Can you mention porn in a Ph.D. Application

[cgmoore1983]

I had so many genuine replies to my first question asked on these message boards, that I thought I would turn to you all for advice once more. I am applying to Ph.D. programs, and am thinking about my statement of purpose. In particular, I'm thinking about the section where I discuss my research interests. As a masters student I wrote a thesis on the history of unhappy marriages in colonial and early Republic Virginia. I spent my time in the masters program studying the Chesapeake region, the colonial south, and gender roles. However, I have been teaching courses on the history of sexuality for the last few years that have really peaked my curiosity in sexual history. I now run a blog on the topic, so I am getting to do small bits of research each week, but I'm craving something more substantial.

In particular, I am interested in researching the history of pornography in America up through the end of the 19th century. This of course would be pictoral or narrative pornography, and although there is a strong tradition of this in America, I have yet to see much scholarly research on the subject. Of course I wouldn't simply look at pornography but the way in which it intersects with historical definitions of gender roles, politics, social movements etc. It would also be interesting to see if the sexual revolution that occurred in the late 18th century coincided with changes in pornographic content or public acceptance of pornography. I want to stay away from the 20th century as I am certainly not a modern historian, and also pornography changed quite decisevely around the turn of the century with the advent of film.

Do you think a topic like this is too racy for a Ph.D. application? I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps there is a reason why I haven't found a book about the topic! So, basically what I'm asking is, can one mention porn in their PhD.. application?

P.S. If you too are a historian of sexuality, I'd love to know if you've heard of any research on the topic!

[New England Nat]

There is an excellent legal history on the topic that I can go look up if you are interested, and there is a modern political history about the role of pornography in the rise of conservatism in the 20th century.

I'm not a historian of sexuality, but I've taken courses in it, talk about it the way you would talk about it scholastically. It's not like you are writing pornography, and any place that would kick your application to the reject pile over the mention of pornography the way you describe will not be someplace you want to be spending 7 years.

[Simple Twist of Fate]

It's certainly a legitimate (and, from the glimpses of it I've read in monographs about sexuality in early America a very interesting) subject of study. But, I can understand your trepidation. As someone else pointed out in the other thread, the members of the adcom aren't likely to be the people you'll be working with. If I was writing your SOP, I'm sure I would have a nightmare of a bunch of crusty old folks on the adcom who wouldn't want to lower the "dignity" of their institution by associating it with pornography. It's unlikely, sure, but I would probably be as worried as you are. At my undergraduate institution, I know that there are some (good!) profs who would likely be uncomfortable discussing something like pornography. For instance, I once asked my (very socially conservative and generally awkward) thesis advisor about the "Erotica" section on the Evans collection database and he basically changed the subject as soon as he could. So I get why you're worried.

However, honestly, I think we're past the point where pornography is even a particularly "racy" subject for the vast majority of historians. As I'm sure you know, most large departments employ one or more historians of gender and/or sexuality, for whom research in subjects like pornography, rape and incest are daily fare. Since any department you're applying to should have a POI who would be receptive to your project, then that likely means that the department acknowledges the importance of these subjects to history. After all, they wouldn't have hired the prof. otherwise.

Good to see more early Americanists around here, by the way. Good luck this cycle.

[cgmoore1983]

Thank you both for the advice. I agree that there are a lot of books out there about sexuality in early America. However, I wanted to find my own niche within the field. I hadn't really thought about it from the perspective that if they are too uncomfortable to allow me into a program researching my passion, then it's probably not somewhere I'm going to fit in. My students know that I have absolutely no shame, and I will teach about anything within sexual history that seems relevant or interesting. I'm sure there is a spot for me somewhere. The question is where!!

[jeffster]

I'm not in this field at all, but it seems to me that it's a perfectly valid scholarly topic, but I can also see how you would find it tricky to address in an application. Maybe try couching it in heavy academic language, and avoiding anything that smacks of slang, like the word "porn".

Honestly, if you explain it to the adcom the way you just explained it to us in this thread, I can't imagine you'll have an issue.

[Lustforlife]

I agree with the others in that this is a perfectly fine topic. However, I have always heard (and put this into practice in my own applications several years ago) that it can be to your disadvantage to get too specific in your personal statement essays. My sense is that admissions committees (as well as potential advisers) want students who are going to be open to new ideas, approaches, opinions, etc... once they enter their grad program. In other words, they want to know that you will be open to all of the new methods in which they hope to train you. I don't think that it will raise any red flags if you mention an interest in the history of pornography, but perhaps you might state this as one possible way in which you will go about the study of representations of sexuality and gender or perhaps how representations of sexuality emerge as points around which conversations about sexuality coalesce (sorry, that all sounds a bit rough and I am sure that you can word this in a much better fashion).

[New England Nat]

I have to disagree with the idea that you shouldn't get too specific. If you have a project you should lay it out, being vague in a statement of purpose does you little good and a lot of harm. These departments are hiring you for a job and the majority of them do not want someone who will spend a couple of years finding yourself.

The trick is to avoid seeming to have blinders on. This is often why I recommend people use their statement of purpose to describe the thought processes by which they came to their project because it demonstrates that you are open to change.

[Sigaba]

Although I agree that the topic in question is legitimate, I don't know if everyone in the Ivory Tower agrees. Please do keep in mind that the process of offering admission and awarding funding can involve stakeholders who are not academics. IMO, we're going through a prolonged interview in which the notion of "academic freedom" is being challenged. The American political right- is very much on the prowl for any and all "examples" of moral decay in the Ivory Tower. As the objective here is to say "Gotcha!" rather than to generate informed debate about certain methods and subject matters, I urge you to protect yourself as well as the institution you want to attend.*

Were I in your situation, I'd endeavor to find a way to say "pr0n" without saying "pr0n." For example, something along the lines of, I want to study the history of the cultural depiction of sexuality in the tradition of X, Y, and Z. With X, Y, and Z being prominent scholars in the filed. IMO, this approach not only allows you to avoid the cursory slapdash "research" that political operatives on the right are doing, it allows you to demonstrate concisely your familiarity with the historiography of the subject in question.

