political science job rumors » Forum: Questions from prospective grad students - Recent Posts

anon on "Cornell, Madison, Toronto for IR?"

anon — Sun, 12 May 2013 06:26:52 +0000

^ Troll.

Jehovah on "Cornell, Madison, Toronto for IR?"

Jehovah — Sun, 12 May 2013 01:55:30 +0000

Go to Cornell if you want to be one of the many soft constructivists that they put on the market each year, most of which go wanting for employment or take low ranking positions or adjunct. If you are going to grad school with the intention of being employed as an academic, then go to Wisconsin (or don't go to grad school). Look at who Wisconsin has hired in the past several years, and whom Cornell has not. W is one of the fastest rising departments in the country. You got lucky and provably would not be admitted in a few years.

anon on "Cornell, Madison, Toronto for IR?"

anon — Sat, 11 May 2013 06:25:58 +0000

Who focus on security at Cornell? Seems that they are stronger in IPE.

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:42:34 +0000

If I were going to get in the IR racket at this juncture, I would do invasive species OR Circumpolar politics.

You can put your **** in the security deline with the latter.

I love this!

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:36:57 +0000

^ everything that people have posted have been done/is being done.

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:22:38 +0000

Energy Politics;
Global Governance + Problem;
BRICs and Multipolarity;
Resource Conflict;
Culture and Democracy;

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:19:20 +0000

I think this thread should just end here. Time to move on and do research.

psr on "Hot IR topics"

psr — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:21:09 +0000

I am long past the dissertation stage and I have no personal interest in actually finding a dissertation topic. Nonetheless, I reposted this here because I thought it was a genuinely interesting thread. I agree that grad students should pick topics that interest them rather than what is hot in the field. I agree that topic selection is a skill that sets strong students apart from the rest and that they should not be basing their ideas on a silly board. But it's still interesting to see what other people in the field think will be the next big thing, or what they find interesting and want to see new research in.

Maybe this thread was framed wrong (grad student in need as opposed to what do you think is the next big thing in our discipline and why), but we can salvage this.

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:44:34 +0000

One word: plastics

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:22:14 +0000

^ no one has taken it seriously. We are all pointing out the stupidity of gradflakes.

Foucault rocks and Sadie should be applauded for his professionalism, but I for one wanted to strangle the little brat that originally posted this. The poor sucker hasn't even done comps yet and he/she is worried about the dissertation. There is clearly a problem.

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:02:05 +0000

The thread is not to be taken seriously. I think it is just a pretty transparent attempt to get a rise out of Sadie. He should be commended for keeping it real and being a nice chap, but let's not get carried away Sadie or else "the inmates will wind up running the asylum" (to quote Foucault).

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:05:08 +0000

yeah, corruption is a super niche topic that is already dominated by top scholars (and if you looked at gradcafe someone also asked about what topic will land them a job in the private sector and it is definitely not this one), so no it will not be the next great thing and the econ bros have already dominated this area as well. Corruption is old news and definitely not a new, hot topic.

I think someone needs to tackle the issue of Anarchy. We've had Waltz and Wendt, but I think it is time for another person to enter the debate.

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:51:41 +0000

^ *This

this thread really is infuriating. Has anyone seen the stupidity going on at Gradcafe? Ridiculous crap. Clearly the incoming cohort is full of idiots.

anon on "Hot IR topics"

anon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:49:41 +0000

^ corruption is already being done by several (for example, Vreeland and Rosendorff).

Anything relating to security and IPE is always marketable. You just have to find your own take on it. This whole entire thread is stupid. If one has to come here and ask for a topic, then you should (1) not be in graduate school and (2) your supervisor is clearly not doing his/her job. Tis is stupid Gradcafe ****. You should have stayed there.

Stephen Saideman on "Hot IR topics"

Stephen Saideman — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:27:06 +0000

Personally, I would bet on corruption. Otherwise, I don't know what will be hot in five or seven years. The idea of doing something that interests oneself is not just that it is a topic that you can put up with for 10 years (for the dissertation and then for publishing off it afterwards) but if it is something that you really care about, then it will be easier to make others care about it, too. If you are excited about your stuff, then it is easier to get others to be interested.

