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WhaleshipEssex
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Posts posted by WhaleshipEssex
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2 hours ago, dr. telkanuru said:
This is the Bernie Bro approach to academic policy, and the reality of the situation calls for a Liz Warren to actually get shit done.
And if the analogy holds, we'll get neither.
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3 hours ago, Go Weast Young Man said:
Regarding waitlists - do people who have been watching this process for a couple cycles have a general idea about how the likelihood of getting called up from a waitlist changes as we get closer to the mid April decision deadline? My intuition would be that the odds go down a little each day as the pool of uncommitted accepted students dwindles, but not sure if is offset by a last minute rush of late deciders or anything like that.
I know that at any particular schools it's really just dependent on what a handful of accepted students decide, but just curious about the overall trend
Waitlist movement is entirely dependent on how the institutions you applied to structure their waitlists. Some go by field, some don't.
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9 hours ago, dr. telkanuru said:
I think this year will be quite tough in general. Many programs did not take a cohort last year, but are not taking extra students this year to compensate, adding an extra layer of selectiveness to an already quite selective process.
This doubly applies to programs that did take students last year. From what I've heard, my department (heavily focusec on early America) is reducing its acceptances from 6 to 4.
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12 hours ago, norellehannah said:
I think Yale is one of the schools that does do interviews, but I don't think they're necessarily done across the board. I applied EM Europe and haven't been contacted for an interview (though I reached out to/spoke with profs before I applied which might qualify as an interview for them?), but got an email a few days ago asking my permission to move my application to a different program pool, which I assume they wouldn't do if they weren't still considering me (at least that's what I'm telling myself! lol).
All this to say I don't think a lack of an interview is a death sentence! I obviously could be very off base and it could vary by program, but for now I'm trying to take it as a neutral "they know everything about me they need to know."
Judging by what you have listed as your program, you most likely had your application sent to HSHM, which has its own application process and may have a different approach to interviews than the history department.
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Just now, HistNerd said:
Hey guys, Sorry I'm late to the party. Made an account just to post on this thread as I'm very nervous and looking for some camaraderie with this nerve-wracking wait. Has anyone heard back yet from schools? Do we know when committees are meeting to make their applications?
I got an email from my POI at Berkeley for an interview but otherwise it's been radio silence... Also if anyone has interview tips for me, please hit a girl up! Didn't realize history even did interviews.
Field is US history/International History. Applied to Princeton, UMich, Berkeley, UChicago, Yale, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, and Columbia.
Many of those programs list their application review schedule, which only just started. With regards to interview tips, write down and rehearse a few sentences describing a) your previous work/experience and b) your research interests. The ability to clearly and coherently talk about yourself as a scholar will be noticed by the interviewer.
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15 hours ago, AfricanusCrowther said:
William Sewell has also written about it.
Seconding Sewell here, Logics of History is a fantastic read.
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On 11/2/2019 at 1:13 AM, psstein said:
Not in history of science, but that's probably due to the field's history and contours.
Foucault has greater influence within STS studies, if that distinction is really of any use at this point.
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3 hours ago, psstein said:
If you're going to apply to St. Andrews, you ought to know that, while getting in will be easier than most top programs, getting a funded position will be damn near impossible as a non-UK/EU citizen, and is about equivalent to an Ivy. I also can't imagine that the outcomes from St. Andrews are all that great.
I'd normally recommend you apply to Cambridge instead, but my understanding is that Schaffer is ailing and preparing to retire.
I've heard similar things about the difficulties both in securing funding and job prospects due the emphasis on research, the worries are certainly there. The big draw for me is Richard Whatmore as he's done quite important work (for my purposes) with regards to incorporating Geneva into broader conversations about the 18th century.
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Currently in the process of apply to Ph.D programs for both history and HoS (depending on the department), my focus being the relationship of watchmaking and politics in 18th century Europe. Looking at Northwestern, Yale HSHM, Chicago, Berkeley, Stanford, and, on the recommendation of one of my advisors, St. Andrews.
