Conmel

Two on the go at the moment: Alistair Horne - A Savage War of Peace Albert Hourani - Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age

That was me this time last year - 0 out of 6. It took me months to get over the disappointment. However, I took another shot at it this year (albeit with applcations to a bunch a different universities on a different continent). So far have received acceptances for every application. So keep your head up!

My rejections have been from History programs - UCLA and LSE officially so far, and I'm assuming Columbia as well, since they sent out their acceptances a week or two ago.

Congrats Idoone, you've given us a glimmer of hope, although it's the hope that's killing me right now! With two official rejections in the last week and Columbia likely gone as well, I'm down to three schools (the joint MES & History programs at NYU and Harvard, and NES at Princeton) and starting to think in terms of Plan B.

I see someone has posted an NYU acceptance in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. I was previously informed that they can accept a maximum of five, including the joint history program. Anyone know if the decision for the joint history program is likely to have been sent today as well?

Ah never mind, just got my official rejection.

Hi there, it seems yours is still the only confirmed acceptance for UCLA we have so far, may I ask what your field is?

Right now I'm primarily interested in the transnational/regional networks established between Arab and Indian Muslim institutes of Islamic learning and their ulama and students in the last 150 years or so. What about yourself?

Hi there hohummelody, I've applied to NES at Princeton and been invited to the admissions weekend at the end of this month.

Any news on MES at Harvard and NYU?

Haven't heard anything yet, although as I've applied for the joint ME Studies & History, I'm unsure which department handles it. Also I already had a Skype chat with a POI last August. But I would imagine in any case that, given the holidays, they've only just begun sorting through the applications in the past week or so.

Have just completed my sixth application, possibly have one more to do but it's for a UK school (SOAS) so plenty of time left for it - I'm just waiting for some feedback from a couple of professors there. Seems as good a time as any to introduce myself on here, I'm an Irish student with an MA in Middle Eastern History from Tel Aviv University. My area is modern Middle Eastern/Islamic history, I am especially interested in late 19th/early 20th century transnational Islamic networks established by the ulama of the Arab Middle East and British India. Have applied at UCLA (History), Columbia (History), NYU (History & Middle East Studies), Harvard (History & Middle East Studies), Princeton (Near East Studies) and LSE (International History), with SOAS application still to be made. Obviously they're all top-bracket schools so I'm running a bit of a risk of disappointment, but I figure for me to uproot my wife from her great job here and move to the US for 5+years, it's gotta be worth it in all aspects, i.e. an offer we can't refuse.

Similar concern here. I sent my GRE scores out to my selected schools on 25th October, well in advance of my applications, and never heard anything from the schools to confirm they had received them. Have completed my application to Columbia over the weekend, and after submitting it, noticed in the 'application checklist' that they are saying that have not yet received my GRE score. Obviously it could simply be the case that they haven't matched my score to the just-submitted application, but it has me a little worried that earlier applications may not have received my scores.

After High School, I spent four years working a series of crappy jobs which funded extensive travels in the Middle East and South Asia, during which I developed an interest in the history of the region. Decided to give college a chance without really knowing where it would lead, and things just progressed from there. Spent another year traveling after my BA, then decided to get an MA in Middle Eastern Studies. About halfway through that two-year program, I realized that I was consistently in the top three performers in the program, and there was nothing else I'd rather spend the next decade or so doing than continuing with my studies. That was over two years ago now, it's only in the last year that I've finally acquired the qualifications needed for a PHD, I'm 30 years old next May so it's now or never for me.

