Fireflies
~I'm starting to put together ideas for my grad school applications. Naturally, I'll be doing a different entrance essay for each school, and each essay will focus on what I hope to achieve at each different school. I'm still brainstorming, but here's the list so far (they're also arranged chronologically for which school I hope to be accepted to):
1) Northwestern: Focus on the holist approach of their department. A lot of Anthropology department have been torn apart by in-fighting between Cultural Anthropology, Physical/Medical Anthropology, and Archaeology. Northwestern is one of the few schools that strives to keep the department united. The department requires that all its graduate students take classes in all the disciplines, which also really increases a student's employment chances.
2) University of Madison: Discuss my interest in medical anthropology and Japan. Ever since living there, I've been really interested in how a society experiences mental illness. Madison has a very strong department in medical as well as cultural anthro, and a plethera of Japan/East Asian scholars.
3) University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: Focus on their strong cross-field studies. Minnesota's Japanese program is particularly strong, and alongside Madison, it has the most amount of East Asian scholars in its anthropology department. Minnesota also offers a Masters on Japanese Media, and the department prides itself on the close ties it keeps with other departments.
4) University of Illinois at Chicago: Discuss my interest in cultural shock anthropology (directly related to one of the professors there) and youth culture trends. The UIC doesn't have a very strong Japanese program; however, the Consulate is located there, which is a decent substitute. (MA only)
5) University of Milwaukee: Nada yet.
I'm learning so much from my classes this semester (except... ugh... Anthro of Law.) I'm feeling particularly inspired by "Tricking and Tripping: Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS" by Claire W. Sterk. The article alerted me to a couple of things. The first is that anthropology really is the field for me. I really love getting people's stories, all the different experiences and thoughts and personalities meshed together. Consequentially, though, it made me realize I talk way too much. It sounds strange, because I always sort of thought I had this flaw, but this article really articulated it for me. I really need to learn how to be a better listener, and be gentle with my opinions when I express them at all. That's a huge challenge for me, but it's the bread and butter of fieldwork and, let's face it, human interaction.
1) Northwestern: Focus on the holist approach of their department. A lot of Anthropology department have been torn apart by in-fighting between Cultural Anthropology, Physical/Medical Anthropology, and Archaeology. Northwestern is one of the few schools that strives to keep the department united. The department requires that all its graduate students take classes in all the disciplines, which also really increases a student's employment chances.
2) University of Madison: Discuss my interest in medical anthropology and Japan. Ever since living there, I've been really interested in how a society experiences mental illness. Madison has a very strong department in medical as well as cultural anthro, and a plethera of Japan/East Asian scholars.
3) University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: Focus on their strong cross-field studies. Minnesota's Japanese program is particularly strong, and alongside Madison, it has the most amount of East Asian scholars in its anthropology department. Minnesota also offers a Masters on Japanese Media, and the department prides itself on the close ties it keeps with other departments.
4) University of Illinois at Chicago: Discuss my interest in cultural shock anthropology (directly related to one of the professors there) and youth culture trends. The UIC doesn't have a very strong Japanese program; however, the Consulate is located there, which is a decent substitute. (MA only)
5) University of Milwaukee: Nada yet.
I'm learning so much from my classes this semester (except... ugh... Anthro of Law.) I'm feeling particularly inspired by "Tricking and Tripping: Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS" by Claire W. Sterk. The article alerted me to a couple of things. The first is that anthropology really is the field for me. I really love getting people's stories, all the different experiences and thoughts and personalities meshed together. Consequentially, though, it made me realize I talk way too much. It sounds strange, because I always sort of thought I had this flaw, but this article really articulated it for me. I really need to learn how to be a better listener, and be gentle with my opinions when I express them at all. That's a huge challenge for me, but it's the bread and butter of fieldwork and, let's face it, human interaction.