Other than US history?

[JustChill]

I am wondering what other regions people are going for besides US history? Seems like all I read about on here is americanists. Anyone doing Russian history? I guess it'd be cool if there weren't as many Russianists, but I somehow doubt it. Anyone know how many people (of the supposed 300-400 history applicants a year) apply for Russian history?

[TMP]

I am wondering what other regions people are going for besides US history? Seems like all I read about on here is americanists. Anyone doing Russian history? I guess it'd be cool if there weren't as many Russianists, but I somehow doubt it. Anyone know how many people (of the supposed 300-400 history applicants a year) apply for Russian history?

I heard that at top schools, about 30-40 applications come in for Latin American history. Usually about 100+ applications are for US history and European history respectively. Which leaves the rest for other geographical fields.

Sorry to say, you're going to be competing against others doing European history. You'll be considered as an Europeanist so you'll face stiff competition from others interested in Europe, including Britain, France, and Germany.

Honestly, good luck. But your fluency in Russian will definitely increase your chances as the adcoms will throw out anyone who isn't fluent in an European language (or so my advisor says).

I am in US history but I have an interest in becoming a transnational historian with US as the focus point and using Europe and/or Latin America for comparison. So, um, I'll be competing against anyone who's doing transnational history.

[Sparky]

You'll be considered as an Europeanist so you'll face stiff competition from others interested in Europe, including Britain, France, and Germany.

Is it really that straightforward, though? I mean, some schools have a separate Eastern Europe division or subdivision, and at (some, at least) larger programs it has more to do with availability of professors in specific subject areas rather than broader field. Of course, if it's an admit-1-per-subfield program, we're all probably screwed anyway, right?

I do medieval Euope (western, though...probably focusing on Germany because I find Middle German the easiest of the vernaculars), which at some places is its own field and at others is lumped into "Europe." Joy.

[tron]

yeah, i'm also applying for a less common field of history...

but i don't think it'll be that much of an advantage

due to financial constraints, u of texas, which has 11 fields, plans on admitting a mere 8 students this year. looks like an even less appealing ratio than one student per field, and i doubt that it's the only place like that

Edited November 12, 2009 by tron

[StrangeLight]

I am in US history but I have an interest in becoming a transnational historian with US as the focus point and using Europe and/or Latin America for comparison. So, um, I'll be competing against anyone who's doing transnational history.

as a fellow transnational historian i can tell you... you'll probably be considered an americanist. i'd say that almost half the students in my program are doing some sort of transnational/atlantic/world history but they're all "americanist" or "latin americanist" or "europeanist."

i'm a latin americanist who studies hispanic central america/anglophone caribbean and will eventually do some transnational west african stuff. if i'm doing latin america AND africa, i damn well better be able to get a job at the end of this.

[TMP]

as a fellow transnational historian i can tell you... you'll probably be considered an americanist. i'd say that almost half the students in my program are doing some sort of transnational/atlantic/world history but they're all "americanist" or "latin americanist" or "europeanist."

i'm a latin americanist who studies hispanic central america/anglophone caribbean and will eventually do some transnational west african stuff. if i'm doing latin america AND africa, i damn well better be able to get a job at the end of this.

I know One professor warned me of this. And I'm like, holy crap, you're telling me to re-write my SOP for the Americanists who are going to decide on my fate? Then I mentioned briefly to my advisor and she said, "hell no, what are you doing? You're fine. Don't change your SOP unless you want to do American history only." I'm getting a third opinion.

[StrangeLight]

write your SOP for what you want to do. appeal to all the subfields that will pop up in your work. connect yourself to americanists, latin americansts, europeanists in each department. even talk up their library collections, if possible. if you sound like someone that will interest 4 or 5 faculty members, your odds are good.

but... ultimately... you're going to still be thrown under the category of americanist unless you apply to world history programs. you know all of this already.

[Matilda_Tone]

British and Irish history for me- with a transatlantic element.

I am very interested in late 18th century Irish politics and Irish migration.

It is all overdone, and I will never get an academic job, but I am just happy to see where things lead as long as schools' are willing to fund me.

[Sovetskaya]

I heard that at top schools, about 30-40 applications come in for Latin American history. Usually about 100+ applications are for US history and European history respectively. Which leaves the rest for other geographical fields.

Sorry to say, you're going to be competing against others doing European history. You'll be considered as an Europeanist so you'll face stiff competition from others interested in Europe, including Britain, France, and Germany.

Honestly, good luck. But your fluency in Russian will definitely increase your chances as the adcoms will throw out anyone who isn't fluent in an European language (or so my advisor says).

