was as easy as "Well there is less sexism in our field." That wouldn't preclude instances of harassment, assault, micro-aggressions, etc. It seems like general questions can be asked in interviews: Do you feel students and faculty are comfortable with the environment of the department? How do you feel the general attitude of the department comes off? (Driven? Competitive? Cooperative? etc) Are there resources available to meet the needs of students? What sort of association do they have? Is it school-wide? Departmental? What is the composition of the student body like? But other, more in-depth questions might be better directed at students, and searched for on websites: Do you feel safe in your department? What kinds of Graduate student associations/unions are there? (E.G.: Black Graduate association, Latino, AAPI, LGBTQ graduate association, etc) Are they active? What purposes do they serve? Would people in those orgs (if you ask) state they feel safe on campus? Not just like there is an active community, but safe, unafraid, not harassed. Is there support (or at the very least, community) when you encounter discrimination or aggressions? Safe spaces/places? These were all things I was very concerned about when I initially applied to undergraduate schools. Graduate school feels like it should be no different, in that respect.

Besides, I would assume they'd be more likely to just remove someone off the waitlist rather than outright accept them at all...

I had a no fluff approach, but if I did extensive research projects or something similar (e.g. wrote the labels for an exhibition, researched a collection and my findings were added to their research library, etc) then I put those in. I would've had a much longer CV had I explained everything I've done. Not sure it helped or hurt yet.

I'd like to pose the question, now that interviews and acceptances (and rejections) will be piling up for folks in Art History. Having seen the news from UC Boulder's Philosophy department: I was both shocked and concerned. [You can read the news here, and the full report here.] In the Philosophy sub-forums, no one seemed to have any idea things were that bad, and applied anyways. Certainly student's professors didn't know and ward them off from applying. So: how do we best get the pulse of such environments that we're going to be putting ourselves into for 2-6+ years? Have your professors warded you off from particular departments? I know one of my professors dealt with a lot of sexism at her PhD university (This would have been, I think, near the boon of feminist Art History in the 70's) but the people who taught her are long gone from what I understand, so obviously things change as people retire or die or are simply replaced. Are you asking about the quality of departmental relations in interviews, or contacting current students? What's the best way to find this out, or bring it up?

....believe me, anyone having to deal with parents who are like that don't understand why either. :/

Go look at CAA, which would list AA/AM degrees: http://www.collegeart.org/directories I searched "Arts Administration". You're more likely to find what you want by comparing these profiles, and there's a possibility the CAA guide would be in your local library. You can also order just the AM programs for only $18.

I wish that made me feel better. But I did reserve a room for my BGC interview I can use which will hopefully go well.

Three pages, 12 pt Times New Roman. I was warned anything smaller than 12 pt would be difficult to read for older adcom folks. Everyone I spoke to stressed readability of font size. And art historians are a stickler for visual details. My professors gave me a lot of "Not to much negative space! Use Times New Roman! Let the words breathe. Be concise and professional. It should look good." Haha.

Thanks! Let me know what they respond w/ in the email, if you don't mind! It can be by PM. ((ETA: Well on the bright side, we're not competing for the same spots at NU anyways ))

I was trying to be vague but yeah. I actually emailed at the BEGINNING of Jan to correct the TOEFL issues and they fixed it for me manually after I confirmed I was a native english speaker/US citizen who had the misfortune of being born abroad... But the app still reads "incomplete" despite EVERYTHING being in. I'm pretty sure I'll be rejected at this point. It was sort of a crap shot to begin with, I hadn't intended to apply to 7 schools, much less NU, but met a PhD student who convinced me to apply last minute. It's a good fit (GREAT fit who am I kidding) for what I want, but... No request for an interview! I didn't even know they did them. I emailed my POI a while back (dec.) and got a response; but still feel like I'm waiting on a rejection right off the bat. PhD student had a ton of faith in me buuuut... students sadly, aren't on the adcom. Too bad! I guess this means I have to put 150% into my BGC interview upcoming!! I really want to get in there, and loved the city when I visited. Let me know if you're feeling brave enough to email Mr. Fidler and ask why the applications don't read "in review" or w/e. I feel like I've A.) already emailed a few times over the TOEFL and B.) like it means I got cut or never reviewed. The only thing that's made me feel better about it today is a curator/previous supervisor emailed me asking if I wanted to help research for an upcoming exhibition. It's not in my area of focus at all, but it'll be a great opportunity and she's been so wonderful with me. Plus I'll be working with a sub-interest (a lot of print related things for me this year, by no purposeful plans of my own). waiting for this to happen, basically.

We've also had that OSU admit go up and U Wisc-Mad, and *another* NU interview. Someone should be claiming these!

Mentions here & among other places of top candidates being contacted, people receiving interviews at places I didn't think interviewed at all (interviews weren't mentioned in other cycles)... one school has decisions dropping in early feb, and never changed my application to read as "complete" (it's a manual change, everything is actually IN. They fixed my TOEFL issue I mentioned earlier in the thread, but still haven't marked me as complete) and I'm suspecting at this point they've rejected me and decided not to bother marking my application as complete or under review. I'm almost tempted to just email them outright and ask if my application was reviewed at all. :/ I paid an exorbitant amount of money for that fee. It's certainly pessimistic of me, but at the same time, what gives?

yeah the wait is killerrrr. there are a few places i already suspect have rejected me :/ congrats to borden though!

I feel like with February happening everything is going to really kick into high gear and it's making me nervous. :/ I didn't even apply to Princeton and I feel anxious about it!

Ahhh, that makes sense. AFAIK my friend said he got accepted as late as the 14th (we were discussing how it feels to wait) so I suppose they must do "waves" of acceptances + rejections. I find it curious that a lot of schools do this in Grad admissions: not rejecting everyone at once or not accepting them all at once seems weird! I guess they're trying to gauge the responses of students in rounds? But with students schools know they're going to reject, the sooner I hear back imo, the better. :/ Good luck with your top choice!

Already figured it out? What made you lose confidence? I know someone who got accepted to NU on valentine's. I think I have 2-3 schools who give Feb. acceptances so I'm being driven nutty waiting. Luckily (or unluckily) even if I got a Valentine's rejection, I'll be at my Museum's seasonal exhibitions opening party, and it's a friday so after work is over I can go out for drinks.