Rankings in African American History

[lk447]

I'm trying to decide between programs for a PhD in history, and I am very certain that I want to study African American History (20th century). A lot of people reference rankings in making decisions. How can I know what schools are best in African American History? The rankings for just History won't match up exactly with this specific field, but I don't know how to tell which schools are better than others. Should I put any weight on one school being ranked higher in just History, or only look at which is better for African American History, and how can I found out either piece of information? Obviously, this is only one piece of my decision.

[Kai210]

What are your research interests? You cannot choose programs simply based on rankings. Rankings matter to some degree; however, it is more important to locate the right "fit." Better for you to go to a lower-ranked school but a place where you can study with a top scholar in your field than to go to a higher-ranked school but only work alongside a marginal scholar, that is, if you even find someone there who research is germane to yours. Because the 20th Century is broad in scope you would have to pinpoint for some of us the specific areas that excite you and we would better be able to guage places where your reesarch could be situated. If you rely simply on rankings it is my belief that you will find the task of locating the right place for your research to be daunting. Worse, you might not have the success in gaining admission if programs determine that your research just does not fit what the scholars they have in place are doing.

[lk447]

I understand that research interests are more important, and I applied to places that had a good research fit. Now that I have gotten in to a couple, I want to evaluate schools based on a bunch of factors: more specific research fit, advisers, location, atmosphere, etc. I just want to be able to add rankings (or perceptions of how good a school is in African American history) to the list. I feel that, on my own, I am much better able to evaluate how well my research will fit in a given department than I am able to figure out relative rankings.

[oseirus]

Don't use the US News & World rankings ... that's a better guide for undergrad than anything ... also certain schools don't offer African-American studies PhD but have excellent masters programs so if you don't find a fit for you in AA history that is a direction you can look towards

[Kelkel]

I think rankings within fields (and subfields) is largely in part due to the success of the scholars in that field (or subfield). It would also have to do with what resources that school could offer you (like, if it was in New York, you'd have the opporunity to take classes at a variety of different colleges and universities. It might not affect the "ranking" per se, but you could have a lot more access to scholars and research that way).

That said, I don't know much about African History other than what has been communicated by those in the field, such as Safferz.

[maeisenb]

I think there is a slight disconnect between the question posed and the answers provided in that the OP is asking for a set of rankings and the responses are discussing fit, although the responses are trending that way because there are no definitive sub field rankings that exist (I assume this is the case anyway) I think Kai2010 got it right asking for the sub field that you work on to get you some more specific answers. As I said previously when suggesting that you ask the question here, the only definitive rankings you will get are between schools that are obvious (i.e. Harvard and 2nd tier state school). If you choices are less obvious (e.g. Harvard vs. Yale), then it comes down to who the specific person in your sub field is, how the rest of the academic field regards him/her, and how he/she places people. Those (and some others I'm sure I've forgotten) will determine informal rankings.

That being said, I'm not at all qualified to comment on specific schools and people in 20th century African American history, but what you should note is: what's your sub field (i.e. 1920s economic, 1960s cultural, etc.)? If you're not comfortable posting your specific schools - which is 100% understandable - then maybe at least your sub field and people can throw out ideas of places that are really good (and then you can message with them from there).

[Kai210]

I understand that research interests are more important, and I applied to places that had a good research fit. Now that I have gotten in to a couple, I want to evaluate schools based on a bunch of factors: more specific research fit, advisers, location, atmosphere, etc. I just want to be able to add rankings (or perceptions of how good a school is in African American history) to the list. I feel that, on my own, I am much better able to evaluate how well my research will fit in a given department than I am able to figure out relative rankings.

African American History is my primary field. PM the schools you got into and what your research interests are, and I might be able to give you a good indication of where I would rank the schools that accepted your application.

[Kai210]

I guess this was not such a big deal after all.

[oseirus]

What resolution did you come to?

[thedig13]

As much as I don't want to hijack the thread, nobody's posted in a while, so...

I've recently developed an interest in post-WWII African-American History, with some emphasis on the Civil Rights and Black Power movements -- especially the Black Panthers.

I'm already doing some reading on UCLA's Scot Brown and Stanford's Clayborne Carson, but also would like to know about other potential POI's. If anybody here knows somebody in their department and/or has heard of professors who might be a good fit, feel free to drop names.

[Gene Parmesan]

Danny Widener at San Diego might be a good fit.

[oseirus]

There's always Temple if you're on the East Coast

[Riotbeard]

I am not sure where timothy tyson is but he is an obvious choice, peniel joseph is another no brainer for black power. I am not too familiar with the literature, but look at the prominent books and figure out where the authors are. Definitely apply to school where peniel joseph teaches. Keep your search within black power generally, that is focused enough for looking an advisor. If they work on the black panthers, all the better, but it does not have to be that focused.

[thedig13]

Thanks, all! I really appreciate it!

