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betsy303

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Everything posted by betsy303

  1. This is so beautifully stated. I'd love to talk more about ways we can promote the value of the humanities. I think part of the problem with Wisconsin is the rural/urban divide. I think some local communities feel that institutions are too esoteric/separated/hoity-toity for them. This applies to all places.
  2. But even if a prof leaves, can't you still have them on a committee?
  3. Can someone please comment on this UW-Madison business? I am quite curious now, actually. My dear friend who is working on his/her PhD there recently affirmed to me that the stipend is ~20,000, 5 years, and includes "outstanding" health insurance for a "small" fee. Granted, this is not as high as other institutions, but the cost of living there seems low. Also, I thought the point of grad school was to break even, not spur a profit for yourself. I guess = I'm just confused. That doesn't exactly scream a department in collapse. I don't know if news articles are the most accurate source for information....
  4. Where did this information come from? I'm not saying anything other than that seem to have a good program. I don't attend the university so I don't know. Unless yu attend it, I'm not sure if you should say such harsh things about a program. They did recently, it seems hire a few new faculty members, all of whom have books coming out this year.
  5. I was quite curious and went through the CAA funding stipend booklet. The fellowships at UW Madison seem to be at ~$20,000 a year. The health benefits seem really great too. Cosnidering the low cost of living, I don't get the hullabaloo. If you think a program is a good match, you might as well apply and not worry about funding until your offers roll in.
  6. Key term here is "provided that the community college program is as rigorous." It really depends upon the program. At mine, if you had 3 years (6 semesters) of a language at a university and/or college with a grade of B+ or higher, it counted. Others, I don't think are as generous....
  7. Languages are a vital part of research. However, I think this is something you may want to ask your academic advisors or potential graduate programs about. I came in with all my languages done, which was quite a nice feeling! But, your time could also be spent on really sharpening up your application materials. I can say that I was one of a few who had both languages taken care of. Most only have/had 1.Another option that might be better for you is applying to MA programs. Most of the "top 10" really want you to have a MA (if going to one of those is indeed your goal) and the language background. Most of the next 10-30 schools often are in that tier because of a strain of financial resources. Hence, language study will make your time at the program potentially longer.....use up more funding...etc. On a second thought, I don't think 1 summer term of language is enough to get your research really going (again, this depends upon your area). I think most people begin to feel confident with 2-3 years of study. I think a MA program might be your best bet.
  8. I have some colleagues who claim that its not great, but its not terrible either. I think its fair to say most humanities disciplines are facing a funding crisis nowadays. The cool thing about UW-Madsion-- they have mega English, history, sociology, and environmental history departments. Those departments appear to have many opportunities for funding and have some very famous faculty members.
  9. I would say as specific as you can be while also appreciating the natural changes/flexiblity/turns of the research process?
  10. You may want to think of Wisconsin. They have both Tom Dale and Shira Brisman (who has a new book coming out in a month or so). Grad Center is largely 20th cent and contemperary - FYI.
  11. Upon perusing the profiles of current students (albeit briefly), you don't see many coming from state colleges or other local institutions, especially ones without MAs.
  12. Wisconsin (along with Minnesota, I bleievE) have really outstanding Asian studies programs. Don't just look at the art history department, but look at other related disciplines that you might want to take coursework in as well. So many historians!
  13. Besides for Asian, Minnesota strictly speaking in terms of art history is a probably a middle of the line road program. However, I think this has alot to do with older folks retiring off and having a newer group of young scholars. Hence, it may be in a transitionary period, with potential to grow. I think of it kind of like Wisconsin or Chapel Hill. Something that I really want to HIGHLIGHT is a place like Minnesota or Wisconsin or even Irvine have very good English departments and outstanding history departments. People in these related departments are potential dissertation committee members as well. Something to think of.....
  14. I think this is largely true, with a big HOWEVER. There are many examples of placements from other types of institutions - an Irvine hire at Notre Dame, Wisconsin at Oberlin, and an OSU at Cornell. There are many successful folks from Bryn Mawr (despite an albeit small program and not many other PhD granting disciplines).