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10 minutes ago, AP said:
Have you tried CamScanner?
I strongly co-sign CamScanner. Apart from the ability to group images into one pdf file, I find the increase contrast feature extremely helpful when it comes to readability.
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@historygeek Coming out of my undergrad, I was in a somewhat similar boat to you. I knew I wanted to study history at the graduate level but struggled to really understand what it was that I wanted to research. I talked about this with one of my professors about this and the advise I got was to take something outside of history that I was passionate about (in my case it was watches), combine that with my interest in history, and see what came out the other end. I had no idea that there was anything to the history of watches and timekeeping, but as I dove into the existing literature I was able to find the answers to the questions that all of us have been asking about why you have the specific interests that you do. I know this approach doesn't work for everyone, and you may find that in following this advice you'll discover that your interests have no relation to your passions outside of history, but as someone who was in the same spot you were at one time, I think it's worth a shot.
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I'm not sure I agree on this divide between flexibility and focus. If you're pursuing an MA with the goal of then reapplying to Ph.D programs you need some of both, realistically. For instance, I chose my MA program because I knew what, when, and where my interests were, but was still working out how I wanted to approach things. But I had also taken a year off between finishing my BA and applying to MA programs to answer those questions and it was only to my benefit, since it was quite different from the work I had done as an undergrad. I chose the program that I did because it has scholars who provide more focused direction on what my interests already were, but also would allow me to explore how I wanted to study these things. Focus and flexibility was what I needed in the program, but you also need time to really think about what you want to put your effort towards.
I think it's ok to go into your MA with some uncertainty about what you want to do specifically, but you'll have to work that out fairly quickly since realistically you only have about a year of MA work before Ph.D applications are due (assuming you want to go right from one to the next). My advise would be to spend your first semester figuring those questions out while doing as much reading as you can, and then spend the spring and summer producing a real quality piece of research that you can use for applications that shows you're committed to what you say you are.
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I'll echo the sentiments about doing a two year MA to nail down your languages. The type of language training required is a bit more specific than what you're typically exposed to in undergraduate language courses (at least in my experience). You'll need to show that you can read and engage with both the academic literature in those languages and the primary sources. Early modern French, like English, had different forms of spelling compared to the modern language and a part of your training should be nailing down those translations. This isn't to discourage, just to put a finer point on what is meant by 'language training'. Also note that when answering your 'why early modern France' question, understand that programs are really asking 'why specifically the early modern period and why specifically France?' Saying that you've always been interested in France, while it may be true, isn't going to cut it.
I can sympathize with you if this comes across as daunting, but take it from someone currently going the MA route to their strengthen languages and with plans to work on early modern France, it's only going to make your application more appealing.
- TMP and historygeek
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Figured I'd pop in to congratulate everyone on their acceptances. I remember the anxiety from last year's cycle and I'll be plunging back into next time around, I don't envy the stressful waiting period you all are going through.