I have never told a student do this topic or do that topic. They come to me with what interests them, and I try to help them figure out how to approach it and then how to figure out an answer. Only one of my PhD students really did something close to my stuff, and his dissertation was aimed at proving that mine was wrong. That was a fun dissertation to read.

psr on "Hot IR topics"

psr — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:56:54 +0000

Among the more helpful answers from the other site:

Nuclear Proliferation
Global Governance
Religion/Identity
Ethnicity
Migration
Climate Change or Climate Change Refugees
Networks
Human Security

Prof. Saideman, do you have any suggestions? What's one of the more interesting topics that has come across your desk lately?

psr on "Hot IR topics"

psr — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:54:24 +0000

From the other site that must not be named, someone else's question

I know in choosing a dissertation topic that you are supposed to "follow your heart" and all that, but in reality certain topics are going to be more marketable in the future... what do you see as being the upcoming trends in Poli Sci/IR that will change the discipline in the next 5 - 10 years? In other words, if you were an IR gradflake what would you be looking at for a dissertation topic?

What year on "changing regional interest while in the program"

What year — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:27:03 +0000

are you? If you're fairly early on, it's not the worst thing in the world, especially if you're serious and have a compelling case.

The danger is that you're seen as someone who cannot follow through. And I suppose if you're in a department with some old-school comparative area studies folks, they might get offended. You know the details of your people the best.

But, remember that faculty expect students to evolve in their interests and if this is a logical extension of your interests, then it should make sense. Plus, it's your life so you don't want to spend it doing something that doesn't work for you.

That said, if you're far along you might want a more gradual transition, i.e. work in the other regions as part of the diss and then transition afterwards.

You know the details best.

anon on "changing regional interest while in the program"

anon — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:49:13 +0000

You should run it by faculty in your current area to make sure they are not offended if they have put in significant work for you already, and run it by faculty in the new area you want to work in to make sure they want to have you.

childofforest on "changing regional interest while in the program"

childofforest — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:52:34 +0000

I wonder what y'all think about this. Has anyone entered a program thinking about studying politics of certain area (ex. China, Latin America) and switch to a different region with different substantive questions/interests? I guess the best is to follow my mind and I am bit cautious, since I don't own language expertise, which seems difficult for me to obtain.

anon on "Funded PhD looking to Transfer Up"

anon — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:33:49 +0000

Just don't go. Solves the problem.

anon on "Funded PhD looking to Transfer Up"

anon — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:04:02 +0000

thinking of doing the same actually, would appreciate some advice.

rankin\' roger on "Funded PhD looking to Transfer Up"

rankin\' roger — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:11:12 +0000

I wish you the best of luck.

Hugs and Kisses,

JJ on "Funded PhD looking to Transfer Up"

JJ — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:43:19 +0000

Hey people.

Starting school in the fall, however I am considering "transferring up." Wondering if anyone on here has done it before? Should I transfer upon completing the MA or after the 1st year? If I wait for the MA portion, I could get LOR's from faculty there. Anything I should know/plan for going in?

What is better, being a "star" in a 50-70 department or being average in a 25-50 department and why?

anon on "Minnesota vs. Gtown vs. Cornell vs. UCSD for IR"

anon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:01:33 +0000

^ and ^^ are correct, but I still think UCSD is a good option. Taking research interests into consideration, Cornell is the most "stable."

anon on "Minnesota vs. Gtown vs. Cornell vs. UCSD for IR"

anon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:17:12 +0000

UCSD is also a program that's sinking quickly. That's why the rational choice is Cornell.

anon on "Minnesota vs. Gtown vs. Cornell vs. UCSD for IR"

anon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:42:22 +0000

Also, Minnesota is a program that is sinking quickly.

anon on "Minnesota vs. Gtown vs. Cornell vs. UCSD for IR"

anon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:24:59 +0000

^ but who in their right mind would take UCSD over those schools. Two words: Job Prospects.

anon on "Minnesota vs. Gtown vs. Cornell vs. UCSD for IR"

anon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:12:22 +0000

"But a prospective student shouldn't be dead set on rational choice or constructivism, correct?"

And therefore a prospective student should choose UCSD and rational choice. Logic fail.

anon on "Minnesota vs. Gtown vs. Cornell vs. UCSD for IR"

anon — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:16:34 +0000

But a prospective student shouldn't be dead set on rational choice or constructivism, correct? Therefore, UCSD would technically be best. Will Duvall be around Minnesota for much longer? He is the one to work with at Minnesota.