Identifying programs basd on methodological interests

[kmj-c09]

Hi all, 

I am seriously considering applying to a PHD in the fall, in either Sociology or Anthropology (possibly Geography or Latin American studies - the methods I am interested in using and learning are used by a few different disciplines and I would be flexible, with the priority of finding faculty support for the kinds of research I am interested in). 

I have fairly specific research interests, including the types of methods I want to use (participatory action research, community based participatory research, and social cartography), the region/area of focus (Latin America, particularly Colombia and Honduras), and I have specific topical issues/questions I want to propose. 

However, I'm having trouble figuring out how to efficiently find professors who are a good fit for these research areas. So far I have been just looking at the faculty pages of universities, but I'm wondering if there is a more efficient ways to approach the search. I've thought about tracing back through articles that use the methods I am interested in, or possibly conference programs or associations (like the Latin American Studies Association). Does anyone have recommendations or ideas for what has worked best for them? 

Thank you!! 

[lkaitlyn]

The strategies you're doing are really all there is to do to find faculty: search through faculty pages on program websites, look up faculty who write articles related to your interests (and go through their CVs and see who they collaborated with and read their profiles), ask mentors in your field if they have recommendations. I think I went through ~100 program websites (not an exaggeration) in total searching through faculty profiles, both cold-using the US News (yuck) ranking list of sociology programs and back-tracing from articles and CVs. It took forever but it's worth it to find programs that will really be able to support your interests. If you mention your interests here, perhaps some of us could also suggest programs to look at, but you'll need to be a touch more specific about your subfields (gender? race/ethnicity? social movements?). You can also DM me if you don't want to post, but others might have good suggestions.

Also, note that the methods you're choosing aren't the words I've seen sociology faculty use to describe their methods. You'll want to look for sociology faculty who say they focus on qualitative methods, ethnography, demography, in-depth interviews, etc., and who also focus on the general regions and other subfields (see examples above) you're interested in. And definitely word your SOP for sociology schools with research method terms that the discipline uses. Right now, it sounds very much like anthropology work, and if you're applying to sociology schools, you have to make it clear that you understand what you're signing up to do.

Edited May 20, 2020 by lkaitlyn

[lkaitlyn]

2 minutes ago, lkaitlyn said:

The strategies you're doing are really all there is to do to find faculty: search through faculty pages on program websites, look up faculty who write articles related to your interests (and go through their CVs and see who they collaborated with and read their profiles), ask mentors in your field if they have recommendations. I think I went through ~100 program websites (not an exaggeration) in total searching through faculty profiles, both cold-using the US News (yuck) ranking list of sociology programs and back-tracing from articles and CVs. It took forever but it's worth it to find programs that will really be able to support your interests. If you mention your interests here, perhaps some of us could also suggest programs to look at, but you'll need to be a touch more specific about your subfields (gender? race/ethnicity? social movements?). You can also DM me if you don't want to post, but others might have good suggestions.

Also, note that the methods you're choosing aren't the words I've seen sociology faculty use to describe their methods. You'll want to look for sociology faculty who say they focus on qualitative methods, ethnography, demography, in-depth interviews, etc., and who also focus on the general regions and other subfields (see examples above) you're interested in. And definitely word your SOP for sociology schools with research method terms that the discipline uses. Right now, it sounds very much like anthropology work, and if you're applying to sociology schools, you have to make it clear that you understand what you're signing up to do.

Also, I lowkey went through your profile and saw you went to HLS. If you know any sociology professors there, they'd have good suggestions for where to look. If you're interested in gender or social movements, perhaps reach out to Jocelyn Viterna.

[kmj-c09]

Thank you very much!! 

This is very helpful. I was hoping there may be a more efficient way, but I'm not surprised there isn't ? I'm learning to really appreciate the departments that list at least a minimal note about faculty interests on the faculty page so you don't have to click through to every profile! haha 

Broad strokes of more information on my substantive interests: 

- land rights movements (including campesino, indigenous, and afro-descendent movements), agrarian reform, and agrarian counter reform 

- privatization of the security sector in rural areas (including paramilitarization) and violence against land rights movements 

- community self-protection and resiliency strategies 

- the political nature of drug trafficking networks and violence 

I have experience working closely with grassroots movements in Colombia and Honduras so I would like to build off of that work, but I am also potentially interested in exploring other case studies including Brazil and Mexico. 

I've been debating between anthropology and sociology, partially for the reasons you mention. I think the methods I'm interested in are more rooted in anthro, but I also suspect at some universities the faculty/particular professors in sociology may be a better fit than the anthro department (especially at places where anthropology departments are more heavily biological anthropology or archaeology focused). I'm also considering human geography programs. 

Jocelyn Viterna was on my list of people to potential reach out to actually! So this confirms that  

Thank you so much for your help, it makes this whole process less mystifying! 

 

[Rosettaspoon]

-another possbile way is to write to a professor whose research you're interested in -- they might recommend other *better fit* professors to you. 

- also related to the anthropology vs. sociology issue... you might want to also take into account that the mainstream sociology (in the US) has this tendency of "if you don't count, you don't count." If you're interested in qualitative methods and found yourself more comfortable doing ethnography or alike. Anthrology could turn out to be a better fit.