East/Central Europe programs

[novazembla]

Hi, everyone. I'm about to start one of the kinds of threads that I've seen a lot of on these forums -- one where somebody asks a bunch of questions that are really only relevant to themselves. I apologize in advance.

I majored in history at a relatively prestigious small liberal arts college but did not do particularly well -- I did ended up with a 3.0 GPA, mostly because I got very bad grades in a number of required courses. Following college, I taught English abroad, then came back to the US and waited tables and did ESL tutoring before deciding what I ought to do was get an MA in education and teach high school history.

I'm currently in the second year of a two-year program, and I'm slowly coming to realize that teaching high school history is probably not my dream career. During the first year, I took some graduate courses in US history and enjoyed them thoroughly -- I learned a lot about what studying and writing history is all about, and I really think that's what I want to do. So I'm thinking about applying to history graduate programs in addition to looking for jobs teaching high school. Despite the American history classes -- which I took because I didn't get a lot of US history in undergrad -- my main interests are in 19th-century and early 20th-century Eastern/Central Europe, particularly Czechoslovakia, particularly Slovakia, specifically with regards to nationalism, language, national minorities, the pan-Slavic movement, and transnational perspectives. I speak and read Czech and Slovak fluently. My GPA in my master's program is 3.894 (so far, at least). And my GRE scores are pretty great, for what it's worth.

So, I've got some questions.

- Should I apply for MA programs first? I was kind of thinking I ought to do that, but, firstly, I can't really fund it myself, and secondly, I haven't found a lot of programs that are strong in the areas that I'm interested in. Does anyone know of any?
- What exactly should I send as a writing sample? I haven't done any writing in the history classes I've taken using primary sources, it's all been historiographical essays. Should I make an effort to take a class next semester where I do write a paper using primary sources?
- Is it a problem that I've only been taking US history classes at the graduate level, when I'm interested in applying to programs to study modern Europe? Should I take a class next semester somewhat more directly related to my interests? (The university I'm at now doesn't really have anything in East/Central Europe, though.)
- Will I be dramatically more likely to be accepted to history graduate programs once I've been teaching history in high school for a few years?
- I have a general idea of departments that have strong East/Central Europe programs, but does anyone have specific recommendations?

[rising_star]

Would you be willing to do a MA in area studies, rather than an history? That might give you more options for programs and potentially also for funding. That said, why not actually give the high school teaching thing a try before ruling it out? Depending on where you teach, you may end up with an experience that is somewhat similar to college teaching. I have several PhD-holding friends who teach at independent schools and enjoy it more than they liked teaching at the college level. 

[TMP]

- Should I apply for MA programs first? I was kind of thinking I ought to do that, but, firstly, I can't really fund it myself, and secondly, I haven't found a lot of programs that are strong in the areas that I'm interested in. Does anyone know of any?

No, you don't need to do that.  One master's is enough especially that you have demonstrated yourself perfectly capable of doing well in history courses.  Go ahead and apply for the PhD.

- What exactly should I send as a writing sample? I haven't done any writing in the history classes I've taken using primary sources, it's all been historiographical essays. Should I make an effort to take a class next semester where I do write a paper using primary sources?

Yes, find a research-based class, either in area studies program or the History department.  If there isn't such a class, might you be able to find a history professor willing to reserve an independent study in which you can produce a paper using primary sources in Czech and/or Slovak?

I realize that it may be hard to access Czech/Slovak language primary sources from the US, you can use your statement of purpose to explain where/how you have acquired those languages.

- Is it a problem that I've only been taking US history classes at the graduate level, when I'm interested in applying to programs to study modern Europe? Should I take a class next semester somewhat more directly related to my interests? (The university I'm at now doesn't really have anything in East/Central Europe, though.)
Any kind of European history course is fine.  The most important thing is that you can demonstrate your basic understanding of the field in  your writing sample and statement of purpose.

- Will I be dramatically more likely to be accepted to history graduate programs once I've been teaching history in high school for a few years?
No more or less but it may make you a more attractive candidate for a TA-ship than a fellowship for your first year funding, which you don't want if you can.

- I have a general idea of departments that have strong East/Central Europe programs, but does anyone have specific recommendations?

Definitely University of Illinois and University of Chicago.

[kotov]

Good programs for East-Central Europe (good to see someone else in my field! also love the reference to Pale Fire, one of my favorite novels):

Indiana University

UIUC

University of Pittsburgh

University of Washington (I believe someone there specializes in Czechoslovakia)

Boston University (Igor Lukes)

University of Wisconsin

 

Just some suggestions to get you started. I'm not in your subfield (I work primarily on Romania and Hungary), but these are all good programs in the field generally speaking and have great support for language instruction, etc.