What ultimately led you to pick your specialization?

[M&M]

I'm curious as to how others approached their specialization decision. While I'm still undergrad and realize I have time for my interests and such to evolve, I feel as if time is running out in regards to picking a specialization and standing out in it (so as to have decent, if not excellent, PhD program prospects). I'm a Junior this coming Fall.

I mentioned in a previous thread my interests in Colonial America, and the relations between Europeans (primarily English) and Natives. I'm also interested, however, in Medieval Europe (particularly England and France). I'm beginning to wonder how deeply my interests lie in Colonial America, as I'm always wondering if I'll regret not going with Medieval Europe.

A few factors that I feel have influenced my decision:

Languages - Medieval European programs really require French, German, and Latin. As a Junior, with no experience whatsoever with German or Latin, I wonder how realistic my language learning goals would be. I can read French at a painstakingly slow rate and with a dictionary in hand, though I obviously hope to have much improved by Master's and then PhD work.

Location - I live in New England (Massachusetts) and therefore have much more access to colonial American documents, sources, and locations than English and French ones. I'm married (no kids), so study abroad and moving for a program aren't all that feasible.

Romanticism - I've grown up with romantic notions of Medieval life. I'm a bit of an armchair scientist, so the plague and other medical and scientific happenings in Europe have always been an interest of mine. I wonder though, whether my romantic notions would be enough to carry me through grad school. Will I regret taking up Medieval Europe because of my naive and childish notions, or will I love it as much as I thought?

There are other factors at play, I'm sure, though those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

How did you approach specialization? Did you just always know? Did it evolve over time? What advice would you offer to a student in my position?

While I don't intend to commit to a PhD program without an unwavering interest in my specialization topic, I'm curious how others came to that unwavering decision.

[TMP]

Who says that your time "is running out"?  Take your time!  The PhD will ALWAYS be there.   

You should think about the big questions in history that you're interested in exploring and studying in depth.  It sounds to me that you have the time period in mind (early modern) but not quite sure.  It's okay.  You can ask yourself the big questions about the early modern period (which is actually quite exciting) that can transcend political borders such as science, health, gender, and race (though that's a modern concept but is still workable).  

 

I know I wanted to do my major field for a long time-- never thought about anything else.  But to dig in more took some time because I was bedazzled by a lot of topics and had to recognize areas that still needed to be researched that could sustain my interest for a long time.  Choosing my minor fields for my PhD exams took EVEN longer because I really wanted transcend national geography and do thematic history.  But my program required me to pick one geographical field so I chose Modern Europe.  I was going to do the US for the other but two of the faculty members I wanted to study with were unavailable to be my committee member so I switched to gender with a favorite professor.  It's all worked out quite nicely.

 

While interests can evolve over time, your "big picture" questions need to be more settled by the time you reach your third year/preparation for candidacy exams.

 

(sorry for any super awkward writing... in middle of writing my PhD exam)

[random_grad]

Languages: wouldn t you need to learn a Native American language if you chose that path? That can be much harder than just learning European languages. Language learning can be achieved quite fast with FLAS and other summer programs. 3 languages from more or less the same language group is doable. But you should show aptitude by taking at least 1 course in each, to be admitted.

I confess that languages were a consideration for my choice of historical period at first. While I would not want to go into too much detail on that (trying to maintain anonymity) , I can tell you that the language requirement scared me as much. It turned out easier than I thought. So, frankly, this should be the least of your concerns in terms of decision making.

Now things that really influenced my choice and which I still consider important:

- historical issues explored by historians in my specialty appeal to me more than any other. it gives me immense pleasure to read their work and think about these topics. I even enjoy the way they write, which is no minor consideration because you ll be reading a lot of articles. Such beautiful minds... I want to become one of them!

- on the other hand I ve always been interested in the era I study, so yeah I could say "I always knew" - just did not dare until late in my undergrad.

- availability of materials was of some importance, but not huge.

- political atmosphere in countries I considered studying and how they deal with American researchers

- simple enjoyment of primary texts and materials. Love them! I could decorate my entire place with the art of the era XD

Search your feelings, compare to other eras as well, totally outside the two you mentioned, and consider looking at interactions Between the two. unless you are certain, don t specialize too early - leave yourself a choice. But do get some languages under your belt, to test if you can potentially do it.

