Karou

Thank you for your reply, Ikjpoi! My research at this point is "superficial" at best, I'm just trying to craft research proposals for Masters programs (most programs I'm applying to don't even require it but encourage you to do it - in other words I don't think I'm expected to produce something that's exceptionally precise, although it's important to me that I try and produce something coherent). What I mean by that is that I haven't, so far, compiled sources that I may want to consult that are in a language other than English or French. Please bear with me, I haven't been trained in historical research methods, although my BA is in a relevant field. This is why I really want to do an MA even though I already have some graduate school experience (I am a rather nontraditional student and am hoping the MA in History will atone for my "sins", so to speak), I just don't feel like I'd be a competitive applicant for a PhD at this point. But I digress, as I do. Through examining those texts in English and French, I can tell that I am most definitely gonna need both Latin and Italian at some point. But German is the language that has given me the most anxiety as I believe it will be the hardest one to learn. I really don't mean to diminish the process of learning Latin and Italian, I know this will be hard also, especially Latin, but because of my language background I know it won't be quite as hard. I also have quite a few ties to Italy in my personal life and I'm sure I can work out something and go spend a couple months in Italy or enlist a friend to tutor me in the next couple of years, once I'm back in Europe (I'm in North America until next summer, at the moment). Latin I can hopefully pick up through my MA, I know some schools even offer intensive classes. So that leaves German as the great big unknown, and now seems like a good time to start. I'm also very aware that my research could change direction when I start my MA, and I just want to make sure I cover my bases. Just in case. The vast majority of PhD programs I've looked into highly recommend German for the time period, themes and geographic locations I'm interested in (French and Latin also, Italian not so much although it may be of use to me personally should I continue on this road). Honestly, I think that all 3 languages will be useful at some point or other and maybe I'm just overthinking this, but this has been a long time in the making and I want to do this right. But you're both right, maybe I should just email a professor and ask what they think about all of this. Apologies for the long response, I'm really not quite as stressed as I appear to be. I just.. want to be as prepared as I can possibly be. Thanks for the help guys!

Thank you both so much, I really appreciate your insights. To be honest, I don't think my research would necessarily lead me to Germany (although who knows) but as I'm mainly interested in Western Europe there would definitely be some overlap and the language would be an asset for research at the very least, but I do think that a strong reading proficiency will be enough for entry into a PhD program. Time will tell how proficient exactly I need to be but it definitely can't hurt to get started, and it seems to be high on the list of required languages. Whatever happens, I figure that it's never a waste of time to try and pick up a new language! I guess I should have specified my interests a little more, although they are a little hard to put into words at this point as I'm still trying to make everything work together. I had an original idea and then fell down the research rabbit hole, and you know how that goes! I'm more interested in a thematic approach rather than in a very specific geographic location (besides the "general" area of Western Europe), although I'm aware I may need to narrow it down. I'm mainly interested in the 16th and 17th century and want to look at gender history and intellectual history. At this point I'm trying to somehow link the history of prostitution, witchcraft prosecution, social control (especially over sexuality - I guess hearing about Foucault so much this semester kinda stuck!) and education in this time period. I'm doing a lot of research at the moment and there's a lot of overlap with all of these topics, I just need to find an angle and try and focus a little more, so far research is taking me to Britain and Italy most of all, although Germany remains incredibly relevant (especially if I pursue the witchcraft angle). The study of the occult and "high magic" among the bourgeoisie during the Renaissance (in Italy mostly) is particularly fascinating, especially in contrast to witchcraft prosecution in other parts of Europe. So I guess Italian is in the cards too, although, I know this is a cliché but I can attest to it from personal experience, Italian will be a lot easier to pick up because French is my mother tongue - and, like you pointed out xypathos, Latin should help tremendously as well. TMP, no need to apologize, enthusiasm is great! Also it would be incredibly hypocritical of me to comment on this considering I just went on a full-blown rant about my very specific areas of interest. I'd love to hear what you guys are working on if you're inclined to share! Edit: oh also, not sure if that's relevant but I'm applying strictly to English-speaking programs, mainly in the UK, and one in Sweden. I know that the language training is a lot less rigorous at this point in the UK than it is in the US (that's what I hear, and judging by admission requirements it seems to be true), that's why I'm trying to get a head start in case I do head to the US for the PhD.

