KevinYoungX

Why does this post have no replies? Anyway, I am not expert on the subject, but I am learning more myself. I have been debating whether or not I want to get a Master's or a PhD in the United States or Israel. Can I ask where you decided to apply?

http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/01/03/ivory-tower/

So, for a while now, I have been deeply struggling with how I want to study the Middle East. I know for certain that I want to do whatever it takes to become a scholar of the Middle East, but I cannot decide if I want to do so as a Political Scientist or Historian (or as an interdisciplinary scholar?), despite having taken numerous courses in both disciplines. What are your thoughts? I need to figure out what kind of graduate school programs I should apply to... To give you an idea of the topics that I am interested in studying: Western & non-Western relations (specifically, Europe/ the West and the Middle East/ Islam) By "relations" I mean any sort of connection: trade, diplomacy, holy wars, non-holy wars, cultural exchanges, Occidentalism, etc. Western cultural influences on the Middle East and vice-versa Islam in the West and the West "in Islam" (such as the pieds-noirs and progressive women) Minorities in the Middle East (women, Kurds, gays, Jews, Turks, Shia Muslims, Yazidis, etc.) Development & evolution of gender, religion, culture, and nationalism Arab/ Israeli Conflict, Kurdish independence movements, nation-state debates regarding Iraq History of academia: debates regarding interdisciplinary studies, politics in academia, influence of Edward Said's "Orientalism" Some of my academic influences are Bernard Lewis, Samuel Huntington, Francis Fukuyama, Niall Ferguson, Fouad Ajami, John Lewis Gaddis, Mary Lefkowitz, and Yaacov Shavit. A separate issue I go back and forth on is whether or not I should become a "Europeanist" or a "scholar of the Middle East" given my research interests. I tend to think I am leaning more towards becoming a scholar of the Middle East, but if you have any thoughts on the topic, I would love to hear them. Thanks for your help!