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e_randolph

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  1. Like
    e_randolph got a reaction from TagRendar in Lessons Learned: Application Season Debriefings   
    I'll parrot most of what has been said above. 
    The keys to a strong application lie in the SOP and the writing sample.  The SOP is your opportunity to elucidate not only what you want to study, but also how you want to study it.  Absolutely tailor your SOP to each school (and probably more than tossing in an obligatory "I want to work with ..." sentence at the end).
    In the writing sample, clearly demonstrate your use of primary sources, but don't slough on analysis.  
    Finally, don't leave anything on the table when you're applying -- proofread, write confidently and honestly, and secure strong rec letters.  But, for the love of god, once you've submitted, STOP.  Do NOT reread anything until you have a response in hand because you will inevitably find a typo and spend all your time obsessing over it.
     
    This process is capricious.  There are things you can do to make yourself stand out, but it is not an exact science.  Who knows which way the wind will blow from one year to the next?  Be kind to yourself and remind yourself that your worth has nothing to do with any school's admissions decision.
  2. Downvote
    e_randolph reacted to gilbertrollins in Professor-Student Relationships: How Close Is Too Close?   
    Is there? Do you have any evidence that a majority, or even significant portion of intra-departmental relationships lead to harassment, exploitation, and favoritism? Why should we presume, cynically, that people in a position of power in the department will often exploit that position sexually? What motivates that argument? Your experience? A cross-section of data on departments?

    Or the anxiety-inducing influence of gender scholarship narratives that are privileged in the English department?
  3. Upvote
    e_randolph reacted to underthewaves in Applications 2019   
    I've been a silent follower of this thread (but a faithful reader and have appreciated all the advice and help people have shared, especially those more experienced with the process of applications) and despite some waitlist fears yesterday, I was admitted into my top choice MA program (I really want to use the two years to firm up my research interests before applying to PhD programs) with a fellowship which fully covers tuition and a TA position. I'm familiar with the department as I'm currently finishing my BA in the honours program here and will be continuing with my honours thesis supervisor, which I'm thrilled about. 
  4. Upvote
    e_randolph reacted to dr. t in Applications 2019   
    I can't speak for physics, but there are no programs in History that have spring admissions and are worth attending. 
  5. Downvote
    e_randolph reacted to historicallinguist in How to respond to an email calling me out?   
    This is a good point. The student obviously was sending unsolicited suggestion/criticism to the OP. In higher education settings, unsolicited criticisms are generally not welcomed by the department, and in some cases may result in adverse consequences against those who dare to raise those issues and ask for improvement. The student may send the email under his/her .edu email account, but, in order to do so, he/she must use some sort of academese/legalese (i.e. formal polite language in a style that could best be described as probably "Oxbridge" style of communication) to express the intended suggestion, so as to overcome the first common fire-back called "rudeness". Such language use, unless the student has been communicated with such language for years, will be hard for an undergraduate to employ.
    Potential retaliations commonly seen include lowering attendance grade, lowering grades for open-ended questions for which the TA has quite a lot of a discretion, etc. The student, who may have already sensed potential retaliations, when trying to send out a quick message without having the trouble of framing the message in academese/legalese, sends the message anonymously, and I think the anonymity is quite justifiable, given the culture that many departments and TAs do not appreciate "unsolicited noises" at all. 
    In fact, one of the more senior TA sent out a guide to all TAs (including me) in my department, and asked us to forward that guide to all of our students so as to make sure that they write emails in an appropriate style. I knew he sent out the guide in good faith. But the style of writing really obscures the real issues raised in the email. I feel that the criticism over method of delivery or style of writing or the tone sounds more like an excuse to ignore the issues (probably legitimate, depending on the regulations of the university) raised in the email. 
     
