explodingstressball Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 you may want to take a look at this list: http://www.sscnet.uc...pe/members.html That group looks great! I'm going to have to try and sneak into some of their meetings! kaykaykay 1
hupr Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 What are you guys talking about? There are tons of people working on Africa all over the place: Wisconsin, Northwestern, Stanford, WashU, Georgetown, UCLA, Toronto, Boston U, Yale, Michigan, Columbia, MIT, Harvard, etc. And those are only the higher ranked schools that come to mind off the top of my head. Finding Africanists isn't the problem; it's finding ones who share thematic, geographic (Africa is a big place) and/or methodological approaches that makes it more difficult. Likewise, tons of departments have people working on South Asia.
explodingstressball Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Respectfully disagree. I think if you compare the number of people working on Contemporary European politics to those who work on Africa as a whole, the scales are a little skewed.
mormegil Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Respectfully disagree. I think if you compare the number of people working on Contemporary European politics to those who work on Africa as a whole, the scales are a little skewed. I concur, explodingstressball. What humanpovince is saying regarding South Asianists is true if one considers non-PhD granting departments in the equation.
hupr Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 No one is saying that there are as many Africanists as, say, people who work on Europe or North America. But to go from there to the contention that the only schools with Africanists are Berkeley and Brown, or even that it's difficult to find someone working on Africa, is patently false.
hupr Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Off the top of my head, here are some departments with people working on South Asia: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Wisconsin, Berkeley, NYU, WUSTL, Stanford, And several schools even have programs or centers devoted to South Asia, so if you want to find an advisor with a methodological or theoretical approach that suits your research in the poli sci department and then supplement your committee with area specialists from other departments, that's often a good way to go. I think that unless you're working on some place pretty obscure (there's probably a dearth of people working on Bhutan, for instance), you're not going to have a hard time finding a department that can accommodate your research agenda based on geography alone. Like I said before, though, you might have a harder time when it comes to melding geographical, theoretical and methodological affinities.
sorashinobi Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Just to add my two cents, I did my undergrad thesis on British politics at Michigan and it took me a while to find an adviser and second reader who had more than a cursory knowledge of the British system. If I were doing something on the US or developing world, it would have been much easier.
balderdash Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Yeah, I don't think the problem is too few Africanists. For me, it's that they're all working on political economy rather than statehood (save Reno), legitimacy, et cetera. It's odd, because it's a huge topic in the UK/France. There are some people in the US who do it - Dunn and Herbst - but they're at schools that don't offer doctorates. In Herbst's case, he's even left to be the president of Colgate. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I agree with humanprovince. There are tons of Africanists, but finding overlapping specialties is difficult.
Sichselbstoffenbaren Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Whats the deal with Princeton? Were there any theory admits or any rejections? And to the admits is there a web address to check to verify status besides the checklist?
midwest513 Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Yeah, I can't think of a single Indianist. On the other hand, I can only think (off the top of my head) of two universities that have dedicated Africanists: Brown and Berkeley. Richard Price at Berkeley wrote a lot about South Africa in the early 90s, and Newell Sultz at Brown also looks at South Africa. Am I missing anyone? http://www.poliscijobrumors.com/topic.php?id=32845#post-259308
balderdash Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Whats the deal with Princeton? Were there any theory admits or any rejections? And to the admits is there a web address to check to verify status besides the checklist? Nothing on the website, but I think it's only admits and waitlists that have gone out. Unsure for theory.
morningglory Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 in at notre dame! email came around 8:45 this morning...huh?! well at least it's a nice way to start a sunday.
Penelope Higgins Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 All admits for Princeton in all subfields (including theory) have been notified. I don't know about waitlists or rejections, sorry. Nothing on the website, but I think it's only admits and waitlists that have gone out. Unsure for theory.
tomsmonticello Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Nothing on the website, but I think it's only admits and waitlists that have gone out. Unsure for theory. It seems, based on last year's results, that there is no rhyme or reason to their notifications. There was a mass wave of rejections after most of the admits, but there are only a few admits on the results forum at this point. So I'm not sure what it means. Wishing and Hoping 1
Lost in transition Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 in at notre dame! email came around 8:45 this morning...huh?! well at least it's a nice way to start a sunday. Congrats!!!i'm also an applicant for ND!! they started to notify admissions.....what would be my fate???
balderdash Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 It seems, based on last year's results, that there is no rhyme or reason to their notifications. There was a mass wave of rejections after most of the admits, but there are only a few admits on the results forum at this point. So I'm not sure what it means. Well, they got around 600 apps for ~40 acceptances, right? So the odds of seeing more than, say, 10 on the board would be pretty small. But that's just my $.02.
morningglory Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Congrats!!!i'm also an applicant for ND!! they started to notify admissions.....what would be my fate??? i wouldn't worry yet AT ALL. the letter was actually dated feb 17 so i expect that they're just rolling out admissions slowly. also, i think mine is the only one on the results page (i know it's a sunday, but still), so there HAVE to be more coming. fingers crossed and good luck!
Lost in transition Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) @morningglory Yeah, yours is the first ND acceptance claim for me...ND is my favorite school. i would not fret about yet! Thnks for sharing good news. Edited February 20, 2011 by civil war
redcoat Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 I can claim the MIT admission in comparative. Phone call from a professor this morning. Very unexpected to hear on a sunday, but I'm thrilled either way. So don't give up hope if you're waiting on MIT...
balderdash Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 I can claim the MIT admission in comparative. Phone call from a professor this morning. Very unexpected to hear on a sunday, but I'm thrilled either way. So don't give up hope if you're waiting on MIT... Congrats, dude. Out of curiosity, why did you say on the board that it was so clear they're not done with admissions?
explodingstressball Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I agree with humanprovince. There are tons of Africanists, but finding overlapping specialties is difficult. I think I may have expressed my point poorly. I think, compared to the size, population, and the fact that it's rather a proving ground for a lot of theories (responsibility to project, state legitimacy, democratic institutions, etc.) I find it surprising that Africa tends to be one of the lower (not un) represented fields. It also tends to have the least institutional support in schools overall: most schools get by without offering any African language, or maybe one or two. The African Studies departments at many schools have been eliminated or merged. For example, Berkeley and Stanford no longer have independent departments, they share one to save money. Columbia's African studies department had been closed for a long time, and is only recently being rebooted. I cannot imagine many universities agreeing to teach only one European language and cutting all others! I hope that this situation will improve as a new generation of political scientists comes out. Much like it was far easier to find people who studied Japan rather than China until quite recently, I think this will adjust as more people who focus on different aspects of the developing world enter the tenure system.
redcoat Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Congrats, dude. Out of curiosity, why did you say on the board that it was so clear they're not done with admissions? Yeah sorry, that wasn't based on any hard info, just guessing they may not have finished if still making calls today.
Ashlett Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 I can claim the MIT admission in comparative. Phone call from a professor this morning. Very unexpected to hear on a sunday, but I'm thrilled either way. So don't give up hope if you're waiting on MIT... Mind sharing your stats?? I'm waiting to hear from MIT too. The website said they'll send out acceptances via DHL and rejections via USPS. I wonder why the phone calls? Just doing both?
danRSA Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 Long time lurker here claiming the latest MIT acceptance... they tried to call but my number has changed - followed up by email about an hour ago. Stats if interested: 740Q/730V/5A, Ugrad from little known South African uni, currently doing Masters at major UK uni, no pubs. Good luck to all...
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