Edited May 7, 2015 by random_grad

[knp]

My 'area' was both the first and the last topic that ever interested me in history. I had never particularly enjoyed the basic lessons in American history presented in my elementary and middle schools, so I didn't think about history much. In high school, I took a world history survey that touched on some surprising connections between different regions. One of them made me sit up and take notice: now that was interesting! Then I forgot about this feeling for a couple years, and futzed around periods of European and American history for most of college. In late college, a lightbulb went off, I realized I could study the region that had first so interested me, and so I got started. (What can I say? I guess I'm slow on the uptake.) I ended up specializing in the same 'corner' of this region as my college's one relevant professor; it's an obscure corner of the region, but I ended up loving it, so I've stuck with it. So now I study a field I love.

 

Most of my motivation is intrinsic interest, but some part is a lingering peevishness that "nobody told me" that I could study this region. As somebody who arrived in college with a narrow and western-centered view of what countries had history 'worth studying', I want to help represent this region (and 'my' particularly neglected corner of it) in scholarship and in students' coursework. I will note that because I study a country in a period when it was dealing with European colonialism and imperialism, the fact that I know the relevant European language(s) facilitated the switch.

 

As for the OP, I am always going to recommend "more languages!", although I don't have targeted advice about which languages or choices are best for your interests. (Personally, I'm considering studying language and empire, so I'm taking some steps to make sure I have all my linguistic bases covered, per advice I received earlier on this forum.) Even for those with less language-based interests, more languages is usually a good way to keep your options open.

 

You say you're interested in Native American relationships with the Europeans, "primarily the English". Do you have a specific other group in mind? On the off chance it's the Germans, that would make recommending German seem like a good idea, since it's useful for both medieval history and your colonial American interests. Otherwise, I stand back and let others advise on languages more.

 

And what area of Native American groups are you interested in, generally? New England tribes? I don't know whether you need any or how many Native American languages for that, I just know that studying colonial New Mexico/Arizona has a very different historical and linguistic landscape than colonial New England, or Georgia/Florida/Oklahoma, etc. I assume if you study the Cherokee, you have to learn Cherokee; if you study the Wampanoag, do you have to learn Wampanoag? I don't know, but it's something to think about.

[brown_eyed_girl]

Another thing to consider is the pragmatic advantages one field may have over another. For example, if one field is substantially less commonly studied than the other, choosing the less common one may give you an edge in getting into better programs and having a less saturated job market (as long as there is some interest in your field on the job market), AND may mean that there is more room for new scholarship. If you have a lot of opportunities nearby to study colonial America, that could also be a huge practical advantage, because 1. you may be able to do some archival/site-specific research or gain substantive work experience in the field before you apply to that will give you an edge in admissions, and 2. because you state that you don't want to spend much time researching abroad.  

 

I'm in Art History, but like you as an undergrad I was interested in 2 subfields during similar time periods but different regions. My ultimate decision in what to apply for came down to my work experience in one field rather than the other, more interest in the conceptual issues prevalent in one subfield versus the other, and one field being less saturated. I still find the other field fascinating, but I'm very happy with my choice. Also, don't forget that a lot of historians have a few areas of interest, and you can always take classes and do research in something different from what you write your thesis/dissertation on. 

[dr. t]

Who says that your time "is running out"?  Take your time!  The PhD will ALWAYS be there.   

 

Is that supposed to be comforting or terrifying?

[M&M]

Multiquote doesn't seem to be working for me ATM. 

 

@TMP - I think this may be my biggest challenge -- finding an area that has gaps in scholarships which will hold my interests for such a long period of time. I've begun thinking of such areas, for both my Medieval European and Colonial American interests, and am still torn between the two. 

 

@random_grad - While NA languages aren't a "requirement," you're right that I'd have to devote some time to them, considering my research interests. Summer intensive programs aren't all that plausible for me, due to work and financial constraints, which causes me to worry further about the language learning task at hand. 

 

@knp - French is the other group I'm interested in, though I'm sure German wouldn't hurt. I can't help but feel that Spanish might be more advantageous if I do go the Colonial America route (in conjunction with French, not as an alternative). I'm still trying to figure out NA language needs for my particular interests.

 

@brown_eyed_girl - Lots to think on. In terms of field saturation, I know that 20th Century American History tends to be filled to the brim with scholars, though I'm not able to find much on pre-Revolution America. Similarly, Medieval/early Modern Europe tends to be quite popular. Conceptually, I feel I have more interest in Medieval Euro, but it could just be I haven't found my niche within Colonial America. 

