OldIronsides

Thanks for your input. You're dead on about the tentative language, it's a recurring problem.

Hey guys, I'm just hoping someone can tell me if I'm even going in the right direction with this. I think I am oscillating between the extremes of too sentimental and too research focused in the different iterations of this piece, so I need a set of fresh eyes. I have heavily redacted the SoP for purposes of privacy, which might change the flow somewhat, but it should give you an idea of what I am working with here. Thanks for your time in advance. Edit: There was a question I wanted to ask, but forgot when posting this. I realized my earliest problem with the SoP is that I tried to shoe-horn my history into the piece, and that was keeping me from fleshing out my research objectives. That said, I had a professor strongly suggest that I write a 'Statement of Personal History' and include it with all of my applications as a supplement to the Statement of Intent. Is this wise? While I have a number of ideas about what I would like to focus on in regards to my dissertation, a consistent theme is the idea of [X] in Europe from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century. Two important concepts that I became exposed to during my first year as a Master’s student were [X]. While these two systems of thought had different arguments, conclusions, and purposes, they shared a common thread in [X]. After realizing this connection, I began to look into other concepts of [X]. While I found that the concept was not unique to the time period in question, it appeared to be going through a renaissance at that time. While looking further into the issue, I found the idea of [X] in the works of [X]. There were few unifying themes, and they were separated by time, nationalities, religion, politics, etc. Possible explanations like reactions to modern warfare, delayed responses to the Enlightenment or Romanticism, wrestling with the concept of evolution, and frustration with the state of political affairs were true in a number of individual instances, but never across the board. My research has caused doubt that there is some unifying cause to the rise of [X]. Still, I believe an analysis of the idea is of scholarly value as it runs through important works and ideologies, from fascism to modernist literature to psychology. I believe that the idea of [X] is a critical component of modernity, and I want to both understand its impact and why it has resonated with intellectual and cultural trendsetters. I believe that the University of [X] is the best place for me to pursue this work while also expanding my abilities as a historian. The primary reason is the presence of two professors in particular. One of those professors is [X]. While I have researched the [X], I see the theory of [X] as one of the great examples of the idea of [X]. Despite having a better than average grasp of the field, I can’t help but feel that my understanding of what they believed and what they are doing is inchoate and in need of direction. As [X] is an expert in this field, I believe he is just the kind of teacher I would need to fully develop my understanding and this idea. The other professor is [X]. There are two reasons for this. One is that while I have an understanding of the streams of philosophical thought prominent in Europe at the time, I need a better grasp of the historical framework that helped shape them. As Paris in particular seems to be an epicenter for those figures working with themes of [X], a more solid grounding modern France would help refine this project. The other is that fear of both women and sexual deviancy seemed to drive on some of those figures that I want to analyze, and her work in sexuality and gender would help contextualize the situation. All that said, I recognize that I am just now starting down the path of a serious, professional historian and that what interests, what motivates me, and topics that I feel are worthy of analysis are likely to change the more I learn and the more familiar I become with the realities of the past. I feel that the University of [X] has the faculty, the archives, and the academic community to help me grow and work with those topics that might catch my interest.

I'm looking at: Northwestern Vanderbilt Notre Dame University of California-Santa Barbara University of Illinois at Chicago Pennsylvania State University-University Park Boston University I'm casting a wide net insofar as what the programs focus on and can do because I am still somewhat undecided as to what specific geographic and thematic area that I want to focus on; all of those schools have someone who deal with a field that I am interested in pursuing. Edit: On a total sidenote, is there anyone who would be willing to take a gander at two different SoI and let me know if one is a better approach/if there is anything fundamental I am missing?

I'm looking at: Northwestern Vanderbilt Notre Dame University of California-Santa Barbara University of Illinois at Chicago Pennsylvania State University-University Park Boston University I'm casting a wide net insofar as what the programs focus on and can do because I am still somewhat undecided as to what specific geographic and thematic area that I want to focus on; all of those schools have someone who deal with a field that I am interested in pursuing.

Somewhat unrelated topic, but you guys have been so helpful thus far: It was a non-academic, non-charitable thing, but I ended up spending a long time living in the slums of South Asia (as a white American). Would that kind of thing give me a few points, or should it be avoided? I could see it going both ways.