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., culture and protest, African-American) 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) 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) 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) Latin American History CageFree (20th century, Southern Cone), BH-history, The People's Scholar (18th-19th century Colombia) StrangeLight (20th century Central America) East Asian History alleykat (Modern China) kyjin (Pre-Modern Japan) aec09g (Modern Japan) pudewen (Late Imperial China) kdavid (Modern China; focus on the Republican period) Near/Middle Eastern History uhohlemonster, (modern Israel, Iran, Palestine) oswic (modern Egypt, gender) Conmel (modern pan-Islamic thought/networks) Atlantic World sandyvanb crazedandinfused Global/World History cooperstreet (Cold War) melissarose8585 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) Science/Technology/Environment shaxmaty1848 (Cold War) StrangeLight (environmental history, ecological distribution conflicts) Social annieca (Cold War and Post-Cold War East and Central Europe) Classical and Medieval Hogs of War (Monastic Studies and Conflicts in Authority) 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) Canadian History truthfinder (New France, religious)

Here they are: Ibn Khaldun - Al-Muqaddimah (this is another classic text that all grad students in the Middle East field will encounter at some stage) Yitzhak Nakash - The Shi'is of Iraq (type of book I wish I'd wrote) Cemal Kafadar - Between Two Worlds (origins of the Ottoman state) and a personal travel favorite: William Dalrymple - From the Holy Mountain (travels from Mt. Athos to southern Egypt discussing the decline of Eastern Christianity)

Thought I'd bump this. I'm in between degrees, have received my MA and hoping to start a PHD program next fall. My field is Middle Eastern and Islamic History. Here are some of the best books I read during my MA: Kamal Salibi - A House of Many Mansions (mentioned above I believe) Roy Mottahedeh - The Mantle of the Prophet (probably the best book on the region I've read, even though Iran is not one of my chief areas) Marshall Hodgson - The Venture of Islam 3 Vols. (classic but heavy work - the opening 90-100 pages of volume 1 are especially important for grad students in this field) Barbara Metcalf - Islamic Revival in British India (not strictly Middle East, it covers the rise of the Deoband school and its rivals in British India) Elie Kedourie - The Chatham House Version (controversial, probably not on many reading lists in American academia anymore but worth a read for a different perspective on the post-WW1 region. If nothing else, it is really well written) Fred Halliday - Arabia Without Sultans (not strictly written as a work of history, however he's probably been the biggest influence on my approach and this is his classic) Yezid Sayigh - Armed Struggle and the Search for a State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993 (a topic I tend to stay well away from, but this is one of the finest books on any ME-related topic) There are also some non-academic style books I'd recommend: Max Rodenbeck - Cairo: The City Victorious Wilfred Thesiger - Arabian Sands Robert Byron - Road to Oxiana Bruce Clark - Twice a Stranger (about the Greek-Turkish population exchange) I'm sure there's a few more I'll post when they come to mind.

Some of you may find these interesting LSE International History - https://twitter.com/lsehistory Ottoman History Podcast - https://twitter.com/OttomanHistory National Archives UK - https://twitter.com/UkNatArchives History in Pictures - https://twitter.com/HistoryInPix Lost Islamic History - https://twitter.com/LostIslamicHist 48 Arab-Israeli War - https://twitter.com/1948War

Ah OK, thanks for the heads up! I'm pretty sure I'll be back to you at some point next year with a few more questions, thanks again.

Thanks for your very valuable response. The second half is particularly encouraging. Just need to get through the process/paperwork, and hopefully once we're through to the other side, we can look forward to settling down. I'll be sure to report back with my own experiences once the dust settles next year.

Hi there, I'm applying for a few different PHD programs with a view to starting in September 2014. I have read everything on the forums regarding the (somewhat complex) J-1/J-2 visa application process to get my wife permission to reside with me and work while I study in the States. My question relates to my wife's employment prospects on a J-2 visa - basically, how will this status affect potential employers view her applications? She currently has a great job here in Ireland, and while she has no problem with the idea of relocating with me to the States if she can find work at her level and in her area (she does immigration work for an international organization), we are concerned that employers may be put off by the conditional/dependent nature of the J-2 visa, i.e. it being linked to my own temporary J-1 visa. Has anyone here any experience of this whole process?