Personal Statement

Here is the personal statement template I'm using for my application to graduate schools. Since every school asks for something slightly different, I'm trying to tailor each one to fit the specifications of each school. I thought I'd throw this out there in order to further demonstrate my goals and interests. Of course, any criticism/commentary is welcome.

I began my undergraduate career as a Journalism major for two reasons--firstly, because I was extremely interested in how the world functions, and secondly, because I simply loved to write. However, the deeper I immersed myself into the world of global events, the less I felt I understood them. By discovering a deeper awareness of historical perspective through the myriad history classes available at Indiana University, the world began to make sense as a consequence of all previous events and ideas. History's bearings on modern global issues--such as Western/Islamic relations and the perceived clash between institutionalized science and religion--facilitated a greater understanding of William Faulkner's dictum, "The past is not dead; in fact, it's not even past." Writing and researching history, particularly medieval history, became very natural to me, and I have decided that my ultimate goals lie in the research, writing, and teaching of history at the college level.

I am especially intrigued by the social and intellectual history of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; the history of science and its relationship with religion and particularly the institutional Church; and the history of proto-sciences such as astrology and alchemy, their legal and moral statuses, and the change in scholarly attitude toward them in the late medieval and early modern era. Delving into how Western culture as a whole was able to reconcile its Greco-Roman heritage of empirical natural philosophy with Christian theology and how practitioners of these proto-sciences were able to justify their ideas in the face of censuring secular and religious authorities endlessly fascinates me. The synthesis and acceptance or qualified rejection among these varieties of medieval scholarship constitutes an important area of inquiry to which I ardently wish to contribute.

Historiographically, I would like to conduct a deeper examination of the Draper-White Conflict thesis of medieval science and understand more fully the rejection made by modern-day scholars such as David Lindbergh and Ronald Numbers. Questioning the methods of knowledge dissemination is also a keen interest of mine: How did conflict and cross-cultural encounters affect the reception and diffusion of scientific and philosophical ideas beginning especially in the twelfth century? In what ways did Western European contact with the Islamic world following the Crusades shape the sources of knowledge? I also look forward to exploring modes of critical analysis based on theories applicable to historical study. For example, can Thomas Kuhn's concept of paradigm shifts be applied to pre-Revolutionary science? Did the conceptual basis of medieval science change significantly within the Christian theological and cosmological framework when presented with new information, or was the prevailing schema too rigid to accommodate for dissenting ideas? Can the model of Jungian archetypes be applied to the construction of grandiose historical figures in medieval primary sources, such as Eusebius' Life of Constantine, Einhard's Life of Charlemagne, or Jean de Joinville's Life of St. Louis?

Professionally, I have been employed as an instructor of percussion for a total of five years and as a substitute teacher in language arts and social studies at several high schools for two years and have gained valuable experience in classroom instruction, mentoring, and leadership that I believe will be of tremendous significance as a potential history professor. Additionally, I have two years experience as a research editor, and this has reinforced my writing, revising, editing, and researching strengths. During my four undergraduate years, I was fortunate enough to attend an extensive range of classes allied with late antique, medieval, and early modern Western history across a broad spectrum of departments including not only History but also English, Comparative Literature, the History and Philosophy of Science, and the Medieval Studies Departments. In spite of my diverse interests, I heartily believe, as Malcolm X said, that of all our endeavours, "history is best suited to reward our research." Under the focused auspices of a History Master's program, I intend to bolster my credentials for application into a PhD program best suited to my interests and goals, and hopefully contribute to the scholarly success of that department.