I am in US history but I have an interest in becoming a transnational historian with US as the focus point and using Europe and/or Latin America for comparison. So, um, I'll be competing against anyone who's doing transnational history.

Not necessarily. It depends on the department. You can study Russian history with the Europeanists, or you can study Russian history with the Russian/Eurasionists, or you can study Russian history with a comparative Cold War group. Possibilities are endless. Depends on the objective of the department and their approach. Sometimes you will compete against the "Europeanists," but often you will not.

This used to (and still is in some departments) be the case with Middle East Studies. Now there are plenty of approaches and diverse departments that cover all basis and one does not have to become an "Orientalist" or study under the Orientalists to work on the ME.

[africanhistoryphd]

Am I the only aspiring Africanist?

Kwa nini?

[StrangeLight]

Am I the only aspiring Africanist?

Kwa nini?

probably. last year when i applied, i didn't see any africanists on this site or on college confidential. bodes well for your hiring prospects. african history has the best ratio of job postings to PhD holders of any subfield, so there's a definite upside to being the only one.

[hopkinsgirl]

modern japanese women's labor history. applied to five schools, mostly ivies, cant wait to hear back!

[TMNT]

On 1/23/2010 at 8:26 PM, africanhistoryphd said:

Am I the only aspiring Africanist?

Kwa nini?

Hapana, kuna mwingine. Looks like we've actually applied to thee of the same places: washu, nyu, and mich (although I'm going for anth&hist there)

kila la heri

[africanhistoryphd]

On 1/27/2010 at 6:30 PM, TMNT said:

Hapana, kuna mwingine. Looks like we've actually applied to thee of the same places: washu, nyu, and mich (although I'm going for anth&hist there)

kila la heri

Habari Ninja Turtle?

Glad to hear we might somehow wind up in the same place, unafanya history gani? Nafikiri ni East Africa, sindiyo? Nafikiri ivyo kwasababu unajua Kiswahili. What era?

[kent shakespeare]

I guess I'm only partially an Americanist.

My focus is on Canada and Native peoples, the latter not necessarily restricted to the border.

[TMNT]

Habari Ninja Turtle?

Glad to hear we might somehow wind up in the same place, unafanya history gani? Nafikiri ni East Africa, sindiyo? Nafikiri ivyo kwasababu unajua Kiswahili. What era?

uangalie sanduku la barua lako

[BumblebeePlan]

I too am transnational, but am shoehorned in East Asia. I can like more than one region

[deuterides]

American transnational financial history (Its not as boring as it sounds) The other half is essentially Britain and China, but I applied as an Americanist, since everything I'm looking at emanates from there, at least in my mind.

Edited February 9, 2010 by deuterides

[subrosa]

I too am transnational, but am shoehorned in East Asia. I can like more than one region

Same boat exactly.

[American in Beijing]

I'm a budding East Asianist, with a focus on Modern China. Lol, I guess I'm a bit more understudied regional than transnational.

Yay for all of those who try to break the mold! Especially the Africanist. You rock!

Hai you xue zhongguo lishi de ma?

[utsusemi]

I'm a budding East Asianist, with a focus on Modern China. Lol, I guess I'm a bit more understudied regional than transnational.

Yay for all of those who try to break the mold! Especially the Africanist. You rock!

Hai you xue zhongguo lishi de ma?

Hai you yi wei. From your list of schools, it sounds like we are (partly) one another's competition, though I'm focused on late imperial. And your languages are way more impressive than mine...

Jiayou!

[BumblebeePlan]

Same boat exactly.

What's your other half/portion? Mine's Iberia.

[subrosa]

What's your other half/portion? Mine's Iberia.

Ooooh. Would love to hear more about your research!

My main fields are China and Japan, with connection to Russia, and in comparison with American West and British Empire (am hoping to do a bit of work on East Africa, actually, but might get steered towards South Asia by zealous advisors).

[subrosa]

I'm a budding East Asianist, with a focus on Modern China. Lol, I guess I'm a bit more understudied regional than transnational.

Hi! What understudied region(s) do you have in mind, might I ask?

Good luck with the wait! Harvard should be coming out soon... My guess is sometime this week.

Nice to have fellow non-Americanist company here.

[BlueandBuff]

Matilda,

You and I have the same subfield, and you're right - not much in the way of job prospects ;-)

So Wolfe Tone, eh? I'm interested in Grattan, the Ponsonby brothers, the Fitzwilliam crisis - basically, how and why the reformers failed to prevent the 1798 Rising and Union.

Well, there. Now I've good and outed myself to any committees that are browsing the boards!