  15. You gotta go with what your gut tells you to do. Different folks will always give you different advice. All I can say is your mentor will be your lifeline and you will be working with him/her/them for a very long period of time (and potentially for most of your academic career as well). Hence, its vital you can work well with the person and feel comfortable. I would put that at the highest priority. There are ways around the prestige of the 10 school as well you should be aware of. I.) There are sub-specialities. II.) You should aim to have a dissertation committee that is interdisciplinary. While the art history faculty member in your field may be mediocre or good, the history dept. or English dept. might have someone extremely well-regarded and wonderful. III.) Not everyone wants to work at a top tier university or art museum. Some really enter a PhD with the goal of working at a community college, liberal arts college, or other local public institution. Those aren't things to be ashamed of either and can be quite rewarding careers. Long story short, your success will depend upon not what the "best school is" but rather the "best school for you."
  16. I would second the above. Faculty have diverse and changing interests. I would say it has more to do with your sub-speciality. In my area of 19th century French painting, I could give you more specifics on the individual scholars at particular institutions. I think there are however programs that are theory driven (Irvine, Rochester, etc). I personally like being in a department with a diversity of methodologies. I also like being at an institution with faculty in related fields who are strong (history, English, French, etc). I would pay more attention to whom you would like to see on your dissertation committee above other aspects.
  17. This is an interesting question. I think the only way to really get a feel for a scholar's method is to read a lot of his/her/their work. Some really broad scopes include biography, connesuriship, social art history/cultural and historical context driven, iconography, and theory. Art history by Hatt and Klonk might help clarify the differences to you, if you are intrigued. Many of these methods overlap (and most good scholars depend upon a variety of the above as well). I will say, there are some folks out there who do prefer certain methods. For example, I was an idiot and applied to work with a hard core social art historian who is pretty anti-theory and mostly historically driven. I am more interested in theory. I think in general most departments like to have a rooted method/core belief despite a diverse area of research interests. For example, a program like Rochester, Wisconsin, Bryn Mawyr, or Princeton tend to be driven by theory and psychoanalysis. Other programs such as Northwestern and Chapel Hill tend to be more included to use historical context.
  18. I think it might be somewhere implied on their website that they typically expect a 167 or so on the verbal GRE. I think most of their folks tend to be older with MAs (probably perusing the current grad profiles will help). Many seem to have gone to Williams and old BAs for Ivy or Ivy-esque institutions. Many will continue to disagree with me on here and thats totally fine. All I can urge you to do is to find an advisor who thematically engages with your work in an interesting work above the name of the institution. A few very eminent 4 year colleges recently completed tenure track job searches with folks from UW-Madison, Kansas, BU, and Missouri. Just focus on finding an adviser who will challenge you.
  19. I think Brown depends who your advisor will be. Its definitely not what it once was (their department has significantly shrunk in size), but I know of many folks who went there to study photography and are quite successful. If it were me, I' would probably take Brown and be done. Going for the MA would mean you have to apply again for your PhD in a few years.
  20. I personally wouldn't pay for a MA degree unless I have a lot of cash. I would say this - regardless of the MA program or PhD program, I wouldn't apply with expectation of getting a phenomenal funding offer. For example, not everyone at Williams gets full tuition remission, stipend, etc. At most places, bartering, negotiating, etc occurs. There are a few MA programs out there that do garuntee tuition remission and stipends (I think Amherst and Tulane) but you may still need to dig into your pocket to cover further living costs. Again there are a whole trough of programs that do occasionally/frequently give funding Williams, SMU, Wisconsin, Chapel Hill, etc. But I wouldn't expect a funding package during the application process.
  21. Forgot about that as well. Again, this is so field specific. Northwestern seems to be beefing up some of their Middle Ages era and 20th cent/contemporary areas as well while also phasing out the 19t cent folks. But I think it goes for most of programs that were listed above. Regardless the name of the school, if there aren't a few faculty members with a solid base knowledge in your area (or close to it along with your methodology), I would look elsewhere.
  22. This is so true. Also I'd add that CUNY and Stanford have excellent 20th cent programs. I'm not sure if I would go to either/or for anything else.
  23. Totally agree with this. Though I think there are some clues that I found when checking out my advisors. For example, the acknowledgments sections in their past books and even their Facebook pages (fine, its creepy, but we all look things up). I was pleasantly surprised after my first semester to realize how well connected my advisors are (giving talks and having actually received job offers from "top 10" places that were later turned down for personal reasons).
  24. Coming from me (and I'm quite opposed to the ranking business, and picking programs that are good fits for you), I think I'd probably look elsewhere. Ranking wise, they ar probably comparable. I'd say a program like WUSTL probably has more funding. But, WUSTL has also a super tiny department (with a chair and co-chair as husband and wife, both modernists). Why/what has lead you to come up with this list? I
  25. I'd have to second this (though I'm unsure of what the funding situation is). Are both unfunded?
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