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American History
- R_Escobar (20th century, American Indian),
- crazedandinfused (antebellum, intellectual),
- hopin'-n-prayin' (southern, religious),
- stevemcn (transnational),
- Simple Twist of Fate (early American),
- zb642 (20th century, labor/working-class culture),
- BCEmory08 (19th-20th century Catholicism, labor),
- irvinchiva10 (20th century, immigration/immigration reform)
- natsteel (early American political culture and intellectual history)
- unforth (19th century US political and military history, US Civil War)
- hbeels (colonial, early national, 19th century, transappalachain west, historical memory of these eras/areas)
- thedig13 (20th century U.S.; built environment, modern consumer culture, race, and immigration)
- Weepsie (North American Mapping, Exploration and Trade, Anti-Communism/Socialism in Interwar period, bit of a mixed bag)
- lafayette (19th c. [with a dash of 20th], urban, intellectual)
- vtstevie (Revolutionary/Early Republic New England, infrastructure/economic)
- macmc (Feminist, gender, and LGBT history)
- HistThrift (early America, indigenous history)
- junotwest (19/20th century African-American, Cultural/Intellectual, Gender & Sexuality)
- calhoun&caffeine (19th cen. Southern [political])
- tampopo ramen (19th-20th century capitalism/business)
- BookishVixen (late 18th-early 20th ce maritime communities, cultural, gender & sexuality)
- hardtack&coffee (19th Century American Social & Military History, American Civil War)
- spellbanisher (economic and cultural history of the gilded age, progressive era, and the 1920s)
- ThisGreatFolly (intellectual, religious, political violence, rhetoric)
- lily9 (Indigenous history, social history, public history)
- ashiepoo72 (Cold War foreign policy and intelligence agencies, decolonization, transnational history)
European History
- Kelkel (Modern Germany, political),
- goldielocks (Britain),
- SapperDaddy (Eastern and Central Europe),
- kotov (Modern Romania, Holocaust, labor),
- RevolutionBlues (Modern Western Europe/France labor and leftist politics),
- theregalrenegade (18th/19th cent British Empire/environment),
- jrah822 (19th century Britain; emphasis on colonial relationship to India),
- grlu0701 (Intellectual & cultural history,fin de siecle Germany and Italy),
- naturalog (modern European [mostly German] intellectual and cultural/sexuality and gender/political radicalism),
- runaway (Eastern/Central, memorialization & visual culture),
- Sequi001 (Modern France, gender and sexuality, colonialism/imperialism)
- Abetheh (19th/early 20th century Germany and France, religious politics vs secularization)
- NeutralKate (Modern Russia, modern European economic history)
- Crackerjacktiming (Modern Germany, gender and sexuality)
- GloFish (USSR, Stalinism, Soviet-American Relations)
- jamc8383 (19th/20th century France, interwar culture, relationship between body, mind & place)
- Heimat Historian (19th/20th century Germany, migration, settler colonialism)
- AshleyJuneBug (Early Modern France and Britain, gender and sexuality)
- maelia8 (19th/early 20th century Germany, imperialism and colonialism, travel, exploration)
- BookishVixen (Victorian and Edwardian English imperialism/gender & sexiality)
- episkey (19th/20th century France, gender and sexuality, Holocaust)
- AngesRadieux (18th/early 19th century France, cultural history, music)
- ManifestMidwest (modern France, colonialism & imperialism, Pacific worlds)
- DGrayson (early modern Western Europe [focusing mostly on England right now], economic and religious history)
- Ziggysunshine (19th/20th century Belgium, architecture and urban planning, intellectual history)
African History
- Oseirus (precolonial/early colonial West Africa),
- Singwaya18 (20th century East Africa),
- Safferz (20th century Horn/Northeast Africa),
- The People's Scholar (Spanish colonialim in Africa- i.e. middle/West Africa)
- Jogatoronto (Psychiatry in early colonial West Africa)
- ronwill06 (Social and political radical movements)
- Heimat Historian (German settlements in Southern Africa)
- thekatieladybird (Post-independence conflict and social histories in Central Africa)
Latin American History
- CageFree RIP (20th century, Southern Cone)
- BH-history,
- The People's Scholar (18th-19th century Colombia)
- StrangeLight (20th century Central America)
- Heimat Historian (German settlements in Southern cone and Mexico)
- Mujereslibres (German informal colonization of Peru, Brazil, and Chile)
- AP
East Asian History
- alleykat (Modern China)
- getitlow (Modern China: Republican, Women, Gender and Sexuality)
- kyjin (Pre-Modern Japan)
- aec09g (Modern Japan)
