Specializations?

[rsldonk]

I like economic/social history. I did a lot of stuff at the Master's level with the beer brewing industry in Bohemia from about 1860 to present. Most of my coursework, due to where I did my MA, was in Western American history. I was looking at the archive I used for my thesis and just scrolling through their catalog and found that in my hometown of Ogden, Utah, there was a major regional brewery, which I found interesting considering that the majority Mormon population doesn't drink alcohol. So I think I'm going to do something about the relationship between Mormons and non Mormons in Utah as demonstrated by the existence of industries like breweries (since most of the employees were Mormon).

[history_PhD]

I like economic/social history. I did a lot of stuff at the Master's level with the beer brewing industry in Bohemia from about 1860 to present. Most of my coursework, due to where I did my MA, was in Western American history. I was looking at the archive I used for my thesis and just scrolling through their catalog and found that in my hometown of Ogden, Utah, there was a major regional brewery, which I found interesting considering that the majority Mormon population doesn't drink alcohol. So I think I'm going to do something about the relationship between Mormons and non Mormons in Utah as demonstrated by the existence of industries like breweries (since most of the employees were Mormon).

Interesting! Mormons have always been teetotalers, right?

[qbtacoma]

I don't like beer myself, but I had a friend who grew up in Park City, Utah, where the Polygamy Porter brew is apparently quite nice.

[rsldonk]

Interesting! Mormons have always been teetotalers, right?

Actually, no, they haven't. The doctrine has existed, but at distinct points (mostly leadership changes) the interpretation of the doctrine changed. Originally, what is called the Word of Wisdom was just a suggestion and the most important part of it was the emphasis on eating meat sparingly. Alcohol use was discouraged, at least for distilled spirits, but beer was accepted. Until a new leader came to power who was a firm supporter of Prohibition (and at the same time period). Even then, an outright ban on other things like coffee didn't come until about World War II.

And Polygamy Porter is pretty good, if you like porters. If you're a fan of Guiness, you will probably like Polygamy Porter. I just love their ads, bet you can't have just one.

Edited January 9, 2011 by rsldonk

[Henry Hudson]

Indigenous North America, especially 20th Century.

[rsldonk]

Indigenous North America, especially 20th Century.

Really interesting. I've heard it's very hard to get into this if you aren't Native American yourself. Not sure how true that is.

[Derfasciti]

Oooh fun topic!

I've been applying to schools basically as a modern Russianist. I'm interested in the 18th-20th century - political, diplomatic and intellectual history. More specifically, I'd like to do research on the ultra-conservative circles in Imperial Russia; like the Black Hundreds and the Pan-Slavists. But I'm also very much interested in German 19th and early 20th century political and diplomatic history as well.

[Henry Hudson]

Really interesting. I've heard it's very hard to get into this if you aren't Native American yourself. Not sure how true that is.

not true, in my experience. I've seen far fewer barriers than I expected.

[Melissa33]

I So I think I'm going to do something about the relationship between Mormons and non Mormons in Utah as demonstrated by the existence of industries like breweries (since most of the employees were Mormon).

When we lived in Utah, we had a bumper sticker that read, "Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow You May Be In Utah."

We lived in Moab - the black sheep of Utah due to its low Mormon population. At one time, the state actually pushed legislation for Moab to become part of Colorado.

And to chime in on topic, my primary area of interest is Romani studies, particularly in Eastern Europe. I am also interested in the Yugoslav wars and post-war society. I am finishing my MA thesis this semester on Kosovar nationalism from Tito to the present and how the Roma have fit within the dominant nationalist ideology.

[StrangeLight]

Really interesting. I've heard it's very hard to get into this if you aren't Native American yourself. Not sure how true that is.

i know many professors and students of native american/first nations history personally, and none of them are native. it would actually be comforting to know that graduate schools are taking on native americans as graduate students.

Edited January 17, 2011 by StrangeLight

[rsldonk]

When we lived in Utah, we had a bumper sticker that read, "Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow You May Be In Utah."

I have this on a shot glass.

And to chime in on topic, my primary area of interest is Romani studies, particularly in Eastern Europe. I am also interested in the Yugoslav wars and post-war society. I am finishing my MA thesis this semester on Kosovar nationalism from Tito to the present and how the Roma have fit within the dominant nationalist ideology.

Now this I really find interesting. When I lived in the Czech Republic, I knew many Roma (and I have a very mixed opinion about them). Are there any programs that look at the Roma as a group?

[Melissa33]

When I lived in the Czech Republic, I knew many Roma (and I have a very mixed opinion about them). Are there any programs that look at the Roma as a group?

Not in the US, yet. There has been talk of a Romani studies PhD program at UT-Austin. Romani studies programs are beginning to gain ground in Europe where the Roma are the largest minority. I think eventually they will be comparable to African American studies in the US. I very often compare their status in Europe to pre-civil rights Blacks here.

I lived also in CZ - studied at Charles University and worked with a Romani NGO. I find it interesting you have a mixed opinion of Roma (i have a mixed opinion on the human race in general!). I am going to guess you had some bad experiences. Not sure how long ago you lived there, but since '89 they are treated terribly by the government and the majority of "white" citizens. Living in CZ, you probably witnessed this. Czechs view Roma and homeless folks as the bane of their country.

[rsldonk]

Not in the US, yet. There has been talk of a Romani studies PhD program at UT-Austin. Romani studies programs are beginning to gain ground in Europe where the Roma are the largest minority. I think eventually they will be comparable to African American studies in the US. I very often compare their status in Europe to pre-civil rights Blacks here.

