The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
University History Subject Help
TheNomadicCircle
Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
So for those of you who read my last thread, I'm a double Major of History/Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto. However, I am thinking of dropping Enviromental Studies for Anthropology because I find it more interesting than the Environment.
In anycase, I'm looking ahead in year 2 and 3 and where I would like to specialize in History. My interest is in Central Asia and the Middle East and I would like to study those areas. Looking over the York website, they don't have a Middle Eastern department, but do offer courses in both Islamic and Middle Eastern topics. I also talked to my Antho professor and he said that UfT has a Middle Eastern studies department while York has only two ME teaching professors. So the question now I face are:
1) That I stay at York, complete 4 years and get my degree. Then apply to UfT for my Masters and hope that the Persia/Arabic language taught at York will be enough for the UfT Department of ME studies. However I also plan on applying to York as well since I do like the teaching methods here and the professors are nice, but then I'd have to choose Ancient History or Russian to get the Central Asian aspect of what I want.
2) That I stay for 1 more year, apply to UfT ME Department for my 3rd year and complete my degree there and my masters/PhD as well from there.
The end goal is to get a Masters and a PhD of both History and Anthropology. I'm totally confused so any advice would be grateful.
In anycase, I'm looking ahead in year 2 and 3 and where I would like to specialize in History. My interest is in Central Asia and the Middle East and I would like to study those areas. Looking over the York website, they don't have a Middle Eastern department, but do offer courses in both Islamic and Middle Eastern topics. I also talked to my Antho professor and he said that UfT has a Middle Eastern studies department while York has only two ME teaching professors. So the question now I face are:
1) That I stay at York, complete 4 years and get my degree. Then apply to UfT for my Masters and hope that the Persia/Arabic language taught at York will be enough for the UfT Department of ME studies. However I also plan on applying to York as well since I do like the teaching methods here and the professors are nice, but then I'd have to choose Ancient History or Russian to get the Central Asian aspect of what I want.
2) That I stay for 1 more year, apply to UfT ME Department for my 3rd year and complete my degree there and my masters/PhD as well from there.
The end goal is to get a Masters and a PhD of both History and Anthropology. I'm totally confused so any advice would be grateful.
TheNomadicCircle on
0
Posts
but they're listening to every word I say
I would suggest you look at the options you have at each school for studying abroad for your area of interest. The better program will probably be at UfT, but that's just a guess.
Also, make sure that a Middle Eastern Studies Dept is where you would go for a history degree. Look at the history faculty and see where they're stationed (they could be in a History Dept, the ME Studies Dept (which could be more lit, etc) or have dual postings). You really don't want to apply to the wrong dept.
If you work hard and get in tight with the Middle Eastern faculty at your current school, they'll give you really good letters of recommendation, which will be important for grad school apps. Switching to a bigger undergrad program probably isn't that big of a deal, although if the program of study is a lot better, then consider it.
You can always email one of the professors at Toronto that you might like to work with and describe your situation and goals. If you do this politely, you'll probably get a nice email reply with some helpful advice. I recommend doing this.
Study your ass off, I got a 3.5 GPA last year and got a special offer to join an academics society with large amounts of grants for those willing to pursue the extra education. It really does pay off to work your ass off in class and pay attention, no matter how easy it is to slack off.
And if this is your first year, it will be easy.
If it's not, ignore my mad ramblings!
If he's going into history, foreign language training isn't about gaining further access to secondary literature from other countries, for the most part. It's about reading primary sources for his own research when he has to write his Master's thesis and/or PhD dissertation.
There are some exceptions (ex., if you're doing Chinese history, it's a good idea, but not required, to learn to read Japanese because much of the best research done on Chinese history is done by Japanese historians), but it is mostly about being able to read primary sources for your own research. If you're doing research on a place, area or topic that has sources in multiple languages, then knowing multiple languages becomes necessary--but it's all about the primary sources for your own research.
At the end of the day.. it's your life. However I'm curious to know how you are able to afford all those extra years in University. A friend of mine went to university for 7 years and his studend loan dept is going up to 1000+ per month and chances are he's going to have to pay for that for another 15 more years.
You should know that the job market is fucking terrible right now. My friends in graduate school are being advised to delay matriculating for as long as possible - pretty much every institution with an endowment (that's basically all of them) got fucking clobbered during the Great Recession, and many still haven't recovered. Added to this is the general dearth of positions anyway. All of the people hired in the 1970s haven't yet died and a good portion of them are delaying retirement. And more over, at least in philosophy, the value of a doctorate from a Canadian institution apart from the University of Toronto is god-awful. I don't know what it's like in other disciplines, so ymmv.
I would also advise you to look at scholarships and grants, either from SSHRC or other private institutions. I'm graduating this coming year with my B.A. and I fully intend to continue on with graduate school, but I simply can't afford it without taking on too much debt, even with funding (TAships or whatever). So I'm taking some time off to work and build some savings, which would also allow me to skirt the terrible job market right now. Since it sounds like you are just starting your undergrad, you may not have this problem, but definitely do not delude yourself into thinking that once you get your doctorate it's all sunshine and lolly-pops.
Just don't... make any drastic plans about pursuing a masters and a phd when you're only a sophomore undergrad, ok?
It's an incredibly unwise career path at the moment