NoirFemme

American Girl dolls. Samantha and Addy were my favorites (Antebellum to Progressive Era). However, I came to history via anthropology, since I also wanted to be Lara Croft/Indiana Jones. Because of this, I don't consider myself to be an historian! I'm much more interested in how history is created, produced, used, and disseminated by cultures via fashion, food, monuments, memory, and literature.

What stands out to me in the OP is the absence of people. As in, networking connections. Degrees mean nothing if you don't have a network to tap into. My advice would be to find a mentor. Cold call/email if you don't have one person who can connect you to someone to help you write your resume or get experience or help craft your Ph.D applications. Also, do you use LinkedIn? If not, I recommend it. Not only is it great for organizing your accomplishments, but you can basically stalk the profiles of people in your dream positions. It also helps build your network in a somewhat informal manner.

List is up! http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA_084507

Why haven't you looked on Facebook? There are groups set up to connect people needing apartments or subleases in just about every city in the US.

Nope. Now I'm a little antsy about when they'll release the Awardees and Honorable Mention lists.

French was the lingua franca for much of European history. France was also Russia's ally off and on throughout the 19th century. German rose in prominence when so many German princes and princesses married into European royal houses--and remember, not only was Peter the Great's heir a Prussian, but the heir's wife, Catherine the Great, was of German background. And most of the Czars wives were German princesses/archduchesses.

Oh Lord. Not again... Are you mods/veterans this combative in other subforums? Or does the history field attract posturing and d*ck measuring? I've gotten a number of PMs from people in other fields who are appalled by the 0-100 aggressiveness in this year's threads.

I admit to being nervous about befriending my cohort. Mainly because the whole academia thing is brand new to me and I wonder how to connect with people who've known--and worked towards--this goal at the "proper" ages (e.g. undergrad 18-21; Master's or straight to Ph.D at 22-25). Half of the time while reading articles on Chronicle Vitae or Inside Higher Ed or whatever, I'm blinking in bemused confusion because I just don't see the anxieties and drama as that big of a deal! So then I worry that my learning curve--and my existing alt-ac career--will make me come across as not fitting into the culture.

There really aren't any rankings for public history programs because there are so few of them around (and I mean Public History MA [and Ph.D], not a certificate or concentration or coursework). The common rule of thumb is to go to school where you want to work; however, the field is extremely competitive and everyone wants to attend school and work in NYC, Boston, DC, LA, etc. What do you want to do exactly in public history? Its broadness in scope is exciting, but it can also obscure the realities of the job market. In general: Curators and conservators need Ph.Ds. Archivists need an MLIS/MLS (sometimes you can get a position with a History degree+lots of experience). Historic preservationists need an MA in HP (usually found in architecture departments). Registrars and collections managers need at least an MA plus experience. Well paid, full-time museum work is incredibly difficult to come by, and you'll often have to work multiple part-time jobs, or work at a museum in the middle of nowhere with a tiny or non-existent budget. The gov't is the biggest employer of public historians (Smithsonian, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, etc), but getting in takes patience and serious networking--and who knows if anyone will be hired on for the foreseeable future. If you're still getting your feet wet in the field, I would say the best places to apply to in the US are: UMass Amherst, NC State, Middle Tennessee State, Brown (Public Humanities), Rutgers-Newark (American Studies w/Public Humanities track), and UC Riverside. https://www.umass.edu/history/public-history https://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/graduate-program-american-studies/ma-program https://history.ncsu.edu/grad/ph_ma.php https://www.brown.edu/academics/public-humanities/ http://www.mtsu.edu/programs/public-history-ma/ http://www.history.ucr.edu/Public_History/ma.html

@emhafe eh, I believe that attending the annual NCPH conference, being a member of NCPH, and connecting with public historians on social media is sufficient for networking if you attend a regular history MA program (Also, I think getting a regular history degree+specializing in pubhist helps to stop pubhist from being "ghettoized" by the overall history profession. And if you want to work in a specific area--such as Native American institutions--it helps tremendously to be trained as an historian of that area). I have a public history degree and currently work in a museum. I get blank looks from past and current employers/coworkers when I say "I am a public historian"--when I fudge a little and say museum studies or history degree, they don't look confused. Lol. But I think a sticky for public history would be a good thing. It's a great field, but one that often garners some misconceptions.