[scirefaciat]

My ultimate topic came out of a masters thesis that was torture for me. Now, I am looking at legal manipulation in the 14th century common law, and it's so, so interesting. What would you study as a medievalist? What about as an early Americanist?

I think the most important thing would be to have a viable topic for which you are familiar with the sources. If you are interested in the medieval period because you've romanticized it, you may have a tough time writing an SOP that would get you admitted.

[knp]

Ah, I forgot to mention - do you have an option to do an undergrad thesis, a senior honors' project, or even some sort of capstone independent study? I find that doing one of those starting independent research projects is critical to narrowing down your interests. I enjoyed the heck out of writing mine, even though I never want to work on that topic again. But! In working on my set of primary sources, I found some other things that helped lead me to the two semi-related topics I am choosing between for pitching my SOPs. The process of finding what topic you want to spend your senior year looking at, and in what broader field that topic would be located in, will be helpful practice for doing the same for your graduate school applications. Then, writing the thing will give you some useful feedback about how much you like the topic you ended up choosing. If you try out a medieval thesis and hate it, or vice versa, that's strong feedback to try for the other one. If you love your topic/field, that's strong feedback to keep going with what works.

 

Until then, you are an undergrad, and have four more semesters' (or however many quarters) of experimentation left to do! Take advantage of it and take classes that seem like they might help inform you on these questions; these should be research-heavy, if possible, or at least have research paper options.

[random_grad]

Summer language learning is usually funded by the grad school you will be attending (FLAS is a scholarship). As an undergrad you are not expected to do that, just take a course or two with A grades to show you can learn a language.

[knp]

That depends on the field, no? Telkanuru's list a while back of the minimum languages expected of medievalists was quite long — long enough that while summers could be avoided for undergrads, probably, you'd need far more than a course or two before entering grad school.

[gsc]

Ah, I forgot to mention - do you have an option to do an undergrad thesis, a senior honors' project, or even some sort of capstone independent study? I find that doing one of those starting independent research projects is critical to narrowing down your interests.  

 

Do this! I have posted something to this effect in a couple of other threads, but I am about 99% sure that my senior thesis is what helped me have a successful application season (6 acceptances, 1 waitlist, 2 rejections). It's the only way you can get a really good writing sample at the undergrad level; you won't really get the chance to do a lengthy, original project based on primary source research in your regular classes (the longest paper I ever wrote outside of my thesis was 15 pages).

[random_grad]

@knp

you re right, sorry. It depends.

[thedig13]

I'd encourage you to drop by nearby academic conferences/talks/lectures that are relevant to your prospective fields (maybe two for Early Americanists and two for Medievalists?). That'll give you a sense of what scholars in these fields are actually thinking about, and whether or not it meets your "romantic" notions of what the field constitutes.

 

Just a thought.

[M&M]

Ah, I forgot to mention - do you have an option to do an undergrad thesis, a senior honors' project, or even some sort of capstone independent study? I find that doing one of those starting independent research projects is critical to narrowing down your interests. I enjoyed the heck out of writing mine, even though I never want to work on that topic again. But! In working on my set of primary sources, I found some other things that helped lead me to the two semi-related topics I am choosing between for pitching my SOPs. The process of finding what topic you want to spend your senior year looking at, and in what broader field that topic would be located in, will be helpful practice for doing the same for your graduate school applications. Then, writing the thing will give you some useful feedback about how much you like the topic you ended up choosing. If you try out a medieval thesis and hate it, or vice versa, that's strong feedback to try for the other one. If you love your topic/field, that's strong feedback to keep going with what works.

 

Until then, you are an undergrad, and have four more semesters' (or however many quarters) of experimentation left to do! Take advantage of it and take classes that seem like they might help inform you on these questions; these should be research-heavy, if possible, or at least have research paper options.

 

I'm transferring from CC to a State Uni. Luckily for me, I only have 39 required credits to finish for my major -- 6 of which can be Independent Study. After that, I still have 18 more credits in order to meet the institutional minimum for graduation. So on top of the two independent studies I plan to do to meet my major requirements, I'm going to look into take Grad courses and a senior honors' project. 

[M&M]

I really appreciate all of the advice and knowledge! 

 

New Question RE: Languages: 

 

I consider myself more than a beginner in French, but less than an intermediate. I have basic working knowledge of the grammar and syntax of a French sentence, and with a dictionary in hand, I can make my way through a 400-word article in about 45 min - 1 hour. If the article is on Yahoo! or some other such site, I can usually get the gist within 5 - 10 minutes. 

