Fall 2015 Applicants

[Heimat Historian]

I would actually love for people to share their methods/theory book lists on this forum.  It's really fascinating to me to see what different schools are assigning for those type of courses

[ashiepoo72]

In my MA methods course we read Gaddis' Landscape of History and Howell and Provenier's From Reliable Sources. We were unofficially expected to read Bloch's The Historian's Craft and Novick's That Noble Dream. I also like Davidson's After the Fact, which I read in undergrad.

Edited October 23, 2015 by ashiepoo72

[mvlchicago]

I hold that That Noble Dream is by far the best single-volume book to give to someone who is looking to do history with little sense of what the historical discipline actually entails both in terms of methods of research and the politics of the academy itself. Whether Novick could've done so in less than 675 pages is probably a valid point, but not necessarily a fatal one. 

[TMP]

Funny, we weren't assigned those books mentioned in my historiography class.... we just read a lot of different selections for each broad topic... 

[Heimat Historian]

Me either TMP.  We're reading a book a week by different theorists: Marx, Weber, Foucault, Bourdieu, etc.  It's a great class if intense on the reading side. 

[ashiepoo72]

We aren't reading any specific methods book in my PhD historiography course, either. We spent the first half reading stuff in the professor's field and from now on our readings are more theoretical. My prof did a great job of encouraging us to connect methods and theories from the books in his field with ours, but there was no central work explaining historical methods and theories. I get the feeling he's trying to show rather than tell.

[TMP]

We aren't reading any specific methods book in my PhD historiography course, either. We spent the first half reading stuff in the professor's field and from now on our readings are more theoretical. My prof did a great job of encouraging us to connect methods and theories from the books in his field with ours, but there was no central work explaining historical methods and theories. I get the feeling he's trying to show rather than tell.

Basically same thing!

Out of curiosity for all taking historiography, any of you being presented with non-Western historiographical traditions like subaltern studies?

[Heimat Historian]

Not directly in my theory course. I'm in a colonialism readings course and we read both "Can the Subaltern Speak?" and Selected Subaltern Studies. 

[dr. t]

Out of curiosity for all taking historiography, any of you being presented with non-Western historiographical traditions like subaltern studies?

Yep, if briefly. One week on "Orientalism and the Other" and another on "Colonial Narratives and Postcolonial Histories". 

[mvlchicago]

Unsure if I'd characterize Spivak, the Chakrabarty article we're reading, or Bhabha,  as "non-Western." They're non-Western as in, they were born outside of Europe, but Spivak especially emphasizes her training is fundamentally European (ie, Western). 

Frantz Fanon's on our syllabus though, if only for "On Violence"...

[ashiepoo72]

Most of what I've read in my current historiography course has been non-Western (written by non-Western educated scholars and thinkers). Since I had very little background in any non-Western lit, it's been a challenge and a boon. Ibn Khaldun is my fave so far. We are also going to touch on postcolonial debates.

[mvlchicago]

Guys we're in Week 11/8 how did this happen

[Heimat Historian]

Tell me about it mvlchicago.  This semester has flown by.  On a different note, what do you do if you think you found a dissertation topic but then you find a dissertation written in 2008 with a similar focus, though not on the same biographic material? 

[mvlchicago]

40 minutes ago, Heimat Historian said:

Tell me about it mvlchicago.  This semester has flown by.  On a different note, what do you do if you think you found a dissertation topic but then you find a dissertation written in 2008 with a similar focus, though not on the same biographic material? 

tbqh I think this is a problem we're all going to have: it's hard to believe that no matter how unique or interesting our dissertation topics are, someone hasn't already written something about them in the long century of historiography. I think finding your look-alike dissertation early is good because you can think about how your project diverges from theirs, and then use their research to your advantage! Hopefully a bunch of the recent trends from 2008 to now will help modify what you're thinking a little differently to make the project yours. 

Edited November 18, 2015 by mvlchicago

[ashiepoo72]

Don't worry about it! mvlchicago is totally right, this will happen to all of us. My topic is surprisingly obscure (despite prolific writing on the Cold War), but I've found pieces here and there that touch on some aspect of it. I found a book written by a state official that is essentially my topic, so I'm gonna read it and incorporate it (while looking at it very carefully because there are obvious problems with "official" history). You should mine that dissertation's bibliography for sure!