Yep. I'm in the field, and a number of Americans and Canadians who got their museum studies or public history MAs abroad said the degree was practically meaningless when they came back to North America. I personally advise you to go for a regular history MA and work/intern while in school. My classes gave me the terminology and best practices for working in public history, but based on my experience--pub hist work is 90% about relationships with coworkers, the public, boards of directors, funding entities, and docents, and 10% what you learn from books.

Unless you plan to work in the UK, there's no point in getting a public history degree overseas. When you graduate and return to the US, you will have left your networking connections in another country. Also, with the uncertainty created by Brexit, it might be difficult to get hired for internships.

Turn it down. You sound like you are more tied to your job and your gf than this Fulbright.

I was accepted, and despite loving the faculty, the campus, and the program, I was not--LOL--anticipating the strong focus on rhetoric and composition (I come from a general humanities background, not English). About half of the faculty are rhet/comp, and English Ph.D students teach it and run the writing center.

I'm still finishing up coursework and writing a thesis, so that--as well as work--has been filling my mind. I was planning on continuing to work, or find an internship in my field, but I would really prefer to spend a summer sans struggle for the first time in three years.

Just throwing this out there: "white" is a race too. And the South (or any geographical area in the US, period) is not solely defined--or shaped--by a black/white racial binary.

Put University of Delaware on the list.

Based on previous years, sometime in early May.

The other question to ask is what do you want to do with a History MA? It's an awkward degree to have these days, IMO, because of the number of Ph.D holders now applying for the same jobs as MA holders--even in the "alt-ac" field (my museum director [BA+15 yrs of experience] told me flat out that she's been overlooked for positions because boards of directors are attracted by the prestige of a Ph.D). Also, my undergrad experience was scattered as well, and I tried to do everything in which I was interested. Then I got dinged hard by a top program I wanted to attend because they said appeared unfocused. I didn't listen then, lol, but my adviser tried to drum it into my head that you are allowed to teach or research or publish outside of your home field. She has no background in film studies, but once taught a course on US cinema history when the chair added it to the semester schedule at the last minute. If a graduate degree is something you want to, apply and see what happens. And based on nhhistorynut's experiences, you might find a new research question you never expected to find fascinating.

Maybe a little? Davis is a suburban hipster-ish town. And Sacramento has a bit of an inferiority complex with SF, so the upwardly mobile, hipster crowd can be a trifle foodie. And a warning--never make fun of the Kings!!!

I think you're going about this in an overly complicated manner--and it's possible that you're not connecting with others in your cohort because they don't feel your attempt to make friends is genuine (the "building a social network" is telling). Your cohort is not the only place to connect. Do you belong to organizations in your field? Attend conferences? Converse on listservs or FB groups? Interact on Twitter? What about advanced grad students working in your field(s)? And connecting with your adviser, who knows more about networking in your field than new students? Also, have you thought about having someone critique your body language? You may be coming across as too intense and invasive, hence why all of the students exclude you from their gatherings (especially since they are women and you are a man--sometimes, men don't realize they may come across as [vaguely] threatening to women they don't know).

Perhaps you can reach out to the authors of these articles? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kara-romick/surviving-the-insanity-of-grad-school-as-a-single-mom_b_9482182.html http://www.rackham.umich.edu/blog/day-life-grad-student-mom http://www.gradhacker.org/2011/06/01/grad-school-and-parenting-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now…/ http://www.rantsfrommommyland.com/2013/08/domestic-enemies-of-grad-school-mom.html https://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/4t888v/a_graduate_student_single_mother/ http://blogs.ams.org/mathmentoringnetwork/2015/03/30/the-intersection-of-motherhood-and-graduate-school-the-good-the-bad-and-the-cute-babies/

LOL! I see that you live in Chicago. Cities that are known for their cuisine (particularly cities with a history of immigration and ethnic enclaves) are very food-centric. It's also a way of sizing you up and, sometimes, ranking your "worth" (you want ketchup on your Chicago style hot dog? quelle horreur!!)

You won't hear anything if you don't get off the alternates list. Wait for when the awardees & honorable mentions are announced!

I live in the IE--look now. SoCal is a landlord's market. Affordable, nice, and safe housing can be a pill to find.