Specializations?

[history_PhD]

I was wondering what everyone's preferred fields were: time period, geographic region, etc.? I'm interested in 19th C. American history, particularly during Civil War/ Reconstruction. I feel like this board should be more active; it appears that there are a lot of history applicants here, but they just don't post!

[MegMill]

We shall post!

I am interested in American legal history as it relates to the ideas and philosophies that served as the impetus to women gaining their legal rights.

So basically - legal & women's history.

[BadgerHopeful]

20th-century America - SURPRISE!

[Jdealla]

20th Century Latin America

[a piece of bread]

I am interested in how religious differences between sunni and shii sects of Islam shaped the conflicts in Ottoman-Iranian borderlands and what was the role played by Kurdish tribes in the frontiers. Time period is early 18th century.

Edited December 3, 2010 by a piece of bread

[Emerson]

I fancy myself an early Americanist, with interests that cover religion, philosophy, and culture. I am especially interested in the tensions of nationalism and internationalism, exceptionalism and cosmopolitanism, and American conceptions of the broader Atlantic world. More specific themes include the development democracy, identity boundaries, evolving notions of citizenship in the early republic, religious legitimacy in the antebellum period, the Transcendentalist movement, and even early Mormonism.

So many topics, so little time.

[BadgerHopeful]

Emerson, what college are you in?

[Paradeplatz]

19th and 20th century history of knowledge, focus on Europe

History of knowledge as a field pioneered by Michel Foucault in between history of science, intellectual and cultural history

[RDX]

Apply for 20th century Chinese cultural history or the history of ideas because I was hired for two years to do things on this

Actually interested in the 16th century European history of ideas and history of religion

[Emerson]

Emerson, what college are you in?

Badger: Currently Hughes Hall, but if I end up staying I'll be trying to switch over to Jesus. Why do you ask?

[BadgerHopeful]

I'm at King's. Sorry if I was too nosy.

[Emerson]

I'm at King's. Sorry if I was too nosy.

Not nosy at all. I was just surprised since most americanists have no idea how the college system works!

[egg-bean-crumpet]

Gilded Age and Progressive Era America, focusing on working class social history, immigration and urban history

[sidiosquiere]

I'm interested in how local groups and individuals in the Ottoman Empire's Arab provinces challenged imperial legitimacy through philanthropy. late 19th early 20th centuries.

[natsteel]

I am focused on the political culture and intellectual history of the U.S. colonial and revolutionary periods. My junior honors paper focused on colonial New York City (my mentor is a PP-winning historian of New York City) and I will be doing another honors paper next semester on colonial New York City again.

[radagast]

late 19th/early 20th United States History (More specifically from roughly Reconstruction to the Great Depression). I am most interested in American cultural history and the fluctuating racial and ethnic categories of this time period, especially as pertaining to the rise of American music, art, and literature.

[qbtacoma]

19th/20th century US history with a focus on intersections of race/immigrant status with the development of public health policy. Eugenics is a natural point of research but I'm more interested in how/if race-based thinking was used to establish epidemic policies, health awareness campaigns, etc. Disease prevention and nationalism shared a lot of rhetoric; hence the interest in immigration as well.

[rmcclymo]

The first couple of paragraphs of my statement of purpose show my specialization and research interests :-)

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On May 25, 1963, the Heads of African States andGovernments that had assembled in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia presentedthe Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). According to the preamble of theCharter, achieving meaningful autonomy from colonialism and neo-colonialismpivoted fundamentally on devising strategies to “harness the natural and humanresources of our continent for the total advancement of our peoples in allspheres of human endeavor.” Both the story of the OAU and thebroader continental goals of resource management and development have fallenunder the genre of historical tragedy. Hopes that burned bright in the moments after independence dimmed withpolitical corruption and instability, the stranglehold of western capitalist firmsand institutions, and environmental degradation. However, drawing too strong a contrast between initialexpectations and apparent shortcomings risks ascribing linear inevitability toa series of processes, contexts and choices that merit research and analysisbeyond the diagnosis of failure. It is my goal to revisit the history of the transnational strugglessurrounding the parallel projects of politico-economic independence, and environmentaland resource management in post-colonial Africa.

The Master’s thesis I am currently writing explores theevolution of the Organization of African Unity’s policies on the use anddevelopment of natural resources in comparison to the environmental developmentand protection prescriptions emerging from the U.N Environment Program (UNEP). Whatever failures the OAU may have had either in securing theindigenous control and development of resources, or in fostering a genuineenvironmentalism, I argue the organization’s records reveal overlooked andunder analyzed insights into African initiatives for both local and globalenvironmental/natural resource policy. In the course of my dissertation I hope to build upon this research,mining the archives of the OAU, the U.N, the World Bank and key nationalAfrican governments where available. I want to tell a truly global account, placing Africa at the center of ahistorical narrative linking international organizations, global environmentalpolicy and economic development.

[EricaMarie]

Revolutionary and early republican America, with a focus on the socio-political and socio-economic reasons for both the American Revolution itself (which is what I'm working on now for my thesis) and the Constitution itself. I have some theories about the Constitution that I'd like to flesh out in a dissertation.

[meo03]

the Antebellum South, particularly the politics of the Upper States and the borderlands. I'm particularly interested in the interplay between economic and material forces and the development of local, state, and national identities.

While I recognize that these multifaceted identities and cleavages exist at any place and time- I am particularly interested in the antebellum borderlands because it does so much to challenge the national narrative.

Edited January 5, 2011 by meo03

[sankd]

Identity and loyalty amongst non-elites in Iraq during the interwar (Kingdom, but probably mandate as well) period.

Depending on where I end up, I'll probably do 19th century America and postwar Germany as minor fields.

Boom.

[kotov]

Modern Europe, esp. Eastern Europe. My main interest is the Holocaust and the Holodomor, and genocide more generally, though post-war Eastern Europe interests me too (especially Romania, since I already speak Romanian pretty well). Considering a minor field in Turkish history, if I can, or maybe modern Central Asia. If I get into Indiana I'll probably do a minor in Romanian Studies.

I'm currently doing work relating to the American media's treatment of the Holodomor (denials/misrepresentations, Ukrainian-American responses, etc.). I just finished a paper on the Holodomor in contemporary Ukrainian politics (my writing sample). My main interests for grad school, tailored a bit to where I end up, are either:

- The [Nazi] German response (political/humanitarian) to the Holodomor, esp. the plight of the "Volga Germans"

- Cannibalism during the Holodomor

- Official denial of the Holocaust in Communist Romania

Edited January 5, 2011 by kotov

[Bridget]

This is a great question!! Just look at all the diverse interests !! For myself- my research interests are in global and women's history -particularly development and social movements post-1945.

[my future is history]

Japanese & Korean discourses of gender in Korea during the colonial period (1910-1945).

I ended up applying to two programs in Japanese history and one in Korean history. My topic fits either way, I think...

[theregalrenegade]

18th century British studies, mostly Regency Era.. I'm interested in culture and language, possibly focusing on conversation and gender