I am going to be applying to Ph.D. programs during the 2021-2022 season. I am here to gain something of an early start by asking questions to the GC philosophy (et al.) community. I hope that my questions may provide teaching moments to some of you application season vets who may choose to engage. Perhaps give each of you a chance to forget about your own anxieties for a bit, or perhaps even alleviate your unease in the process.
Okay so, just as the subject line says: I am in the process of choosing my thesis project. I am to write a proposal and turn it in by the end of the month. I began conducting tentative research during the summer which seemingly culminated a thesis project that, without getting too specific, would require what we'll call 'cross-sectional' research consisting of political philosophy (ancient, contemporary Western), metaphysics, and Latin American philosophy. And so, I am told that this will determine where I pitch myself. But then, today I attended the thesis presentation of a peer who is doing something that is similar enough in relation to the Latin American part, namely a shared Pre-Conquest element. My peer was told to be cautious of giving off a notion of, to paraphrase, "not being wholly committed to working under one's adviser/program" in his application, which would be difficult given the Cross-Sectional demand behind writing a dissertation of this kind and thereby forging one's AOSs. That made me nervous. Indeed I took that to heart in light of the fact that competition for funded spots is apparently unprecedented given our global situation at the moment and beyond.
To wrap this up, I do have an alternative thesis topic, which would focus primarily on political philosophy and epistemology among other branches. I pride myself on doing work that is applicable to current events, which each project is indeed, but I happen to see more importance in the first project. I would also like to focus on Latin American stuff someday no matter what I do immediately next. And I also happen to think it is deeply philosophical, but I would need to take seminars in either Latin American Studies, Anthropology, History, or a combination of all the above (if possible). Any advice would be much appreciated, please...