VCO

I want to comment on this, and let me preface it by saying that I'm not even sure this competition exists on a personal level as it's described here (people not wanting to help each other out by giving advice and whatnot). I think the only real competition may be for jobs, which is silly because the odds that you'll eventually go for the same job as anyone on this site (or in your program, for that matter) are actually pretty slim. I did my undergrad in Middle Eastern Studies at UT Austin, which (I'm told) has a really serious and great grad program in the same, so maybe someone on here will find what I observed to be somewhat insightful. As I saw it, there were two very broad types of people doing MES grad work: one group consisted of the military/government/security/intelligence types, who were all either headed for or had come from DC, New York, etc. and with whom you could also loosely group the international business people (the very few of them). The other was made up of the ones bound for academia (themselves divided into areas of interest or discipline, the largest two I noticed being comparative literature and language instruction/acquisition), with whom you could loosely group the journalism/international law/human rights/reporter people. Of those two broad groups, one seemed largely distrusting of the other, and the other seemed to not have any idea (y'all can guess which was which). Based on what I've seen here, most of us fall roughly into that second group. The academia-bound people probably realize that when all is said and done, they are going to be competing for relatively few teaching jobs until this field reaches the ubiquity of, say, East Asian Studies. The terminal MA types looking for international jobs might have a bit of an easier time. The sense I get is that NELC/MES students are not trying to undercut each other as much as they are just sort of geeky, in some cases socially awkward (hello) types who feel that the pride they have in their eccentricity and the uniqueness of their skills and interests is violated when they see others pursuing the same, equally unique thing (and maybe doing it better!), which explains the wicked reservations some have about getting all geeky with one another and advising each other. That's the closest I can come to putting it into words. Here's another, more embarrassing and revealing way to put it: I am a refugee case worker in Los Angeles working almost solely with Iranians, and since Iranians are thrilled when someone speaks their language, they're constantly complementing me on my Persian. Every so often, someone will tell me offhandedly that they met some other American dude at some embassy or at some airport who spoke really great Persian, which causes a hot wave of jealousy to roll over me. It's the silliest, most ridiculous thing ever (isn't it??), yet I think it may be related to why some people feel that others are intentionally not giving advice or helping people out here. Could we all be projecting these intentions on others because we actually harbor the same feelings? The real irony, I think, is that we can all only benefit from increasing interest and support for these kinds of programs (which starts with us talking and cooperating with each other). More interest, funding, etc. means more jobs. More cooperation between peoples, nations, etc. means more international exchange (of both goods and information), which also means more jobs. I may have gotten a bit away from my point, which is that I think these feelings, in any discipline, field, or profession, exist mostly in the hearts of insecure people (again, hello).

Cool, I hope by now you've heard some good news. I would likely work with Ghanoonparvar or Shirazi, and Hillmann for language. I'm doing an MA and I'm still not sure about research topics, etc. I also applied to Chicago NELC (denied) and a bunch of other programs, but to sociology. Denied across the board in soc with the notable and extremely odd exception of Columbia (no funding, so it was kind of like they were teasing me). Sometimes I really believe those admissions committees are just drawing from hats. If you end up at UT, hope to see you there.

Oops, forgot to check this thing for quite a while... The people at Chicago were super cool when I visited them in early '10. Rusty Rook, their CMES director, was a real swell guy (although homeboy could talk for an hour without stopping). However, when I applied two years later, I noticed he'd been fired, which people were saying might mean they were going to shut down the CMES. I don't know in what state it is currently (but I'm sure it's still there). The other guys (John Woods, Franklin Lewis, etc) were also very nice and accessible. My impression of the grad program at UT as an undergrad was hazy - I avoided talking to MES grad students like the plague as I had this weird idea that they were all snobby and out to keep us from becoming their competition - but from all I've read and heard now, what you've heard is probably mostly true. It's now looking more and more like I may be heading there. Have you decided yet?

Hi everyone, I applied to mostly Sociology programs for fall '12 because I had this grand vision of myself incorporating Iranian Studies into Sociology (silly me), and now the denials are coming from all sides. Luckily, I applied to Middle Eastern Studies MA programs at a few schools - UT, UWashington, and UChicago. I got accepted to UT but I'm kind of leaning away from it because I did my undergrad there, although it seems I may not have much choice in the matter. Other than waiting and reapplying again for programs that start in the spring (I can't wait another year, my job is burning me out). I'm just curious as to y'all's opinions on these programs, or what y'all might do in this situation. Also if anyone is currently at UT in this or a similar program, I'd love to hear from you too. Thanks in advance!

refresh refresh, did you hear from UT yet? I'm into Iranian studies with a strong sociology bent towards family/diaspora issues (whatever the hell that means, still trying to figure it out), and I just got my acceptance to the CMES there. It might end up being the only place I get in, so I'm trying to decide what to do now.