Anyone doing cultural anthropology here? | INFJ Forum

Anyone doing cultural anthropology here?

rainrise

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Mar 21, 2009
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Hi all, just wondering whether anyone is doing a graduate degree in cultural anthropology - if so, what has been your experience and would you recommend it to a fellow INFJ? I'm in a bit of a rut having finished my masters degree and feeling a pull to continue on to a PhD and knowing how physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting it is likely to become...ah...sigh. It is what I feel compelled to do and yet...*insert Harry Potter dementors*
 
im doing a masters in a different field right now. its very tiring and its a rollercoaster emotionally. im doing this for occupational reasons, but i have no intention of pursuing a scholarly career in the field, so no matter how well my work goes ive decided i wont be doing more. however, i may possibly pursue a research degree in literature out of pure love, i havent really decided yet, but it would probably be pretty unnecessary to what i want to achieve in life, and may actually distract from those goals. what are your career goals and will a phd open those goals up to you? alternatively do you love and believe in your academic work enough to sustain you through the rough times? i think its kind of a matter of how goal directed we are, and in what ways. i know this program has already tested my goals a number of times. good luck.
 
Depends on your ultimate goals and wants. Pursuing a PhD is a very extensive, time-consuming, and sometimes overwhelming project. Since you've gone through a Masters, you probably have a good sense of what will be expected but it goes further. PhD's are not about your learning and interest, than they are about how you can produce work that contributes to the field and the cannon. It's often about your committee and the college, and how your research fits in with them. Working with a committee, preparing a proposal, taking exams, finalizing research question, writing dissertation is a huge undertaking. It's not for the faint of heart. It requires quite a bit more investment than many realize. But if you love academia and enjoy the challenges, and feel you will benefit, then go for it.

However, it can be a very solitary experience in many ways unless you're pursuing similar work to other graduates in the area. If you're going to be tied in to the graduate community through student organizations, conferences, regular meetings, sharing research, accessible advisors and committee members (essential!), accessible academic resources, etc. you will have a better chance of completing it with your sanity in check. Spending long hours reading literature, and writing can be extremely tedious and mind numbing. Your dissertation will be about what new perspectives or directions you can bring to the study of a particular cultural artifact or concept, not simply about what you want to pursue. I'm assuming you probably know all this already but I'm also writing this for those who may not be familiar with the requirements of a graduate degree such as a doctorate. In the end, it's not simply the decision to pursue the PhD that will ultimately matter, but the process and the journey to completion, that's the real stuff. As @invisible mentioned, it can be an intense emotional experience.

Other important questions you should ask is what value whether academically, professionally, or financially will you derive from this pursuit? Do you want to be a college professor, then yes, go for it. If you have no immediate financial concerns and think you can pursuit just for the sake of your own learning and academic interests and feel you have the time to give to it, then go for it. Weigh pros and cons.

If your immediate need is to have a job in academia, you can get a job as a college instructor and establish yourself, that will give you some experience in higher ed that could inform your study at the Doctoral level. Also, you could consider a second Master's instead. If you don't feel ready for a Doctorate, you can consider another Master's in a similar or related area. This can give your more options in teaching at the college level, and could also add another dimension to your research and study if you do decide to pursue a PhD later on.

Hope this helps. I hope the decision you make gives you best opportunities to pursue your goals.
 
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im doing a masters in a different field right now. its very tiring and its a rollercoaster emotionally. im doing this for occupational reasons, but i have no intention of pursuing a scholarly career in the field, so no matter how well my work goes ive decided i wont be doing more. however, i may possibly pursue a research degree in literature out of pure love, i havent really decided yet, but it would probably be pretty unnecessary to what i want to achieve in life, and may actually distract from those goals. what are your career goals and will a phd open those goals up to you? alternatively do you love and believe in your academic work enough to sustain you through the rough times? i think its kind of a matter of how goal directed we are, and in what ways. i know this program has already tested my goals a number of times. good luck.

Yes, all of what you wrote I feel part and parcel of my own experience emotionally - well it was difficult and made me question myself multiple times as well. Though it was rewarding sometimes and also at the end or maybe much of that was really a fair bit of relief. I find much joy in the field and truly admire how it inspired me to see the strange as familiar and question the familiarity of things I once thought weren't strange. But anyhow of course the workload can be rough in itself to be anything but sustaining...or loving. And I'm probably just being bitter! Okay hahaha...but you know, thanks for your post I'll really think about it some more. :)
 
Depends on your ultimate goals and wants. Pursuing a PhD is a very extensive, time-consuming, and sometimes overwhelming project. Since you've gone through a Masters, you probably have a good sense of what will be expected but it goes further. PhD's are not about your learning and interest, than they are about how you can produce work that contributes to the field and the cannon. It's often about your committee and the college, and how your research fits in with them. Working with a committee, preparing a proposal, taking exams, finalizing research question, writing dissertation is a huge undertaking. It's not for the faint of heart. It requires quite a bit more investment than many realize. But if you love academia and enjoy the challenges, and feel you will benefit, then go for it.

However, it can be a very solitary experience in many ways unless you're pursuing similar work to other graduates in the area. If you're going to be tied in to the graduate community through student organizations, conferences, regular meetings, sharing research, accessible advisors and committee members (essential!), accessible academic resources, etc. you will have a better chance of completing it with your sanity in check. Spending long hours reading literature, and writing can be extremely tedious and mind numbing. Your dissertation will be about what new perspectives or directions you can bring to the study of a particular cultural artifact or concept, not simply about what you want to pursue. I'm assuming you probably know all this already but I'm also writing this for those who may not be familiar with the requirements of a graduate degree such as a doctorate. In the end, it's not simply the decision to pursue the PhD that will ultimately matter, but the process and the journey to completion, that's the real stuff. As @invisible mentioned, it can be an intense emotional experience.

Other important questions you should ask is what value whether academically, professionally, or financially will you derive from this pursuit? Do you want to be a college professor, then yes, go for it. If you have no immediate financial concerns and think you can pursuit just for the sake of your own learning and academic interests and feel you have the time to give to it, then go for it. Weigh pros and cons.

If your immediate need is to have a job in academia, you can get a job as a college instructor and establish yourself, that will give you some experience in higher ed that could inform your study at the Doctoral level. Also, you could consider a second Master's instead. If you don't feel ready for a Doctorate, you can consider another Master's in a similar or related area. This can give your more options in teaching at the college level, and could also add another dimension to your research and study if you do decide to pursue a PhD later on.

Hope this helps. I hope the decision you make gives you best opportunities to pursue your goals.

Yes, that really does help. That is a really considerate and thorough breakdown of everything billowing in my head. Your post is very grounding and a sound reality check. What I resonate with entirely is your emphasis on the journey of process over product or the degree itself. I think that shift in focus is necessary and was a lifesave during my masters at least...I don't think I could have done as well or derived as much value from the work if I had viewed it as something to be accomplished rather than an -ing, a doing, learning, what have you in itself. Phew. You're right about the solitary and sanity part. I think the social aspect is quite challenging because of that off balance aspect, but like you said is essential not just because it is but funnily enough to also bring balance. Oh dear. Okay well all things considered, I will definitely mull over everything you said and thanks so much for the lengthy reply, it really has helped :)