feminism in humanities SOP?

[tendaysleft]

Hey all,

I'm working on my SOP for a couple different terminal MA programs in art history right now and I'm stuck on how to approach a particular point. I approach my research from a feminist perspective, and I'd like to study gender, so I'd like to talk about that in my SOP. My feminism is really key to how I approach my research, but at the same time, I appreciate that different adcomms might not... appreciate that so much. They could be deeply turned off by it (especially in art history, which can be a very traditional discipline.) Of course, I'm only applying to certain programs in the hopes of working with professors who would be amenable to somewhat politically-charged research, but I don't want to make it sound like the only reason I want to study art history is to spread my feminist agenda or something ridiculous like that. My feminism is just the lens I look at art history through.

At any rate, I don't want to sound like a crazy person whose ideological agenda is going to bias make all her research academically unsound, or something! But at the same time I don't want to present myself in my SOP in a way that would not be true to the kind of research I'd like to do, and it's hard for me to imagine talking about my field of study without mentioning my orientation towards it.

I guess my question is this: would it be a bad idea to call myself a feminist in my SOP? Maybe there's a way to intone it without explicitly using the F-word?

I realize this is kind of an awkward question, but any thoughts any of you might have are greatly appreciated!

[Sparky]

...Saying you're interested in using feminist theory to look at XYZ? Mentioning important feminist art historians as scholars by whose work you've been particularly influenced? "My summers of working with [pro-choice nonprofit] have cultivated an interest in art as propaganda by the two sides in the U.S. abortion debate"? "I plan to explore portrayals of gender, race and dis/ability in calendars sold by charitable organizations"?

If your approach is that feminism* is part of your research, include it in your SOP as a part of your research. It's not bad to say "I am a feminist" in the sense that it would be bad to say "I am a Nazi" (sorry for the Godwin's Law violation), it's just that it's unprofessional. The SOP is about you as a scholar. Keep the focus there.

* I have gotten the vague, intangible, and hopefully wrong impression that the older feminist scholars I, personally, know do not appreciate the Third/Fourth/whatever Wave terminology "my feminism"--even as they speak of "feminisms" and strive dearly to avoid being labeled a "white liberal feminist." So I'd be wary about using that. While I'm on board with the term, it's also a little less scholarly--after all, your point is that you will be using Established Theory ™ as a lens, not wildly inventing whatever you want.

~ETA for a critical plural. Oops.~

Edited August 29, 2011 by Sparky

[tendaysleft]

Hmm, looks like the 'my feminism' fraughtness is yet another reason for me to just sidestep the term completely! It's probably easier for me to explain my interests without talking about feminism than it is to talk about feminism and keep the professionalism in line. Thanks a lot for your in-depth response!

[Safferz]

I agree with Sparky. You can describe your research interests as relating to gender and feminist theory, how you plan to use feminist methodologies in your work, etc. You don't need to avoid these terms in the context of theory and methodology, since feminist approaches have been accepted in academia for a while now. It's just not necessary to describe your politics in your SOP (feminism as a personal identity/ideology, as opposed to critical academic lens).

[tendaysleft]

feminism as a personal identity/ideology, as opposed to critical academic lens

Aha - i think that's a distinction that I was having trouble making in my head for some reason. This was very helpful, thank you!

[eleanor]

I think that feminism, as a variable and constitutively ambiguous field of study and ideology, is something you need to have a very strong grasp on if it's something you wish to/know already informs your work. Either completely own it or don't mention it at all.

[Origin=Goal]

Or at least look into precisely how it the term applies to your research. My understanding, having taken more than a few WS courses, is of Feminism (in this academic context) a mode of research (i.e. what you are going to look at qua "the humanities") and a category of critical-theoretical concepts necessitated by this research. If your precise about how intend to pursue feminist-informed research and will not, as eleanor hinted, let it lapse into a vaguely relevant, ideological component of your work, then no worries.

[tendaysleft]

Yep that definitely sounds like good advice, eleanor and origin=goal--if I include itI I suppose I will have to make sure to be very precise and articulate about what I mean when I say feminist/feminism. I think Given that, I am leaning towards excluding the F-word just to avoid that potential SOP-sloppiness and just hinting at it in ways that Sparky suggested.

[Sigaba]

Omnibuster--

IMO, a big risk of labeling yourself is that unless you've done your background research on the department and know where faculty members stand on a variety of professional issues, you can inadvertently push buttons that you might otherwise avoid. In this regard, I leaped before looking in a SOP in support of my application to my first choice school. After I was rejected, I learned through back channels that it came down to the "politics" of the department. Had I been a bit more savvy, I might have done a better job at figuring out a way to say what I wanted to say without activating an ongoing internal debate. (This is not to say I'd have gotten accepted, but rather that I might have written a more thoughtful essay.)

Consider the benefits of writing that your scholarship is "informed" by X, Y, or Z. Or that you find X, Y, or Z very compelling and/or influential to your way of thinking. You can either leave it at that, or give a very brief example of what you mean and then move on. This way, you let X,Y, or Z fight the battle for you.

You don't need to avoid these terms in the context of theory and methodology, since feminist approaches have been accepted in academia for a while now.

I wonder if such is actually the case, at least in American history. I'm working my way through two brilliant works that are, IMO, over theorized. That is, if feminist approaches to history have been accepted (as they should be), then why do two established academics spend so much effort justifying their methods of analysis when their analysis is so strikingly--and obviously--brilliant? (Are they defending themselves against anticipated criticism or are they helping those of us who are not as conversant in feminist approaches to catch up?)

[fullofpink]

Alternatively, if you are applying to work with big name feminists, not stating your interest in feminist theory will be detrimental to your application.

[tendaysleft]

IMO, a big risk of labeling yourself is that unless you've done your background research on the department and know where faculty members stand on a variety of professional issues, you can inadvertently push buttons that you might otherwise avoid. In this regard, I leaped before looking in a SOP in support of my application to my first choice school. After I was rejected, I learned through back channels that it came down to the "politics" of the department. Had I been a bit more savvy, I might have done a better job at figuring out a way to say what I wanted to say without activating an ongoing internal debate. (This is not to say I'd have gotten accepted, but rather that I might have written a more thoughtful essay.)

That definitely seems like a good point! Thanks for your point of view. At one particular school, the art historian I hope to advise me has an explicitly (as in, she has these words on her faculty info page) feminist, queer, anti-racist point of view. So perhaps I would be "safe" to mention feminism in my SOP at that particular school, at least.

And regarding the acceptedness of feminist approaches in academia... it seems like they are accepted, but grudgingly so, and not by everyone. Depending on the scholar, I think critical approaches are still seen as being kind of... fringe, or something.