Summer Prep?

[oseirus]

I'm trying to get a recommended summer reading list from some of the schools I'm debating between. Also I'm trying to see if I can get a few course syllabi ... is that a no-no?

[Sigaba]

I'm trying to get a recommended summer reading list from some of the schools I'm debating between. Also I'm trying to see if I can get a few course syllabi ... is that a no-no?

The downside of the later is that you don't know if the professors who wrote the syllabi are going to change up the reading lists. Sometimes, a professor will assign a cutting edge book he/she thinks is great but later puts aside after graduate students in a class have torn it to shreds and the work has received unfavorable reviews.

The downside of the former is that you might end up going down the rabbit hole for institution A only to end up at institution B and to discover that the rabbit holes there look different.

What you might do is grab some of the "must read" books in your areas of emphasis, familiarize yourself with those titles, and then look through the bibliographic essays that they contain (if any).

Another alternative is to figure out what are the most prestigious book and essay awards in your areas of interest and read selectively from the list of prize winners.

[oseirus]

The downside of the later is that you don't know if the professors who wrote the syllabi are going to change up the reading lists. Sometimes, a professor will assign a cutting edge book he/she thinks is great but later puts aside after graduate students in a class have torn it to shreds and the work has received unfavorable reviews.

The downside of the former is that you might end up going down the rabbit hole for institution A only to end up at institution B and to discover that the rabbit holes there look different.

What you might do is grab some of the "must read" books in your areas of emphasis, familiarize yourself with those titles, and then look through the bibliographic essays that they contain (if any).

Another alternative is to figure out what are the most prestigious book and essay awards in your areas of interest and read selectively from the list of prize winners.

thanks Sig!

[Sigaba]

^The proof reading skills are offline today. The post should have read "latter," not "later."

[oseirus]

^The proof reading skills are offline today. The post should have read "latter," not "later."

luckily for you the grammar police took the day off yesterday ... just be careful in the future

[MidEastApp]

What is useful to do during the summer alongside reading the major works in your field is also to look at the theory they use. If your field is heavy on theory - whether it be postcolonial, post-structural, etc do read the key books. In many cases, you will read these books again but reading say Foucault over the summer and getting a chance to understand how his ideas work and are deployed is much easier when you can read it over a period of time instead of say a week.

[oseirus]

What is useful to do during the summer alongside reading the major works in your field is also to look at the theory they use. If your field is heavy on theory - whether it be postcolonial, post-structural, etc do read the key books. In many cases, you will read these books again but reading say Foucault over the summer and getting a chance to understand how his ideas work and are deployed is much easier when you can read it over a period of time instead of say a week.

I apologize if this is a dumb question but how do you find out what current theories are in vogue for one's field?

[MidEastApp]

I apologize if this is a dumb question but how do you find out what current theories are in vogue for one's field?

When you read an article, monograph, etc check how they talk about when they introduce the idea and develop their points. Also, their footnotes/endnotes and bibliography can provide info on who they are using for their ideas. For example, if they talk about mirror stages or something, they'll probably write something like "As Lacan says in xyz blah blah" or he'll pop up in a footnote.

So the best bet would be to read major works that are recent or have buzz and check their footnotes and bibliography - this is also useful to see who was big a while ago as if Mr. X gets cited a lot, he might be worth checking out. If you aren't up to date on what is big, just ask a prof in your field or related to your field about it - or a friend that studies something similar.

[Sigaba]

I apologize if this is a dumb question but how do you find out what current theories are in vogue for one's field?

In addition to the methods laid out in post #33, one could also look at the top journals in your field for articles clustered as "round tables." Also, featured reviews may focus on works that reflect theoretical innovations.

Another way to find the leading edge of innovation is to look at the schedules of presentations for conference panels.

A third option is to find published collections of essays that explore "new directions" in a field.

I do exercise caution when looking for the leading edge. Sometimes, what seems to work today won't necessarily pan out tomorrow. And often, when historians incorporate the sensibilities and best practices of other disciplines, important issues get lost in translation.

[oseirus]

When you read an article, monograph, etc check how they talk about when they introduce the idea and develop their points. Also, their footnotes/endnotes and bibliography can provide info on who they are using for their ideas. For example, if they talk about mirror stages or something, they'll probably write something like "As Lacan says in xyz blah blah" or he'll pop up in a footnote.

So the best bet would be to read major works that are recent or have buzz and check their footnotes and bibliography - this is also useful to see who was big a while ago as if Mr. X gets cited a lot, he might be worth checking out. If you aren't up to date on what is big, just ask a prof in your field or related to your field about it - or a friend that studies something similar.

Thanks ... just started reading books in my subfield once again but now I'm gravitating towards new scholarship rather than the older stuff out there ... I am having a hard time with some of it because I patently reject some of the views they are presenting, so I don't know if this does not bode well for me?

[oseirus]

In addition to the methods laid out in post #33, one could also look at the top journals in your field for articles clustered as "round tables." Also, featured reviews may focus on works that reflect theoretical innovations.

Another way to find the leading edge of innovation is to look at the schedules of presentations for conference panels.

A third option is to find published collections of essays that explore "new directions" in a field.

I do exercise caution when looking for the leading edge. Sometimes, what seems to work today won't necessarily pan out tomorrow. And often, when historians incorporate the sensibilities and best practices of other disciplines, important issues get lost in translation.

Why oh why can't historiography be consistent?

[Sigaba]

Why oh why can't historiography be consistent?

As you go along, you'll find that historiography is remarkably consistent.

As an example, many of the professional issues Charles Oman discussed in his autobiographical essays of the 1920s and 1930s are still relevant today.