This happened to me when I was contacting POIs and told them about my writing sample research (another relatively obscure topic). One prof recommended an article that covered one of the two main themes of my paper, I read it and got totally bummed out, then realized I disagreed, not with the author's conclusions, but the means by which he came to them and also took issue with how he used some sources (he was talking about one agency, but used sources from the agencies that preceded it and had different people in charge), so I was able to critique parts of his thesis and methods but also used the stuff I found useful and agreed with.

Long story short...read it closely and use it. You're bound to find points of divergence. Or you may agree with the author but have different methods or directions you want to go.

[Heimat Historian]

This all makes quite a bit of sense.  Thanks!

[TMP]

Both are right.  It's okay to be bummed a bit if it seems like someone "took' your dissertation topic. 

Believe it or not, a lot of dissertations don't get converted into books.  So, read those dissertations that didn't get converted and find a way to make them your own.  How do the dissertations fit with the kinds of intellectual questions your'e asking and methodologies you wish to pursue.  

Heimat Historian, how would different sources change the narrative of that focus?  Will your methodology and sources advance that author's argument or reject it?  If the latter, how so?  A great example in German history would be the use of Nazi family policy.  Lisa Pine focuses on the top-down process while Michelle Mouton looks from bottom-up.  Nonetheless, they're asking similar questions but using different sources.  The conclusion to the effects of the Nazi family policies is generally that they were inconsistent throughout the years for a variety of reasons which some had to do with local bureaucrats disagreeing with the principle, resistance from individuals, and preparation for a war.  Another example in German history is the notion of heimat.  How do Celia Applegate and Alon Confino talk about it?

You will be doing A LOT of reading for your exams that will help you think about your dissertation in so many different ways.  Hang in there  

Edited November 19, 2015 by TMP

[Chiqui74]

On 10/29/2015, 9:40:51, Heimat Historian said:

Not directly in my theory course. I'm in a colonialism readings course and we read both "Can the Subaltern Speak?" and Selected Subaltern Studies. 

We had one week of Subaltern Studies.

[ashiepoo72]

I'm pretty much done with one final paper and working on a rough draft for the other, with the final draft due in about 2 weeks. I have one more week of reading, then I'm done with courses for the quarter.

I have to say, I'm pretty floored that I got through this term unscathed. I guess the MA prepared me way better than I thought. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I'm sitting over here loving grad school, enjoying classes, not overwhelmed by the work, still able to get some good research done even though it's not really expected in the first quarter. I know it's gonna be miserable sometimes--I absolutely loved my MA program, but it totally kicked my ass sometimes--but right now I'm feeling good and wondering if that's a bad sign haha

I hope everyone else is doing really well and the end of the term goes smoothly for you all! I wanna hear some recaps of your first-term experiences

[mvlchicago]

I get to spend winter break in my primary archive. I have a chapter (somewhat divergent from my history research) coming out in an edited volume early 2016. I am full of Turkey dinner 2.0. Life is good, basically. 

[Heimat Historian]

Still digging over here. I love the work, but I do find it challenging to balance class work, teaching and my own research.  I think my time management skills could stand to improve. Glad to hear everyone's semesters are going well. 

[Klonoa]

We should have all made it through our first semester now. Congrats everyone!

[ashiepoo72]

Made it through the first quarter about 2 weeks ago and now winter quarter is days away...I have never missed semesters more than I do now. However, I'm a contrary person by nature (and a glutton for punishment) so I'm also stoked to start classes again.

You guys...it's been a year since we finished applications and were waiting for programs to respond, wondering where the hell we'd end up. Crazy.

[Chiqui74]

I turned in my last paper on December 23rd and my classes start again on January 26th. That is a nice long break!  I'm still deciding whether I should go to the AHA conference this weekend.

[tingdeh]

A year since the mutual freak-outs already?! Damn. And look at us go.

I've got an accepted article I've gotta edit for February and some conferences coming up! Eat well and have a great second semester everyone.