    I beg to differ on this point. If part of the duties of TAs and professors are not customer service, what exactly is the relationship between TA and professors, and students. More importantly, it sounds ridiculous to ask students to pay for their tuitions and fees, and, when they have complaints, they are told that you paid but sorry you are not customers. I went to a private school for my undergrad, and I was not graded/taught by even one TA throughout my undergrad career. In fact, mistreatment by TAs against undergraduate students is more common and widespread than you are willing to admit. First thing first, many TAs,especially in non-top tier state universities, are underpaid. So, generally, it is hard to expect the underpaid TAs to devote much of their time and attentions to their students, because they work for what they are paid for. Second, you need to understand how ridiculous class size could be in some undergraduate schools. Some, especially state/public universities, have lower division classes as large as 500 students in a single lecture. I just cannot see how the tuition they pay worth merely 1/500 attention from the Prof and TAs. Schools are oversizing a single lecture into a huge lecture hall to maximize revenue of tuition from a large pool of students. Look, essentially, the poor relationships with undergraduates derive from the mismatch between the financial input by these undergraduate and what they can get out from a huge lecture hall. Isn't this a problem? Well, as a TA, it is not a problem for me, but, as a student, and as a person, it is definitely a problem, even if this is a problem that we may not be willing to recognize at all, not to say solve it. 
    As for your comments for students aren't majoring in humanities, I have some other thoughts. First, humanities, with the exception of philosophy, rarely reflect on whether the discipline is worth studying or not. I was a humanities major when I was an undergraduate. I witnessed too many professors teaching non-philosophy humanities cannot give coherent thoughts. Simply put, many humanities disciplines cannot be subject themselves to the scrutiny of rationality. Find a work of literary criticism, and I can guarantee you that you will find tautology in this book. Not sure why authors did this kind of thing, but they did it anyways. You asserted the great value of humanities major (some, such as philosophy, do have great values.), but how are you going to explain the fact that so many past graduates in subjects such as comparative literature, English, history, etc, can not get a job, after paying so much tuitions (probably by taking tons of loans) and spending so much time working through 4 years in the subject? 
    They just cannot stay hungry with no food whatsoever, and continue enjoy the works of Dickens throughout the week. STEMs and business schools deserve more support, because they generate better results for the students at least in terms of their career. In fact, humanities subjects such as history are like a blackhole that sucks funding into the discipline, and barely, if ever, produces some tangible improvements of the material lives of those who work in the discipline and those who provided funding to support the discipline. STEMs are much better at making their case to their sponsors to persuade sponsors' to support them.(bottom line, STEMs proposals seem to have better agenda as to what to do, why do what is planned to do, etc). After all, you cannot just ask support and then tell those who support you that they should not expect something (probably more than what you get from them in terms of value) back from you. This is also true for student tuition. You cannot ask students to pay their tuitions and fees, and then tell them that they are not customers. If you are working in a non-profit organization that is not a university , you are not going to treat those who sponsor your organization (i.e. the patrons) in the way TAs treat students, aren't you? Then, why do you assert that students are not customers? Can a university continue to run, professors and TAs continue to get paid, if all students in a university refuse to pay their tuitions? 
     
     
     