 

Will I have the option of working on more than one language during my Master's years? If I do go with Medieval, I'll need French, German, and Latin at a minimum. I know that many institutions don't look too kindly on self-study, though that is all that I have at my disposal at this moment. Even if I do a summer or two at a language program, I need three languages. 

 

What does this look like, exactly? I know each PhD program is different when it comes to handling languages, but how many language exams will I need to pass in my first two years? Will I need to pass all three by the time I graduate? Will I have a chance within the program to work on my languages? I do plan to use French primary sources in my senior project and/or independent study to show a certain level of knowledge, but I'm more worried about German and Latin. 

[dr. t]

A couple of things to clarify: there are some medieval PhD programs that only insist on Latin + French OR German. These are to be regarded with suspicion. Second, having proficiency in 2/3 (or sometimes 1/3, particularly if that 1 is Latin) is generally OK. 

 

I would pick up Karl Sandberg's French for Reading, because a standard French course will go too slow for what you want. Keep at it, though; being able to publish in another language is great!

 

For Latin, these days I recommend Keller and Russell's Learn to Read Latin. It's solid and it comes with a workbook/problem set. It's probably also good to pick up Wheelock's Latin, for extra explanation of terms and study.

 

If you have time and are in the Boston area, Harvard Extension School offers a year-long French For Reading course every other year, and Professor Richard Thomas, Harvard's Virgilianist, offers intermediate Latin prose every fall and poetry in the spring. These courses typically run ~$1000 and are without a doubt a fantastic bang for your buck. With some hard work, you can get your Latin up to speed over the summer with the materials above.

 

Do both of these things and start working NOW. Leave German for the PhD program.

 

Schools will be skeptical if you don't have credentials for the language, but if you use them in your writing sample, that will speak for itself.

[serenade]

I mentioned in a previous thread my interests in Colonial America, and the relations between Europeans (primarily English) and Natives. I'm also interested, however, in Medieval Europe (particularly England and France). I'm beginning to wonder how deeply my interests lie in Colonial America, as I'm always wondering if I'll regret not going with Medieval Europe.

I'm kind of late to this thread, but just wanted to chime in, M&M, that I did my MA with a primary focus in Medieval Europe (my thesis focused on the Carolingian Era) and a secondary field in Colonial America. It was the best of both worlds because I'm deeply interested in both eras.

 

So although you'll ultimately have to pick one as your primary field of study, it doesn't mean the other has to completely go down the drain. 

[lelick1234]

I was too young to understand the overall political impact of 9/11, but the failures of the Iraq War really captured my interest.  I began to wonder why there were so many problems in the Middle East.  I began reading some books and realized that the US played a significant role in the current crises in the Middle East.  With that being said, I was very practical and wanted a job.  I thought that if I mastered a few of the Middle Eastern critical languages that I could get a cushy government job.  But while studying Arabic, I met my wife, an Egyptian.  My specialization will either be U.S. Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, with a secondary specialization in Middle Eastern History, or the opposite. 

[Cpt Jo]

I took the opportunity to work on unpublished Memoirs of a politician.

[kotov]

Let's see.

 

I started being interested in/reading about the Holocaust during the first semester of my sophomore year of college after I had a mental breakdown and a borderline psychotic episode. I had been interested in Romania since high school when one of my friends gave a report on Ceausescu in AP Language class (for whatever reason). I actually didn't much put the two together until I was applying for grad school, after I realized that I wasn't going to be able to get together the language skills to be a competitive applicant to keep working on what I was doing in undergrad (the Holodomor and related issues). So, in my proposals, I talked (too vaguely) about working on something relating to the Holocaust in Romania, where the historiography is still emerging and there isn't a lot of specialized literature yet, like there is for, say, Germany or Hungary. This got me more than one "we'd take you but we can't support your research, sorry," but ended up working out well enough.

 

As far as my specific project goes, it began with a paper I wrote my first semester of grad school about the Ford auto repair shop in Odessa and the use of Jewish workers there. Basically, I took it to a grad student conference and got some feedback along the lines of "this is kind of pointless unless you're gonna keep building on the forced labor thing because otherwise no one cares." I actually intended to write my dissertation on the expropriation of Jewish property in Romania, until I realized that that had already been done when I was in like, high school. So, I fell back on the forced labor thing which no one has done very much with so far and hopefully no one will do much with before I can publish this. There were hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that were largely untouched on the subject, so the resources were there and I just kind of had to go get them.