My two cents being thrown, here's a story some might find funny. While working at a consultancy, my department head had earned her doctorate in American studies. Her dissertation centered around disco music and the boundaries of musical cannons. Many of her peers would playfully call her "Doctor Disco."

___________________________________________

* I believe that academic agendas should be driven by academics. At the same time, I do think academics need to be a bit more mindful of how they discuss these agendas with stakeholders--especially at public institutions and/or when the academics in question are historians.

[Lustforlife]

I have to disagree with the idea that you shouldn't get too specific. If you have a project you should lay it out, being vague in a statement of purpose does you little good and a lot of harm. These departments are hiring you for a job and the majority of them do not want someone who will spend a couple of years finding yourself.

The trick is to avoid seeming to have blinders on. This is often why I recommend people use their statement of purpose to describe the thought processes by which they came to their project because it demonstrates that you are open to change.

That's interesting. I wonder if any users have been on an adcomm. Some departments at my university have grad students serve on the adcomm, but mine does not and I have never served in this position.

At any rate, I agree with you that trying to explain how you came to have an interest in the topic is crucial. My advisor has always told me that when he looks at applications, he is mostly looking to see if a potential applicant is able to think critically and ask interesting questions. Of course, I am not privy to many of the small details of the decision making process. However, for my adviser at least, I believe that demonstrating the possibility for future growth and development would trump a description of an awesome sounding dissertation topic (especially if the emphasis was on the topic itself and did not do a good job of illuminating the candidate's critical analytical abilities).

[Sigaba]

^ FWIW, my own experiences bear out NEN's point. My fields and interests are well off the paths most often traveled these days and my openness about my interests has not, IMO, worked against me.

However, and at the risk of beating the horsey, it is a really mean season "out there." So while I agree that there's utility to being direct, I also think that one can be subtlety direct.

YMMV.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Sigaba

[runaway]

There's quite a bit of research on this subject in the 20th century, especially related to LGBT history. I don't think it would be hard to find an advisor willing to work with you on that topic. But I agree with some others that you need to find the right way to phrase it-- in order to seem serious and informed about your topic and to prove that you're not simply trying to go for scintillating bonus points on your SOP. "I'm interested in porn" and "I'm interested in the economic impact of production and trade of pornographic photographs in the 19th century" are two quite different things.

With gender studies being such a hot subfield right now, I don't think this kind of proposal is as risque as it might have been even five or six years ago.

[heliogabalus]

Don't get too specific: Just say you plan to spend all your time during the PhD looking at porn.

[cgmoore1983]

Thanks for all of the advice. I agree there is a good deal of research on erotic photos, videos, literature etc. in the 20th century. I of course am an early Americanist, so I would be most interested in focusing on that period, and thankfully it looks like there is a giant gap in the historiography of early American pornography within the history of sexuality. Of course I won't just come out and say I'd like to research the porn that Washington fapped to! Glad to hear that it is more acceptable today.

[sacklunch]

A good friend began her SOP by describing her research interests in female masturbation and was accepted to a program at Notre Dame. Food for thought.

cheers

[Simple Twist of Fate]

Thanks for all of the advice. I agree there is a good deal of research on erotic photos, videos, literature etc. in the 20th century. I of course am an early Americanist, so I would be most interested in focusing on that period, and thankfully it looks like there is a giant gap in the historiography of early American pornography within the history of sexuality. Of course I won't just come out and say I'd like to research the porn that Washington fapped to! Glad to hear that it is more acceptable today.

Have you seen Richard Godbeer's Sexual Revolution in Early America? I just looked at the index of my copy and it looks like he's done at least some work on the subject (probably mostly passing references, though). That, and its relevant footnotes, might be a good place to start for orienting yourself in terms of the scholarship and terminology you might use or reference in your SOP.

[Sigaba]

A good friend began her SOP by describing her research interests in female masturbation and was accepted to a program at Notre Dame. Food for thought.

cheers

Talk about a stroke of good fortune.

[cgmoore1983]

Have you seen Richard Godbeer's Sexual Revolution in Early America? I just looked at the index of my copy and it looks like he's done at least some work on the subject (probably mostly passing references, though). That, and its relevant footnotes, might be a good place to start for orienting yourself in terms of the scholarship and terminology you might use or reference in your SOP.

Yes, I actually use his work in one of the courses I teach. He does not give much detail on pornographic use, but I agree that he is a stepping stone. Thanks!

[annieca]

At the Archives where I work, I've been helping a ABD gender studies woman who is writing her dissertation on the history of sex toys and how it has affected communication within the US. While we all blush and chuckle about it, it's important research. So, I would definitely not go after it because of the "riske" nature of the topic.

[imissreading]

I wish there were surviving porn from my historical period, that sounds awesome.

[Stately Plump]

Of course I wouldn't simply look at pornography

Ha!

Talk about a stroke of good fortune.

I read this entire thread and, perhaps unsurprisingly, all I could see were sexual innuendoes.

I think it's a very interesting topic. I would discuss these interests in my SOP, if I were you.

One word of caution: don't be so specific that programs feel they would be unable to accommodate your interests. If your research interests are too specific, you might alienate yourself from the faculty in the programs to which you apply. Adcomms might say, "By golly, this applicant has some fascinating research interests, and we would love to host her in our program, but we really don't have the resources available to do so. She would be better served in X program; hopefully she applied there."

---> pornography sunglasses