Daniel.Peng Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) Hello, everyone. I want to apply a Ph.D program in Sociology. I am interested in historical and political sociology, specifically, the state formation (what is the causes of the formation of nation-states; why some country builds a constitutional one while other builds an absolutist one; why someone had a buracratic administration while others had a patrimonial administraiont; why China succeeded in unification in 221 BCE while Europe did not have a stable unified system in the long history;etc ); the causes of social revolution (why some countries experienced a revolution, say French, China, while others did not, say Britain); the origin, development and failure of communist states; the causes of success or failure of democratization; etc. I favor the combination of history and theory and I focus on some important political issues with the light of history. I really like reading these authors: Max Weber (Econmy and society; The protestant ethic and the spirit of capatism), Alexis Tocqueville(Ancient Regime and Revolution, Democracy in America), B Moore (The Social Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship), Charles Tilly (Coercion, Captial and Erupoean states), Michael Mann (The Sources of Social Power) Theda Skocpol (State and Revolution), Thomas Ertman (The Birth of Leviathan). So you would know my research interests. A little about me : Now a graduate in China (I am a native Chinese), will get the Master Degree in Political Theory next year ; undergraduate GPA 3.53 ; graduate GPA 3.8; GRE V 156, Q 160, AW 3.0 (I will retake it in November 10th); TOEFL 88 reading 23 listening 22 speaking 20 writing 23 (I know this is a low score. I will retake it in November 23th, mabybe I can imrove my TOEFL to 95). No strong recomendation letter, no publication, no ... I am a man with nothing to lose. Now, I only know NYU is an appropriate one. Other univesities such as Columbia, Harvard, Chicago, I won't apply because of either the early deadline or high requirements. My Question: Could you recommend me some Ph.d prorams about political/historical sociology ? These programs should match my interests. The rank of universities is top 50 - 150 in national universities of the USA. Thank you very much for kind help !~ Edited October 31, 2013 by Daniel.Peng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julesevar Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I would check out phd rankings in historical sociology. You also might check out Binghampton University. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 I would check out phd rankings in historical sociology. You also might check out Binghampton University. Bringhampton University does have several professors doing research in historical sociology. And I share the same interest with them. Your recommendation is helpful. Thank you very much. I want more options, haha. I will search later. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth.Vegan Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 You might want to look into UCI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 You might want to look into UCI. I have seen it. Professor Yang Su and David A. Smith have the similar interest with me. Thank you very much for your really useful information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moda Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Which university are you from in China? I'm currently a research fellow at ZheDa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abitstartled Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 UCLA has a strong program in historical/comparative sociology. UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego are also good options if you're interested in comparing social systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth.Vegan Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Charles Ragan also does some really interesting stuff with comparative historical methodology at UCI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomDood Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 If you are not aiming for top-top departments you might want to give a look at CUNY-Graduate Center. Specifically at Bryan Turner and--given your interests--especially John Torpey. I heard that admissions have become more selective in order to fix the funding problems they've been having, but I think you might give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adornoscapitalistcast Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I'd recommend picking up "Remaking Modernity" -- it's a state of field collection of essays published in 2005 from all of the big boys in Comp-hist sociology. All of the top schools have a comp-hist guy/gal that's pretty well respected... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Which university are you from in China? I'm currently a research fellow at ZheDa. China University of Political Science and Law (Beijing). My major is Political Science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 UCLA has a strong program in historical/comparative sociology. UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego are also good options if you're interested in comparing social systems. Thank you very much for providing useful information. Thank you for your kindness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Charles Ragan also does some really interesting stuff with comparative historical methodology at UCI You are right, man. Thank you for your reminding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 If you are not aiming for top-top departments you might want to give a look at CUNY-Graduate Center. Specifically at Bryan Turner and--given your interests--especially John Torpey. I heard that admissions have become more selective in order to fix the funding problems they've been having, but I think you might give it a shot. Many thanks. I will look at CUNY. Thank you ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.Peng Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 I'd recommend picking up "Remaking Modernity" -- it's a state of field collection of essays published in 2005 from all of the big boys in Comp-hist sociology. All of the top schools have a comp-hist guy/gal that's pretty well respected... Thank you sociologist, haha I am fighting for my dream! ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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