Statement of Purpose

(This is a slightly abridged copy of the statement of purpose from my graduate application. Hopefully it will give you some insight into my take on history and my goals as a budding historian.)

History is most relevant when it induces its students to pause, evaluate, question, and reconsider their perceptions of their world, their culture, their nation, their community and ultimately where they themselves fit into the larger picture of humanity. This is what it has done for me. To achieve this history must be not only incisive but also relevant and accessible to both academics and laypeople, to the casual enthusiast and the “history buff.” History is the telling of the story of humanity, and for history to be truly important it must tap the minds of every strata of humanity.

As a historian my goal is make history an engaging, poignant, and empowering pursuit, even for those students who feel sidelined by history that is pedantic and seemingly irrelevant. I believe that the only history that is irrelevant is history that does not show the reader a new perspective, question assumptions, or evoke a visceral reaction. The study of history must affect a change – whether it is in one mind or in the minds of ten million. If it does not do this, it is purely, for lack of a better word, academic.

To affect this change a work of history must first be thoroughly researched. Like a high-quality printer producing a detailed image from millions of vague and tiny dots, so are events in history reanimated by a vast myriad of primary sources and numerical data. Details are important to me as a historian. I strive to understand any research subject from many perspectives through a variety and multitude of primary and secondary sources. My task, and the task of all historians, is to discover and convey the cohesive truths to be found amongst these multitudinous details.

The manner in which the historian conveys these cohesive truths invariably affects the degree to which students and readers comprehend them. Innovative use of language and organization makes history not only more accessible, but also makes its relevance all the more pronounced. Language can easily be a pitfall for a work of history as well. Just as a Mozart aria will be ill received if sung out of key, the most pertinent work of history will not be fully understood if poorly written. The language of history must, first and foremost, convey meaning. The art of writing is to convey clearly the appropriate meaning in an engaging and captivating manner. As a historian I strive to use language not just as a craftsman, but as an artist. A book of any kind will be better received if it is enjoyable to read. History can be trenchant and still be a terrific read. The history I plan to research and write should be something that I would not want any reader to fail to grasp.

The relevance of a work of history must be made clear to its reader. To me historical relevance has three components. Academic relevance is the aspects of history that increase the body of knowledge and which may aid in future research. Hisoriographic relevance places a particular piece of research or interpretation in the context of how other historians have treated the subject. Relevance to contemporary humanity is the aspect of history that shows how a particular subject has contributed to the world of today. This final component is the most important to me as a historian. When this contemporary relevance is achieved history can both guide and enlighten, shaping policy and perception at once. The study of history is the study of everything that has taken place during the course of human existence up through this day. Even the most obscured and ancient aspects of human existence shed light on the course of history to this very day, but the significance to the contemporary student and reader must be made clear. Historians have the privilege and the responsibility to show their students and their readers the changing forces, patterns, and institutions that have crafted the world around them and which may continue to do so. Students who understand the relevance of history will develop a superior perspective to shape the future. In this way history frames the future while also informing on the past. This is the challenge and the role of historians in human society.

I strongly believe that history matters – to the mass of humanity, to a nation and a state, to a culture and a sub-culture, to the powerful and the disaffected, to a community and to an individual. I believe in assertive history -- history that challenges and does not assume. I believe in history with a purpose beyond the library and the classroom. I believe in history that molds our collective minds and memories, that steers and guides the very course of civilization, that informs the decisions of institutions scopes and means from the family to the international organization. History matters and I believe in history that matters.

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I attended Shepherd University for one reason: to study the American Civil War, Shepherd being one of two schools that offered such an undergraduate concentration at the time, and by far the more affordable of the two. Studying the Civil War as an adolescent was my introduction to history. It was my passion for many years, and it guided me to Shepherd. During my undergraduate study of history my historical horizons were stretched beyond what I thought possible. The scope of my knowledge expanded greatly and I improved as a writer and developed research skills, but what grew the most out of my time at Shepherd was my belief that history is not a static thing of kings, dates, battles, and legislation. I came to understand that by showing new perspectives history can be an empowering force and I wanted to be a practicing advocate of it.

While I haven’t lost my interest in the Civil War, 19th century America, and military history I realized shortly before finishing my work at Shepherd that to achieve my goals as a historian I would need to shift my focus to topics with more immediate implications for the modern globalized world. Since finishing my undergraduate work over a year ago I have spent considerable time and thought on broadening my knowledge and perspective on modern American history. During this time I have outlined a general field that I would like to explore in depth as doctoral student.

In the most general sense I am interested in the relationship between the United States and the rest of the world since 1945. I plan to study the how the relationships between American diplomatic policy, military policy, and global economic policy create this broad banded relationship. Furthermore, I am interested in researching how America’s policies throughout the world have affected class relationships, politics, and economic development in specific regions and nations. My interest and focus gravitates towards events and policies of the last thirty years and my instinct as a historian is trace them to their origins.
What domestic motivations lie behind America’s foreign policy in the modern globalized world and what domestic implications have there been as a result of it? In what ways have political ideology influenced America’s global objectives? How have shifts in American party-politics since 1932 affected America’s approach to the rest of the world? To what degree is America’s approach to foreign policy consistent with its moral identity as a nation? What will be the long-term legacy of the Cold War for America’s foreign relations? What aspects of America’s foreign policy have allowed the seeds for global terrorism to grow and what are the prospects for its efforts to suppress terrorism? These are the questions that have and will continue to stand foremost in my mind and which I intend to answer through study and research.

My reading since graduation has guided me towards two regions in which America’s diplomatic, military, and economic involvement have had great import for the future: the Middle East and Latin America. My intention is to apply my future study of American diplomatic history and foreign policy to these two regions, which present their own unique challenges and opportunities for America’s future in the world. Several more specific questions come to mind in regard to these two regions. In Latin America, how have political ideology and economic interest intersected to influence the policies of America and other nations in the region? I am particularly interested in studying the history of American relations with Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Cuba, and Nicaragua.In the Middle East, how has America’s economic involvement in the region affected class relationships and how has this affect differed throughout the region?

Many of my questions are general in nature and too large to tackle at the same time. My hope and my goal is to find one specific and salient vein within the scope of my interest in which research is lacking and/or firm conclusions are yet to be drawn and devote my attention to that specific question, issue, nation, policy, or event, making it my métier, or at least a point of departure for my graduate studies. At this point in my education as an historian I know that I am facing in the proper direction. With guidance and meticulous work my path will appear in front of me.