-dp-

Telkanuru: I am sure that there are, and that they would be more impressive than most of the profs that I am looking at. That said, I do have some self-esteem issues (essentially major-league impostor syndrome) that make it very difficult for me to even consider throwing my stuff at one of the Ivies. It's just a difficult psychological hurdle, and one that I doubt I will overcome by the time September rolls around. Riotbeard: I am looking heavily into history of medicine. I'll address that issue with the next response. TMP: I actually have a broad range of interests. As I alluded to in my first post, my thesis relied heavily on a number of distinct methodologies and thematic approaches. I would say that my great love is intellectual history, though I recognize the job market for that is very bad at the moment. The second tier interests would be imperialism, religion, cultural, labor, science, medical, political, and commodity. Geographically I tend to operate best in the Atlantic world, specifically France, UK, and the US - that said, I've also had a growing love affair with Ireland since I started down this path. Chronologically I tend to do Modern, though I dip into Early Modern with France and the UK. If it seems like my interests are too broad, I have absolutely zero interest in military history, ethnic history, or hard economic history. Thanks for all of your input, guys. It is very much appreciated.

Naturally the list will be narrowed down further (and I am currently talking to the graduate directors of said programs to further that process). This is more of a short list to help me narrow down the quality range.

Operating on the advice in this thread, I narrowed myself down to fourteen universities: Northwestern University University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign (The above are more along the lines of dream programs - I am highly skeptical of my ability to get into either of them) Ohio State University Vanderbilt University University of Florida Emory University University of Washington University of Notre Dame University of California-Santa Barbara University of Illinois-Chicago Boston University University of Pennsylvania-University Park University of Southern California Boston College Does this seem like a reasonable list? Obviously I'm not asking for anyone to do any in-depth research on my behalf, but just as a cursory thing.

Thanks so much for your input, guys. It's really taken a load off my mind.

I’m having something of a freak out in advance of applying for Fall 2016 PhD programs, and I was hoping I could get some advice on a number of issues I have, both relating to the application process and graduate school in general. To begin, let me clarify some things about my background/academic career thus far. I graduated last year with my Bachelor’s in History and Philosophy, Cum Laude, and am currently in the process of completing my Master’s. Due to a number of issues, including the death of one of my LoR writers and my own struggles with the SoI, I ended up attending the same university where I received my undergrad degree. While that was not where I envisioned myself getting my MA, it has been very rewarding. I’ve maintained a 4.0 GPA in the program, attended four conferences my first year, received a (relatively) prestigious award and a fellowship, worked as a teaching assistant and a research assistant, and did very well on my qualitative and writing GRE (94th percentile on both). I have studied French, Spanish, Swedish, Hindi, and Latin, though only my French is where it needs to be for a PhD program. I also was part of an exchange program with QMUL in the UK. Lastly, I am the co-editor of a book that will be published next month. That said, I do have a number of concerns. While I received Cum Laude on the Bachelor’s, my undergrad career was not as stellar as I would have liked it to be. In addition, my university is a no-name school in the middle of the Midwest. Should I get into a PhD program, I’ll be the second to do so in a decade. In addition, while I respect most of my professors, none of them are particularly notable in their field and don’t have the kind of reputations that would wow someone on an admitting committee. I’m giving this background because I’m concerned about what my prospects actually are in regards to university rankings. I have no real frame of reference to determine how good or bad I am, or how good/bad my record actually is. As a result, my first question is, broadly, what level of programs is realistic (Using, for instance, US News or QS rankings)? I can only apply to so many programs, and I want to avoid both tilting at windmills and selling myself short, and trying to identify a range has really hampered my ability to narrow in on fit. Another issue I am having is that I am really struggling with narrowing down the focus of my historical studies. While I would generally identify as a social/intellectual historian, my thesis brought me into such areas as commodity history, medical history, and cultural history. Likewise, I have a range of geographic areas of interest. These leads to a series of questions: - When writing a Statement of Intent (and related documents), would it be better to focus in on one of these areas or present myself as a student with a broad methodological background? - When looking at fit, how snug does said fit need to be? Do you look at broad similarities (geographic and temporal) or narrow similarities (shepherding records in nineteenth century Lancaster, for example)? How important is personality to this process? - How have you gone about narrowing broad research interests into your ultimate focus? I am having some difficulty navigating this process? - When submitting a writing sample, should it be in the field you are applying too? I ask this as the paper I plan on submitting, while (in my opinion) good and based in primary source research, is unlikely to have any relation to what I would like to do long-term as a historian. - How specific should your research interests be in your SoI? Do you need to propose a dissertation right then and there or are professors fairly lenient about a student not being sure on where they want to go? Thanks in advance guys, and apologies for the wall of text/barrage of questions.