18th Century France - POIs?

[Guest mckee002]

I'm coming to notice that the 18th Century is not as widespread an area of interest as I previously thought. It seems that most descriptions by professors skip this century in favor the Baroque in the 17th and the shitstorm of the 19th.

I know that Lajer-Burcharth at Harvard, Schama at Columbia, and Crow at NYU-IFA do work in this area, but who else does? Any ideas suggestions? I'm looking some more breadth in my search (or for methods/point of view: constructions of gender within society, global interaction from a French perspective).

Danka schoen!

Edited September 27, 2011 by mckee002

[fullofpink]

A LOT of the scholars have died off in the last decade (breaks.my.heart). Are you more interested in pre or post revolution? That will definitely help! haha (or hurt. There are so few scholars).

Courtauld: Katie Scott (Rococo, but some global research)

MIT: Kristel Smentek (but she doesn't touch your methods at all and most of MIT's faculty are very much architectural historians)

UCL: Mechthild Fend (her research is very, very different)

From my understanding, I thought Schama was more British > French. But you'd have the Frick in NYC that you can't top as a museum resource (Colin Bailey is there who I think is probably one of the best scholars in the area).

Thomas Crow is actually a professor of Modern art at NYU, but that's just in title - this fall he is offering courses on both 18th c and 20th c. art, so it might be best to email him to see if he's interested in an 18th century student (however, be painfully aware that he is over 60 - not that that means he's going to retire in the next few years, but if it takes you 7 years or more....(which is common)).

Have you read Lajer-Burcharth's work? Out of everyone, she seems to be most closely linked to your interests, that is, if you like psychoanalysis. If you haven't read her work, I highly suggest you do. Her most famous publication is Necklines but I found her shorter articles to be more indicative of her thought processes. I recommend reading David After David, it's a very easy read and you can easily see the differences between Crow's and L-B's writing on the same topic. Very informative.

Edited September 27, 2011 by fullofpink

[Guest mckee002]

The art historical representation of skin!? WOAH. That sounds fantastic, however I have heard so many things about US students receiving no funding for a UK masters/PhD and that is really frightening. I can't stand to go more into debt than I am now. Are there any potential general funding opportunities for US students in the UK that you've heard of?

[fullofpink]

Well, if you don't try then you won't know. Honestly, what I hear about the funding generally stems from the MA programs (I have heard almost nothing regarding PhD programs), where the American students get almost nothing and have the option for American loans. Questions directed to the program might really help.

I think Fend's research is really neat, but I haven't heard much from her nor have I studied it that much. Are you for pre or post revolution? Are you interested in academic study or rococo? These topics will help guide you tremendously!! -- even if the POI doesn't study 18th century, at least they'll know enough to head into that direction. What is your preferred medium?

[losemygrip]

Mary Sheriff at UNC would seem to be ideal for you. Brown also has an 18th century specialist.

You might see if you could find an 18th century specialist somewhere in southern California, since the Huntington Collection is there.

Unfortunately, Mary Vidal died a few years ago (she was at UCSD).

[fullofpink]

Dian Kriz is at Brown, but pretty British (her book on Sugar, Slavery and the Culture of Refinement is some top notch research though).

Mary Sheriff is probably the powerhouse of pre-19th c. French, right now.

[fullofpink]

Sorry, pulled the wrong title out: check out French Genre Painting in the Eighteenth Century. It has writing by Crow, Burcharcht and Smentek, along with some other big wigs (Siegfried) whom you might be interested in working with. It's a pretty traditional art historical book, so there won't be any talk about medicine and the skin, but it's good to compare people's writings on the same subject (provides some perspective, me thinks).

[violetvivian]

Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer at Delaware? Dorothy Johnson at Iowa?

[losemygrip]

Those could be very reasonable fall-back schools. I don't think either really does hard-core 18th century French (Rococo, etc.).

[Guest mckee002]

Well, if you don't try then you won't know. Honestly, what I hear about the funding generally stems from the MA programs (I have heard almost nothing regarding PhD programs), where the American students get almost nothing and have the option for American loans. Questions directed to the program might really help.

I think Fend's research is really neat, but I haven't heard much from her nor have I studied it that much. Are you for pre or post revolution? Are you interested in academic study or rococo? These topics will help guide you tremendously!! -- even if the POI doesn't study 18th century, at least they'll know enough to head into that direction. What is your preferred medium?

I have read Necklines, I think you're spot on with the recommendation of Lajer-Burcharth. I'm pretty into Freudian/Jungian psychoanalysis as a theoretical frame work.

I'm not limiting myself too much temporally or in terms of genre and medium, but generally painting/prints and academie art. I'm most interested in France's interaction with Africa and the constructions of gender/manifestation of social anxieties through the black body, yadda yadda (which is fantastic because Harvard also has a great Africanist and I work for an African art gallery now!). Thank you all for the suggestions.

[fullofpink]

Grigsby touched upon African and French identity and associations on the Gericault chapter in Extremities, but I am not positive if she is still working in that area. It's a fantastic chapter if you haven't read it already.

[losemygrip]

Frankly, I think Dian Kriz would be very sympathetic to a topic like that as well.

[Guest mckee002]

Grigsby touched upon African and French identity and associations on the Gericault chapter in Extremities, but I am not positive if she is still working in that area. It's a fantastic chapter if you haven't read it already.

haha, Grigsby advised my undergraduate honors thesis last semester. She's a tough cookie, but I love her methods, she really pushes all of her students to produce the best work that they can. I've taken classes with her and read her whole book as well, she's great. Berkeley is definitely on the top of my list. As for her current research she's moved to a more global perspective, French looking at the Creole body for example.

[ameshu205]

I'd second greenpen's earlier suggestion of Nina Kallmyer at Delaware, given your interest in academic art. Her own research interests stretch from Gericault to Cezanne, but she's advised a number of eighteenth-century dissertations. Ikem Okoye, Delaware's Africanist, could also be a terrific resource.

As a current Delawarean, I'd be happy to try to chat more about the program, if you end up considering it. Good luck with your search!

[Guest mckee002]

I'd like to resurrect this thread for some admissions opinions now that I have a good idea of where I will apply.

GPA:

Cum- 3.7

Art History - 3.8-3.9

History - 3.8-3.9

Honors in both majors

GRE

Verbal - 161

Quantitative - 157

Writing - 5.5

I will have graduated from a top 10 university with a particularly rigorous Art History dept.

I've been awarded some grant money from several institutions to pursue research.

I've won some relatively prestigious awards on campus.

I have given academic presentations on campus and am applying for a larger conference in the spring.

Submitted honors thesis for publication.

When I apply I will have French and German under my belt, and I will have two years of full time work experience in a prominent African Art Gallery in San Francisco (right now I perform a significant amount of the gallery's writing for client documentation, web texts, appraisals, etc. Ultimately I hope to curate a show and will have the opportunity to write an exhibition essay).

I have at least three solid recommendation letters available and have a strong sense of what I want to research (hopefully making for a strong SOP).

So the top three are:

1. Berkeley

2. Harvard

3. Brown

Is my GRE a hinderance with a need to retake in this case? What are some opinions on my chances?

Edited November 6, 2011 by mckee002

[fullofpink]

Honestly, the only thing that would work against you is if your POI isn't accepting students. GRE is probably fine - it's the lowest consideration for applications.

[losemygrip]

We've fought this out elsewhere. You shouldn't discount the GRE, but in your case the rest of your background seems excellent, and there's nothing alarming about your GREs, so you should be fine.

I'm assuming you ARE applying to more than those three, and that they're just your favorites?