Narrowing down the grad school list

[pawnee68502]

Hello all,

This is my first post on the grad cafe, and I must say it seems to be an amazing site!

I am finishing up my last year as an Undergrad, and have begun to seriously compile my list of target schools/faculty members.

I was wondering, might anyone else be applying to Middle Eastern and/or Modern Europe History programs? I've had luck searching for some of the more prestigious or well known programs, but does anyone have advice on smaller or maybe even private Universities? So far my list includes: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UT Austin, Columbia. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

[bleistift]

What's your intended area of study in Middle Eastern/Modern European history? Both are still fairly large fields.

[pawnee68502]

My research so far has been focused on cultural/intellectual histories of contemproary French and Algerian Intellectuals. I have a couple of different interest areas and haven't chosen yet which I'd like to pursue. I've thought about staying within North Africa, and working more within Cultural history or maybe women's movements. I've also considered working on Muslim immigration issues in Europe, likely Germany, because of my language skills.

Thanks for your reply!

[crauson]

Check out University of Arizona. It has a Center for Middle Eastern Studies (it might have a slightly different name), one of only six in the country I think. The Middle Eastern Studies and History Departments are very collaborative, and very well respected in the area of Middle Eastern History. To boot, Julia Clancy-Smith is there and she does *exactly* what you are interested in: North African women's and intellectual history, with an emphasis on Algeria. The only downside is I'm pretty sure U of A requires you to get a Masters first and, while they will usually fund you through TAships, I think most people usually take 3 years to get through the MA program, which is a rather long time for a MA. But you'll want to research it further on your own.

[pawnee68502]

Thanks! Univ. of Arizona sounds like a solid possibility. I had Julia Clancy-Smith on my list, but didn't realize that there was a Middle Eastern Studies program there as well.

[crauson]

Thanks! Univ. of Arizona sounds like a solid possibility. I had Julia Clancy-Smith on my list, but didn't realize that there was a Middle Eastern Studies program there as well.

No problem! And the language programs at U of A are phenomenal. Pretty sure they have Turkish, various advanced Arabic classes for each dialect, Persian/Farsi, etc. Oh, and a possible bonus to working with JCS is an instant connection to the MES department since her husband is a professor there.