  6. Downvote
    e_randolph reacted to historicallinguist in How to respond to an email calling me out?   
    First thing first, I was saying some humanities (e.g. philosophy) are useful, but some (e.g. comparative literature) are not. The prescriptive grammar I studied in comp 101 from what Steven Pinker called "language mavens" only turned out to be the target of criticism in my linguistics class. The problem here is that people in humanities (again, with the exception of philosophy) won't even entertain the possibility that the subject they study may not worth studying after all. I know it may be disturbing, or possibly making you feel sad to reason and then realize that XXX subject is not worth studying after all.  But the mere fact that you want some subject to be useful does not mean it is actually useful. If some subjects (e.g. say, Tibetan studies) were so useful, why are so many people in administrative posts (for example, the dean of my college who is working on downsizing some of the programs by not refilling the tenured posts after the incumbent are retired) reluctant to allocate funding to support these subjects and their programs? The deans are not freshmen who just got into college. They know what they are doing. If it were only the students who choose not to major in and therefore support humanities subjects, then maybe it is because of ignorance. But when both the administrators (i.e. dean, provost, etc) and the students frown upon the value of certain fields of studies, I guess it is the problem of the field and people working in the field should reflect on the problems of the field and try to find solutions to solve the problems, not blaming those outside the field who point out the problems. 
  7. Upvote
    e_randolph reacted to Nairel in Favorite Rejection Quotes from the Results Page   
    crafting clever responses to the rejections I haven't received yet is self-care.
  8. Like
    e_randolph reacted to fortsibut in Next year   
    Thanks so much!  I'm sorry that you've had the same bad luck this application cycle that I have so far, but I hope you get into a great MA program this year and I'll look forward to having a familiar...avatar? to commiserate with next cycle.  ?
    @Ternwild:  things might be a little bit different in STEM than it is in the humanities, I feel like (and could be wrong) that you have more non-academic options with a STEM PhD than you would in history.  I'm also a little wary of going to a program that would grant me a degree but not have the prestige to get me a job.  I looked at Howard University, for example, which at one point I considered to be a pretty good fit but I wasn't sure what doors would be open to me ~six years down the road when I finished.  It's definitely something for me to think about over the course of the next year, though, and I appreciate your suggestion.
  9. Like
    e_randolph reacted to elx in Next year   
    As @e_randolph explained, it's a lot different with history (from the looks of it) -- but I just wanna mention that 'save up a couple thousand' made me chuckle. Even if I got a full-time, well-paid job after graduation, saving that much would take at least a couple years.
    I'm hoping to get into a top UK university for a MA, then re-apply next year. And if that doesn't work? Hmm ? let's cross that bridge when we come to it. . .
  10. Upvote
    e_randolph got a reaction from elx in Next year   
    This might work if your goal is to attend graduate school no matter what, but it's not particularly good advice if your eventual goal is to get a job after graduate school.  In history, there are probably not 15-20 universities that have the faculty and resources to support your unique interests and definitely not that many with reliable placement rates.  I think a better strategy is to sharpen your research interests, continue building relationships with prospective advisers, and keep pursuing top-tier programs that will allow your work to flourish.
  11. Upvote
    e_randolph got a reaction from elx in Next year   
    The point is, it's actually not worthwhile in the current market to apply to programs that won't fund or that aren't top programs. Again, the goal is not simply to get into grad school, but to get a job after the fact. Furthermore, history is a highly specific discipline.  I can absolutely find 20 universities that will allow me to study American history.  I guarantee you that I can't find that many with robust resources and more than one scholar who focuses on the cross section and time period I'm interested in working on.
    As anyone who has applied to PhD programs in history knows, a major key is fit with the department.  It's impossible to argue compellingly that your work would fit perfectly with 15-20 departments unless you're over-generalizing your work or altering it wildly to fit each department.  In either case, rejection is almost assured.
    You might think that what I've said "seems highly unlikely," but even if I'm not a credible source, this is a solid reflection of the advice being given by past and present history applicants in the history forum.
  12. Upvote
    e_randolph got a reaction from spidy in Next year   
    The point is, it's actually not worthwhile in the current market to apply to programs that won't fund or that aren't top programs. Again, the goal is not simply to get into grad school, but to get a job after the fact. Furthermore, history is a highly specific discipline.  I can absolutely find 20 universities that will allow me to study American history.  I guarantee you that I can't find that many with robust resources and more than one scholar who focuses on the cross section and time period I'm interested in working on.
    As anyone who has applied to PhD programs in history knows, a major key is fit with the department.  It's impossible to argue compellingly that your work would fit perfectly with 15-20 departments unless you're over-generalizing your work or altering it wildly to fit each department.  In either case, rejection is almost assured.
    You might think that what I've said "seems highly unlikely," but even if I'm not a credible source, this is a solid reflection of the advice being given by past and present history applicants in the history forum.
  13. Upvote
    e_randolph got a reaction from scthorne in Next year   
    This might work if your goal is to attend graduate school no matter what, but it's not particularly good advice if your eventual goal is to get a job after graduate school.  In history, there are probably not 15-20 universities that have the faculty and resources to support your unique interests and definitely not that many with reliable placement rates.  I think a better strategy is to sharpen your research interests, continue building relationships with prospective advisers, and keep pursuing top-tier programs that will allow your work to flourish.
  14. Like
    e_randolph reacted to Karou in Applications 2019   
    It’s been a crazy week on my end so I haven’t checked in in a while but I wanted to congratulate everyone who got admitted/waitlisted/ made a decision!!
    Currently in NY waiting for my flight to Durham!
  15. Downvote
    e_randolph reacted to Ternwild in Is it possible that an admitted student recommend his/her partner/fiance?   
    That statement is all I needed to know about you.  I'm above engaging in the musings of seemingly self-important trolls.  @T Qi Avoid his advice.  Good luck, T Qi, and I hope it works out and you two get into the same program! 
  16. Upvote
    e_randolph got a reaction from psstein in Early Americanists!   
    Madeira is an ICONIC choice. Unfortunately, when I was most recently at Mount Vernon, I was oppressively hungover and barely made it through his distillery and gristmill,  to say nothing of drinking his whiskey.
  17. Like
    e_randolph got a reaction from Karou in What were you doing when you received your acceptance?   
    My last two acceptances hit me right in a row.  As I was about to leave work on Monday, I saw a message pop up in my email.  I read it, silently freaked out, and ran down to call my mom from my car.  As I was on the phone with my mother, I went back to the email to read it back to her, only to find another acceptance waiting in my inbox.  I was so surprised that I swore loudly, not realizing my mom had me on speaker phone.
     