Would it be too broad to be looking up post-WWII African-American historians and/or African-American Civil Rights historians? There's a few people around who have done work in these broader topics that will have certainly given them some degree of expertise in the Black Power Movement, but I'd like to know if that's too far out of bounds for a POI.

Edited April 5, 2012 by thedig13

[oseirus]

Thanks, all! I really appreciate it!

Would it be too broad to be looking up post-WWII African-American historians and/or African-American Civil Rights historians? There's a few people around who have done work in these broader topics that will have certainly given them some degree of expertise in the Black Power Movement, but I'd like to know if that's too far out of bounds for a POI.

I am pretty certain there are Af-Am Civil Rights historians ... but are you looking for ones that have expertise in the Black Power Movement?

[thedig13]

I am pretty certain there are Af-Am Civil Rights historians ... but are you looking for ones that have expertise in the Black Power Movement?

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for in a POI, since my historical interests aren't entirely set-in-stone yet. However, if I wanted to write a dissertation on, say, the Black Panthers and their interactions with COINTELPRO, would a historian who specialized more in the Af-Am Civil Rights Movement be unsuitable for my needs?

Essentially, a large part of the reason I'm asking this question is that, when researching potential POI's, I'd like to understand where to draw the line between "He/she might be a great POI and a phenomenal advisor" and "This person's research is too irrelevant to my specific field of interest."

Edited April 5, 2012 by thedig13

[Gene Parmesan]

Maybe start with this: Try and identify historical questions that you feel crop up in all your papers, and think about what methods you've used or would like to use/explore in the future. Ask yourself what fields interest you, what bodies of literature, what time periods. Then search out the citations in your favorite books and find out where those historians teach.

Not that I have a whole lot or any experience yet, but my impression is that you do not exactly need a professor who shares the exact same research as you. It certainly helps and is a good benefit, but websites and publication lists conceal more than they reveal. When I started speaking with faculty, books I loved that they wrote years ago were topics they left behind because maybe they found a new project.

Also, try looking at Universities that have African and African American Studies departments. A lot of times faculty will be crosslisted and there will be a solid group of students working in the field.

[Riotbeard]

It really depends on the adviser. My adviser and I don't by any means work on identical topics, and he has some students that do really different work than him. I would guess anybody who does post WWII African American history would be willing to work with you, if they find your work interesting. Also, with the "Long Civil Rights Movement" paradigm you might find some people who are willing to advise you but might be temporally a little further back. It really just depends...

[oseirus]

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for in a POI, since my historical interests aren't entirely set-in-stone yet. However, if I wanted to write a dissertation on, say, the Black Panthers and their interactions with COINTELPRO, would a historian who specialized more in the Af-Am Civil Rights Movement be unsuitable for my needs?

Essentially, a large part of the reason I'm asking this question is that, when researching potential POI's, I'd like to understand where to draw the line between "He/she might be a great POI and a phenomenal advisor" and "This person's research is too irrelevant to my specific field of interest."

Well you might want to check out Wilbert Jenkins from Temple, granted he does a lot of work focused on agency, but he is focused on 20th century African-American and the Civil Rights period.

[Gene Parmesan]

As much as I don't want to hijack the thread, nobody's posted in a while, so...

I've recently developed an interest in post-WWII African-American History, with some emphasis on the Civil Rights and Black Power movements -- especially the Black Panthers.

I'm already doing some reading on UCLA's Scot Brown and Stanford's Clayborne Carson, but also would like to know about other potential POI's. If anybody here knows somebody in their department and/or has heard of professors who might be a good fit, feel free to drop names.

Listened to this podcast today of an interview with Peniel Joseph by the Journal of American History. The interview expands on a "state of the field" essay he published in the journal on Black Power studies. It might help point you in the direction of some faculty, readings, and current and future trends in the literature. I imagine that the article itself can be found online through a university library. “The Black Power Movement: A State of the Field” in December 2009 issue of the Journal of American History. Hope it helps

Navigate down the page or click on "2009" under episode guide.

http://www.journalof...ry.org/podcast/

Edited April 16, 2012 by Gene Parmesan

[thedig13]

Listened to this podcast today of an interview with Peniel Joseph by the Journal of American History. The interview expands on a "state of the field" essay he published in the journal on Black Power studies. It might help point you in the direction of some faculty, readings, and current and future trends in the literature. I imagine that the article itself can be found online through a university library. “The Black Power Movement: A State of the Field” in December 2009 issue of the Journal of American History. Hope it helps

Navigate down the page or click on "2009" under episode guide.

http://www.journalof...ry.org/podcast/

You're the best. Thanks.

This is why I love TGC so much. Such a supportive community.

[oseirus]

You're the best. Thanks.

This is why I love TGC so much. Such a supportive community.

Granted that was said to Gene P, I will go ahead and claim all the credit for myself and be like Kobe Bryant: