Hello everyone! I've been lurking the forums for some time now and finally decided to take the plunge! If anyone thinks that I am revealing too much information about myself, please let me know and I will make deletions.
Basic Information: I'm about to graduate with a dual degree in History and a non-European language from UC Berkeley. My overall GPA is 3.694, my History GPA is 3.85, and my other major GPA is 3.88. I scored 170 on the verbal and 5.5 on the analytic writing section of the GRE. I'm a holder of advanced certifications for the languages of the countries in which I hope to specialize. If it matters to anyone, I am a naturalized US citizen from a severely underrepresented minority population. My points of concern here are my overall GPA, the fact that I only got a 3.0 during my semester in one of my countries (I was late to class all the time), and the fact that I've taken only one class in that country's language at my school (I got a B in it because I was late to class and on assignments). I have no idea how this will come across to professors who are evaluating my application.
Schools: I am applying to ten History PhD programs, including UT Austin and UChicago. For almost every single school, I identified two faculty with whom I'd like to work, each of whom specializes in one of my two countries, two additional faculty in History whose thematic interests overlap with mine, at least two faculty outside the History Department with whom I might be able to work, libraries and library collections (should I name specific digital collections in my SoP or can I just say "the relevant digital collections?") that contain materials relevant to my proposed project, as well as research centers and institutes that cater to my fields. I've also reached out to potential advisors at these schools, and I actually reached out to advisors at my top choice at the beginning of this year.
Languages: Research fluency in three non-European languages and intermediate knowledge of one more. I know some French and Russian as well, which my transcripts attest to, but I'm not sure whether it would be a good idea to list them on my applications. At present, only the non-European languages are listed, with the sole exception of the application form for one school.
Research Experience etc.: I've participated in an undergrad research conference with a paper written using non-English primary sources. My BA thesis is a close study of the principal works of two nineteenth century thinkers from my regions. My secondary source engagement in that paper is relatively weak - I have no historiographical survey section, and I leave the few interventions that I make until the conclusion. On the other hand, I translated and quoted numerous passages from the works I read and went to great pains to put the two thinkers in conversation. My intention was to make a preliminary attempt at investigating the manner in which these two regions were assimilated into the Western world order in the nineteenth century. I don't think the result is particularly insightful, which concerns me. Other than that, I worked as a research assistant for a professor in my department for a year, which entailed using materials in one of my languages and learning the basics of paleography. I spent four months studying abroad in one of my countries, and besides that have spent nine additional months in that same country. I've also visited numerous libraries and archives there, including the largest state-run archive. This information is listed in my SoP.
SoP, Research Plans: My countries were both assimilated into the Western world order in the nineteenth century, but one later did well and the other did not. Both became modern, by any definition of the term, but only one prospered in the process. Scholarship on modernity in these countries approaches it as a perpetually mobile cultural signifier. While modernity is in one sense specific to time and place, the ubiquity of such principles as those of popular sovereignty and the separation of Church and State suggests that it also possesses a universal content consisting of a set of novel attitudes to individuals, populations, states, and belief. I'd like to do an intellectual history exploring the assimilation into modernity of my two countries in this latter sense, with potential topics including theories of sovereignty, their influence on historiography, and the relationship between religion and state. I might also want to tie these into sociopolitical conflict in my countries. In my SoP, I identify four figures, two from opposing sides of the debates from each of my countries, whose work I could use to investigate the question of theories of sovereignty. I name one relevant book by each, give my own translation of the title of the book, and give its original language title in parentheses. I also list four archives that likely contain pertinent material unavailable in the United States.
Writing Sample: I have no idea how to edit my writing sample to make it competitive. I kept most of the introduction, smoothed out the language, corrected errors of spelling and grammar wherever I found them, and focused on showcasing the parts of my thesis where I either translate from primary sources or make arguments and/or comparisons about them, but I don't know whether or not I did all that well enough.
Would anyone happen to have any tips, hints, or tricks, thoughts, or advice? I'm getting help and support from the people around me, but I have no real conception of what a competitive application looks like or of what important information they might not be telling me.