    Oops!
  18. Like
    e_randolph reacted to Karou in Early Americanists!   
    So nice to read about everyone's research, all of this sounds fascinating! I'm embarrassed to stay I had to look up what French Azilum was, but that is so interesting. I'll look into it more if I find the time! 
    Very rough summary of my own interests: right now, I'm focusing on French settler-colonialism in 18th-century lower French Louisiana (roughly, present day Louisiana and Mississippi) and on Franco-Indian relations, especially in terms of sexual behaviors. I'm generally focusing on the many aspects of the sexual component of colonization (ie imposed sexual norms, sexual violence, etc). I've also been looking into Spanish settler-colonialism lately and I'm hoping to expand on that a lot more during my PhD. Like many of you, I'm very interested in issues of perspective (whose 'side of the story' are we focusing on? whose voices have been left out of traditional narratives? etc). Generally, in the context of these interests, I've really enjoyed the works of Jennifer Spear, Juliana Barr, and Patricia Galloway.
    At the moment, I'm doing research for an essay about declension narratives, as it relates to indigenous history. I have a bunch of articles and book chapters lined up, but I think I will pick up David Weber's Bárbaros: Spaniards and Their Savages in the Age of Enlightenment next.
    (Also Homelands and Empires by Jeffers Lennox sounds really interesting, adding it to my reading list!)
     
     
  19. Like
    e_randolph got a reaction from Jericho in Early Americanists!   
    That's very kind!  Yes, I suspect I'll have to to narrow my interests down quite a bit in advance of my dissertation.  If you don't mind me asking, what're your primary interests? 
    Affairs of Honor is WONDERFUL -- My first major project in undergraduate was roughly modeled after the way Freeman marries violence and politics in the book.  She is such a skilled historian and I was lucky enough to meet her in the fall when she was giving book talks  
     
  20. Like
    e_randolph got a reaction from Karou in Early Americanists!   
    While we wait to hear back from the schools we've applied, and per an earlier suggestion in the Fall 2019 applicants thread, I thought it would be nice to have a place for early Americanists to congregate.  If you fall into this category, I'd like to know what your research is -- or will be!  What are you reading right now?  Whose work have you learned from the most?
  21. Like
    e_randolph got a reaction from I_Am_In_Paine in Early Americanists!   
    Madeira is an ICONIC choice. Unfortunately, when I was most recently at Mount Vernon, I was oppressively hungover and barely made it through his distillery and gristmill,  to say nothing of drinking his whiskey.
  22. Upvote
    e_randolph reacted to MarchK94 in Early Americanists!   
    Hello! I'm hoping to study religious life, Euro-Wabanaki encounters, and material culture in Early Maine. I'm particularly interested in envisioning the area as a spiritual borderlands/contested space, and I'm currently reading Homelands and Empires by Jeffers Lennox. I hope to meet some of you this year!
  23. Upvote
    e_randolph reacted to Dark Paladin in Early Americanists!   
    Broadly speaking, my interest is in how the "ideology(s)" of the American Revolution informed the logic and infrastructure of American expansion from the perspective of "frontier" actors in the early national period. 
    Joanne Freeman is amazing indeed! 
    If you haven't already read it, I strongly suggest Robert Parkinson's recent book The Common Cause. 
  24. Like
    e_randolph reacted to federalist51 in Early Americanists!   
    Sounds like there may be some similarities between our research. I'm interested in the emergence and trajectory of differing conceptions of the nature of the Revolution, especially as they related to political and constitutional debates. I'm looking at divisions within the Patriot cause, but mostly from an ideological (as opposed to a socially or economically-focused) vantage.
    I agree with both you and @e_randolph--Freeman is a tremendous scholar!
  25. Upvote
    e_randolph got a reaction from Dark Paladin in Early Americanists!   
    That's very kind!  Yes, I suspect I'll have to to narrow my interests down quite a bit in advance of my dissertation.  If you don't mind me asking, what're your primary interests? 
    Affairs of Honor is WONDERFUL -- My first major project in undergraduate was roughly modeled after the way Freeman marries violence and politics in the book.  She is such a skilled historian and I was lucky enough to meet her in the fall when she was giving book talks  
     
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