Choosing the right comparative department

[karmacola]

I have to decide between UC Berkeley, Columbia, NYU and possibly, Yale (wait-listed) . I am a south-asia focused comparativist working on party politics and political economy. I know a lot about the UC Berkeley department (having studied there before) and I would love to hear more about your views on the other departments. How should a comparativist compare departments?? What should I look for? I am torn because NYC presents much better job prospects for my partner than SF....and I don't want to simply go with the familiar (though UCB is fabulous)

Any thoughts?? Thanks much in advance.

[jimcompx]

Wow, those are some impressive schools. I know this doesn't count, but visisted some folks at Wisconsin who talked a good South Asia game. Personally, I've heard good things about Columbia and Yale. I don't know too much about the others from that perspective. Hope that helps.

[swr22]

I am still waiting on schools, but making the choice will be very hard. Looks like you have some great options, though.

[Penelope Higgins]

I don't know enough about the South Asia field to make you choice, but I will say this: you should think hard about the comparative group in general and not just the South Asianists. A lot of the intellectual payoff as a comparativist, both in classes and (especially) in your own work, is thinking cross-regionally: drawing on ideas developed in one regional context (the kinds of questions asked, the kinds of arguments developed) and applying them to your region of interest.

So look beyond the South Asia people to the other comparativists in those departments - you've got some good options to choose from.

[rlayla]

I'm having a similar issue right now. Trying to decide between Berkeley and Michigan in comparative, and I feel like its going to come down to the visits. I think Michigan has better people in my field (Middle East) but Berkeley has a better comparative program overall? Plus its warm? It just freaks me out making a decision like this that's going to affect the rest of my life.

[browneyedgirl]

you should think hard about the comparative group in general and not just the South Asianists. A lot of the intellectual payoff as a comparativist, both in classes and (especially) in your own work, is thinking cross-regionally: drawing on ideas developed in one regional context (the kinds of questions asked, the kinds of arguments developed) and applying them to your region of interest.

I absolutely agree with this. in my department, the none of the professors in my area subfield study the topics that interest me most, but there are other faculty members specializing in other areas who do, and that makes the intellectual experience that much richer. there are also a few Americanist professors whose work borders on mine, and dialogues with them have helped me envision new ways of shaping my own work and letting some American literature really speak to comparative literature.

I had to decide between a few lesser-ranked programs (but still very solid) with strong faculty doing work more in line with mine and a few higher-ranked programs with comparative programs that were tops, across the board, but where I'd have to branch out and find faculty working on other areas. I don't regret my choice for a second.

[FuzzyDunlop]

***Disclaimer*** I am a Berkeley student, so take the rest of this for what its worth.

Berkeley - Pradeep Chhibber is a really good scholar and a very attentive adviser. He has organized a regular working group for South Asianists to present work and give each other feedback, which sounds very useful. I think from a principle adviser standpoint in this field and with this particular interest, there is really nobody better. Comparative is one of Berkeley's strengths in general.

Yale - Obviously a great school, although comparative has not been one of their strongest subfields historically. Steve Wilkinson may move there, which for your needs would make this a great choice as well.

Columbia - I'm not sure they have somebody who studies South Asia, which while not an absolute prerequisite will make your life a lot harder as a South Asianist. The comparative group seems mostly oriented toward political economy, which could be good for you given your interest in that.

NYU - Kanchan Chandra is there. From what I have heard from a couple people, and this is purely hearsay so take it with a grain of salt, she is a very difficult person to work with. As a whole the program is very much oriented toward formal theory and statistical analysis, which may or may not be your cup of tea. But take that into account when thinking about things. Overall, this is pretty clearly the weakest school of the four.

All else equal, Berkeley does seem like the best fit for your research interests (note my conflict of interest though), but I think Yale would also be an excellent option if Wilkinson ends up there. If strong personal incentives are pulling you toward the New York schools, try to really dig a bit deeper in your research about the two departments.