Personal History Statement... help!
I am really struggling with this personal history statement, which I think is common to all the UC's based on discussions I've had with others in this community. The prompt is:
In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.
And, of course, since I've had no clue what to do about this statement, I've been focusing on my statement of purpose and avoiding this one until, oh, the LAST MINUTE since the application is due, oh, MONDAY.
Advice would be much appreciated, especially on the last paragraph... is it a bad idea to bring up a topic that some people on the admissions committee might disagree with my point of view on?
Although it might seem that my familial background is typical of students who pursue graduate degrees, in that both my parents have Master’s degrees, there are no members of my immediate family who have pursued their education for the sake of knowledge. Both of my siblings and my parents pursued their undergraduate degrees with an eye turned toward practicality: my father pursued a degree in English to become a teacher, my mother a degree in nursing, and both of my siblings studied fields useful to the business world, economics and finance. Inspired by the exceptional professors at UNDERGRADUATE University, however, I chose to study French and theology, the combination of which does not readily lend itself to a lucrative career. I was stimulated by the intellectual challenge of theology and so chose to follow a path that would lead me toward the academy.
Prior to beginning my Master’s program, I had devoted a large part of my life to teaching. While still in high school I began volunteering as a teacher in religious education classes at my local church, something that I continued while in and after college. During my first two years in college I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the TUTORING GROUP, which brought UNDERGRADUATE-SCHOOL students to the homes of grade-school students who were learning or struggling with English as a second language. Some of my most memorable successes occurred during this program when my students finally understood something or the six-year-old sister of one of my students was able to answer a question, posed to her in Spanish, with the correct vocabulary in English. After graduating from UNDERGRADUATE-SCHOOL I spent two years teaching religion and French in Catholic high schools, one of which was explicitly devoted to diversity and education for the poor. Although I enjoyed the unique challenges present in the secondary school setting, I often missed the intellectual challenge provided by more scholarly research and study. I even found myself over researching every topic I was supposed to teach! I also occasionally felt restricted by the Catholic school religion curriculum, and aspired to teach more stimulating topics. Ultimately, I missed the intellectual atmosphere of the university and the in depth research that goes into academic work, which is why I am choosing to pursue a doctorate and to ultimately teach at that level.
During the first semester of my Master’s program at the MASTER'S SCHOOL, two courses in particular moved me toward the study of history, Themes in Christian Antiquity and Revelation and Theology. The first course was an overview of the doctrinal debates of Christian antiquity, while the second was organized around the themes of revelation and theology, studying how these themes were defined and expressed in different eras of Christian history. Although neither course explicitly made a point of looking at the historical context of these ideas, this context was assumed and I came to realized that studying theological ideas outside of their historical context cannot give one a complete understanding of that theology. At the same time I began to speak to professors within history departments, including BIG NAME SCHOLAR and BIGGER NAME SCHOLAR EMERITUS at the SCHOOL-I-WANT-TO-GO-TO, who indicated that interest in religious history was increasing in history departments. Their advice and suggestions have confirmed my inclination that the appropriate place to study historical theology and the history of religion is from within a history department with an emphasis on intellectual or religious history.
My background in the methods of theology will bring a type of intellectual diversity to the study of history. I have noticed that some historians tend to bracket the religious questions, dismissing religion as a possible motivator in order to seek the “true” motivation for an historical event. In reading historical analyses of the revolt of the Vendée, for example, I questioned whether or not it is appropriate to disregard the issue of religion in favor of an economic or political analysis. If we are to believe the peasants’ account when they say they revolt because they have no bread, why cannot we also accept their stated motivation when they say they are revolting because they want their good priests back? My understanding of theology will assist me in evaluating the religious claims of historical actors and in seeking out when and to what degree the influences for these claims came from outside of institutionalized religion. Additionally, my understanding of the development and present state of Catholic theology will aid in my evaluation of the religious questions in Catholic history, key in understanding the history of France. The question of motivation is difficult to answer from a historical standpoint; we only have the statements of those who lived through events and can never hope to fully place ourselves in their heads to understand all of their motivations. My Master of Arts in theology, however, provides me with a unique background from which I can draw in looking at history.
x-posted: my journal
In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.