I lived also in CZ - studied at Charles University and worked with a Romani NGO. I find it interesting you have a mixed opinion of Roma (i have a mixed opinion on the human race in general!). I am going to guess you had some bad experiences. Not sure how long ago you lived there, but since '89 they are treated terribly by the government and the majority of "white" citizens. Living in CZ, you probably witnessed this. Czechs view Roma and homeless folks as the bane of their country.

Yes, I had some good and bad experiences with the Roma. I lived in Usti nad Labem when the wall was under discussion that would separate the white Czechs from the Roma (1998-1999) and in Ostrava in 2000. They certainly get treated horribly, but after I had three attempts from Roma to pick my pocket, among other issues, you just can't help but think that maybe there is some validity to the stereotypes. I know that's probably not fair, but I never had the same sort of incidents with white Czechs. Maybe I just never met the right Roma or something. I know it's really hard for them to find honest work, so that sort of does skew the view of them, since they aren't trusted. It's a difficult situation.

Do you speak the Roma language?

[jtaylorhfc]

20th century resource competition, with a particular emphasis on Anglo-American discord regarding Middle Eastern oil and the Cold War dynamics of oil competition.

Also have an interest in Anglo-American relations generally, and during the Korean war in particular.

[thepoorstockinger]

Modern America (from the 1960s to the 1990s) particularly urban history and the radical left.

[StrangeLight]

They certainly get treated horribly, but after I had three attempts from Roma to pick my pocket, among other issues, you just can't help but think that maybe there is some validity to the stereotypes. I know that's probably not fair, but I never had the same sort of incidents with white Czechs. Maybe I just never met the right Roma or something. I know it's really hard for them to find honest work, so that sort of does skew the view of them, since they aren't trusted. It's a difficult situation.

uhhh...

[rsldonk]

uhhh...

Just being honest and not trying to sound perfect, since I'm not. Whenever I was around Roma, I would watch my wallet closer, and that came from the experience of not doing it. I know it sounds bad, I feel bad about it. But it is what it is. If you've been a victim of crime, you just don't trust people the same after.

[Melissa33]

Do you speak the Roma language?

I don't. I do speak fair Czech though and intend to begin focusing on BCS (Bosnian-Croatian-Serb) for my second language requirement. I thought of learning Romany, but there are so many dialects and it really wouldn't serve me well academically, especially for historic research.

On another note, I think we need to be really careful not to generalize an entire ethnicity of folks for bad experiences with some. Saying you watch your wallet closer when around Roma is no different from saying you watch it closer around Blacks or Hispanics and I really don't think you would say that. Where you were is only a tiny percentage of the entire population of Roma that span the gamut of professional hard-working Roma to street thieves. Just food for thought.

[rsldonk]

I don't. I do speak fair Czech though and intend to begin focusing on BCS (Bosnian-Croatian-Serb) for my second language requirement. I thought of learning Romany, but there are so many dialects and it really wouldn't serve me well academically, especially for historic research.

On another note, I think we need to be really careful not to generalize an entire ethnicity of folks for bad experiences with some. Saying you watch your wallet closer when around Roma is no different from saying you watch it closer around Blacks or Hispanics and I really don't think you would say that. Where you were is only a tiny percentage of the entire population of Roma that span the gamut of professional hard-working Roma to street thieves. Just food for thought.

I know that and I own it. I'm not perfect nor do I claim to be.

[Bukharan]

Please, don't pick on a poor bloke. He only said what most Europeans think anyway, with the exception that he put it as politically correctly as he only could and then also apologised a couple of times ... for his personal experiences.

I think there is a fairly big academic Romani project going on at the University of Manchester but I am not sure whether they published much yet.

[kotov]

I found an interesting book on the Romani Holocaust (aka the Porajmos) at Books-a-Million the other day. I can't remember exactly what it was called and didn't have the money to buy it, but if you're interested in the Romani, it would probably be a good thing to check out. If anyone is curious, I could try to find the title.

[qbtacoma]

I know that and I own it. I'm not perfect nor do I claim to be.

I appreciate that you own it. I know how far I personally have to come with stereotypes that I have unwittingly picked up. It is hard to do the right thing and to remind myself to be measured, compassionate, and self-critical. That's why recognizing what you have to work on is so important.

Bukharan, saying that rsldonk shouldn't get a hard time just because "most Europeans think" that is such a lazy excuse. The number of people who have a bad idea has no bearing on the idea's merit.

[DrOrpheus]

I study Classical Greece, particularly warfare, technology, and democracy. My UG thesis was on the foundation and evolution of the Macedonian navy from Philip II to Alexander the Great. Not much has been done in terms of excavating the site that I argue for; I'd love to go over and do some underwater archaeology to see if evidence of an ancient harbor (and perhaps ship types) could be found but I believe the location has silted in considerably over the centuries.

I know, I know..."Get thee to the Classics board, nerd!" I've applied to a Classics program as well, but my heart is in history and archaeology.

FWIW, If I had to pick an alternate, I'd choose to study the history of atomic energy & weaponry. I just like technology in conjunction with things that go BOOM, I guess.

[TMP]

I study Classical Greece, particularly warfare, technology, and democracy. My UG thesis was on the foundation and evolution of the Macedonian navy from Philip II to Alexander the Great. Not much has been done in terms of excavating the site that I argue for; I'd love to go over and do some underwater archaeology to see if evidence of an ancient harbor (and perhaps ship types) could be found but I believe the location has silted in considerably over the centuries.

I know, I know..."Get thee to the Classics board, nerd!" I've applied to a Classics program as well, but my heart is in history and archaeology.

FWIW, If I had to pick an alternate, I'd choose to study the history of atomic energy & weaponry. I just like technology in conjunction with things that go BOOM, I guess.

I realize that you have a "two-body" problem but did you ever consider Michigan?

[rsldonk]

I realize that you have a "two-body" problem but did you ever consider Michigan?

Or UT-Austin?