- pudewen (Late Imperial China)
- kdavid (Modern China; focus on the Republican period)
- Minion.banana (late imperial China, Islam, intellectual networks)
- qkhitai (Medieval China and Central Asia, literature and ethnicity)
- lordtiandao (Imperial China: political and fiscal)
Near/Middle Eastern History
- uhohlemonster, (modern Israel, Iran, Palestine)
- oswic (modern Egypt, gender)
- Conmel (modern pan-Islamic thought/networks)
- Baloch (Oman)
Atlantic World
- sandyvanb
- crazedandinfused
Global/World History
- cooperstreet (Cold War)
- melissarose8585
- Heimat Historian (German settlements throughout world)
- ashiepoo72 (Cold War foreign policy and intelligence agencies, decolonization, transnational history)
Jewish History
- uhohlemonster, (modern Israel)
- hopin'-n-'prayin,
- kotov (Holocaust),
- naturalog (sometimes modern European/Holocaust),
- runaway (memorialization & visual culture),
- ticklemepink (20th c. Germany/U.S)
- awells27 (Late Antiquity: Roman Empire/Palestine/Byzantine)
Science/Technology/Environment
- shaxmaty1848 (Cold War)
- StrangeLight (environmental history, ecological distribution conflicts)
- sukipower (20th c. forensic science & anthropology, 19th c. science and medicine)
- Neist (19th/20th c. biological sciences)
- seh0517 (scientific illustration, ancient egyptian science & medicine, astronomy, mortuary science)
- lily9 (Indigenous science and how it fit into architecture and urban planning (especially astronomy)
- WhaleshipEssex (18/19th c. horology, timekeeping, and temporality)
Social
- annieca (Cold War and Post-Cold War East and Central Europe)
- BookishVixen (Spheres of influence, Progressive Era reforms affecting immigration)
Classical and Medieval
- Hogs of War (Monastic Studies and Conflicts in Authority)
- telkanuru (high Medieval intellectual and social history, Cistercian studies)
- AbbeyRoad (Monastic History, Gender, Cistercians)
- Kirialax ("Dark Age" Byzantium; the Komnenoi)
Cultural
- StrangeLight (gender, race, ethnicity, and religion)
- hbeels (race/ethnicity, religious, masculinity/feminimity, print/literature)
- crazedandinfused (race, nationalism, performance, rhetoric)
- alleykat (religion, race/ethnicity, cultural relativism)
- Heimat Historian (German culture in transnational context)
- nhhistorynut (20th century US, African American, race/racism, Black nationalism)
Canadian History
- truthfinder (New France, religious)
- lily9 (Indigenous history)
South Asia
- pakhistorian (Pakistan/Bangladesh,cultural, social, political, women, public history, digital history)
Southeast Asia
- kxlx (early modern, colonialism, port cities, Islam)
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16 minutes ago, fortsibut said:
I declare January to be "Make and try every kind of sangria" month!
My wintery vice of choice was mead but I think when PhD app season rolls around next year I might follow your lead.
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10 hours ago, Neist said:
I'm done with you. I refuse to engage further.
If this is your response to @Sigaba's mild suggestion that you take a step back and reevaluate, then maybe they're not as off base with their comments as you want to think they are.
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2 hours ago, Neist said:
How should one respond to comments which imply increasingly codified assumptions about one's intentions? How am I supposed to politely say, "Actually, I'm not talking about that..."? How am I supposed to say, "Isn't it perhaps a stretch that you assume that, specifically, is my concern?" How does one politely articulate "Yes, I've already considered everything you've written, extensively" without a "Nu-uh, I don't think you have!" response?
Those are all good starts.
- AfricanusCrowther, dr. t and Neist
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I'm alternating between The Discovery of Time by Toulmin and Goodfield and Champion's The Fullness of Time: Temporalities of the Fifteenth-Century Low Countries.
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History grad programs place far more weight on your writing sample, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation. That said, your Verbal and Writing scores need work.
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6 minutes ago, psstein said:
some of whom interview (Penn being the best known, of course)
I just saw that Tresch left Penn HSS for The Warburg Institute, gutting as he was on my shortlist for people to reach out to in a year when it comes time to think about PhD programs.
2023 Application Thread
in History
Posted
There's a 45 wig/whig joke in there if someone can get the funding to find it