And, of course, since I've had no clue what to do about this statement, I've been focusing on my statement of purpose and avoiding this one until, oh, the LAST MINUTE since the application is due, oh, MONDAY.
Advice would be much appreciated, especially on the last paragraph... is it a bad idea to bring up a topic that some people on the admissions committee might disagree with my point of view on?
Although it might seem that my familial background is typical of students who pursue graduate degrees, in that both my parents have Master’s degrees, there are no members of my immediate family who have pursued their education for the sake of knowledge. Both of my siblings and my parents pursued their undergraduate degrees with an eye turned toward practicality: my father pursued a degree in English to become a teacher, my mother a degree in nursing, and both of my siblings studied fields useful to the business world, economics and finance. Inspired by the exceptional professors at UNDERGRADUATE University, however, I chose to study French and theology, the combination of which does not readily lend itself to a lucrative career. I was stimulated by the intellectual challenge of theology and so chose to follow a path that would lead me toward the academy.
Prior to beginning my Master’s program, I had devoted a large part of my life to teaching. While still in high school I began volunteering as a teacher in religious education classes at my local church, something that I continued while in and after college. During my first two years in college I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the TUTORING GROUP, which brought UNDERGRADUATE-SCHOOL students to the homes of grade-school students who were learning or struggling with English as a second language. Some of my most memorable successes occurred during this program when my students finally understood something or the six-year-old sister of one of my students was able to answer a question, posed to her in Spanish, with the correct vocabulary in English. After graduating from UNDERGRADUATE-SCHOOL I spent two years teaching religion and French in Catholic high schools, one of which was explicitly devoted to diversity and education for the poor. Although I enjoyed the unique challenges present in the secondary school setting, I often missed the intellectual challenge provided by more scholarly research and study. I even found myself over researching every topic I was supposed to teach! I also occasionally felt restricted by the Catholic school religion curriculum, and aspired to teach more stimulating topics. Ultimately, I missed the intellectual atmosphere of the university and the in depth research that goes into academic work, which is why I am choosing to pursue a doctorate and to ultimately teach at that level.
During the first semester of my Master’s program at the MASTER'S SCHOOL, two courses in particular moved me toward the study of history, Themes in Christian Antiquity and Revelation and Theology. The first course was an overview of the doctrinal debates of Christian antiquity, while the second was organized around the themes of revelation and theology, studying how these themes were defined and expressed in different eras of Christian history. Although neither course explicitly made a point of looking at the historical context of these ideas, this context was assumed and I came to realized that studying theological ideas outside of their historical context cannot give one a complete understanding of that theology. At the same time I began to speak to professors within history departments, including BIG NAME SCHOLAR and BIGGER NAME SCHOLAR EMERITUS at the SCHOOL-I-WANT-TO-GO-TO, who indicated that interest in religious history was increasing in history departments. Their advice and suggestions have confirmed my inclination that the appropriate place to study historical theology and the history of religion is from within a history department with an emphasis on intellectual or religious history.
My background in the methods of theology will bring a type of intellectual diversity to the study of history. I have noticed that some historians tend to bracket the religious questions, dismissing religion as a possible motivator in order to seek the “true” motivation for an historical event. In reading historical analyses of the revolt of the Vendée, for example, I questioned whether or not it is appropriate to disregard the issue of religion in favor of an economic or political analysis. If we are to believe the peasants’ account when they say they revolt because they have no bread, why cannot we also accept their stated motivation when they say they are revolting because they want their good priests back? My understanding of theology will assist me in evaluating the religious claims of historical actors and in seeking out when and to what degree the influences for these claims came from outside of institutionalized religion. Additionally, my understanding of the development and present state of Catholic theology will aid in my evaluation of the religious questions in Catholic history, key in understanding the history of France. The question of motivation is difficult to answer from a historical standpoint; we only have the statements of those who lived through events and can never hope to fully place ourselves in their heads to understand all of their motivations. My Master of Arts in theology, however, provides me with a unique background from which I can draw in looking at history.
x-posted: my journal