Xypathos, thanks very much for your input! I surmised that many departments help you develop your language skills once you're in the program, but that having some sort of prior knowledge is always a good thing to have under your belt when you apply (for some programs I think it's even a requirement?). Thank you for the insight on other ways of doing things though, I did not know that some programs offered intensive language programs in the summer. That seems like a really great way to spend a summer! I can't believe I didn't think of language tests, I went through this with the TOEFL so I should have thought of it. That seems like a good option, once I get my German up to an acceptable level. I do think I'm gonna take the plunge and take a semester of German this winter, and then continue teaching myself once I've grasped the basics of the language (grammar is the bane of my existence and I think I really need lessons to hopefully understand the basic structure of the language before I try and teach myself). I'm actually a total language nerd so I think that I'm gonna be okay. It's always a little easier to learn something that you're actually really enjoying! Also, I've heard that learning a third language (and fourth and fifth...) is easier than learning a second, so I'm really hoping that's true! It makes sense that that would be the case. Thanks again for your response, and best of luck with your research.

Hi everyone, Long-time lurker on these message boards, and they are a wonderful source of information! I've been looking around for the answer to this particular question but could not find anything conclusive, forgive me if it's been addressed already. I'm in the process of applying to Masters programs in History in Europe to start in the Fall of 2017, and I intend to pursue a PhD afterwards, most likely in the US. Although anything can happen and who knows, maybe I'll end up staying in Europe. The plan, however, is to do this MA, either a 2-year program full-time or a one-year program part-time and then head to the US for the PhD. Either way, that means I won't be starting my PhD until September of 2019 (presupposing I get accepted somewhere on my first round), which gives me sufficient time to draft good applications while working really hard on my MA. Researching programs has led me to understand that languages are a key element of studying history, and that German is especially important (I assumed that French, Italian and German were considered of equal value, but I was wrong!). What's more, German is actually really relevant to the subject I'm hoping to pursue, though not crucial at this point in my academic career. I already have French (mother tongue) and I'm hoping to take some Latin classes as part of my MA (most of the programs I'm applying to offer it as an option, so it all depends on where I get accepted at this point). So I was thinking I'd get started on German, well, now. I have this great big chunk of time until now and next September. I am currently studying etc, but I can make time and then I don't have to deal with learning the basics of two languages next year, a daunting prospect. I figure if I get the basics "out of the way" now I can continue progressing at my own pace once I'm over that initial hump, which will be easier. This is basically the way I learned English and it worked really well for me, but yeah, gotta get past that first stage of struggling with a new language. Now to my question, do I need to take accredited courses (through some language institute or other), or can I essentially teach myself -assuming that I can pull that off? Do I absolutely need substantial proof that I have some knowledge of German through something like transcripts or reports when the time comes to apply to PhD programs or will my stating that I have, say, a reading knowledge of the language suffice this early on? Also, one of my good friends who is fluent in German has suggested that knowing German might make it easier to pick up Latin. Do you agree with that? Or do you think the other way around might be more efficient (start with Latin now, deal with German next year)? Although I do think Latin courses may be harder to come by in my current location, and one of my POIs at one of the programs I'm applying to has done substantial work on early modern Germany, and I was hoping to, for lack of a better word, impress her a bit. Let her know that I'm serious about this, you know, and that I'm taking steps to be as prepared as I can be. Sorry for the babbling, applications are stressing me out a little bit, as you can probably tell (although, with the exceptions of a couple of programs, Europeans are incredibly chill about application deadlines). Thanks so much for any help or advice you may be able to give me!