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Anthropology, Classical Studies, and English in a Personal Statement?

Would it be a bad idea to write a personal statement that talks about anthropology, classical studies and english to apply to this mix of courses?

Classical Studies and English
Classical Archaeology and Civilisation
Classics and Ancient World
Anthropology and Archaeology
Anthropology

I'm mostly interested in studying classical studies and english, but I have a huge chunk of extracurriculars that are geared towards anthropology as well as english, with close to nothing on classical studies. Thanks guys!
(edited 1 year ago)
I would probably concentrate on classics and archaeology.
Original post by mariaws2358
Would it be a bad idea to write a personal statement that talks about anthropology, classical studies and english to apply to this mix of courses?

Classical Studies and English
Classical Archaeology and Civilisation
Classics and Ancient World
Anthropology and Archaeology
Anthropology

I'm mostly interested in studying classical studies and english, but I have a huge chunk of extracurriculars that are geared towards anthropology as well as english, with close to nothing on classical studies. Thanks guys!


I generally wouldn't recommend applying to such a broad range of courses. That said there probably is a theoretical possibility where you can write something broadly relevant to them all in terms of the specific anthropological theory approaches used in archaeology, English and Classical literature analysis. I think really though it'd be hard to really make it a compelling PS for all of them and it would be rather broad and perhaps a touch superficial (also probably really a bit dated for archaeology and anthropology as I think more, newer theory is used in those areas that isn't applied so much to literary analysis?).

I'd probably suggest swapping the last two choices for two more Classics oriented courses, and write a broadly Classics focused PS.
I have only just noticed your primary interests. With that in mind, you should follow artful_lounger's advise.
Original post by artful_lounger
I generally wouldn't recommend applying to such a broad range of courses. That said there probably is a theoretical possibility where you can write something broadly relevant to them all in terms of the specific anthropological theory approaches used in archaeology, English and Classical literature analysis. I think really though it'd be hard to really make it a compelling PS for all of them and it would be rather broad and perhaps a touch superficial (also probably really a bit dated for archaeology and anthropology as I think more, newer theory is used in those areas that isn't applied so much to literary analysis?).

I'd probably suggest swapping the last two choices for two more Classics oriented courses, and write a broadly Classics focused PS.

Thank you so much, this was really helpful :smile: If you wouldn't mind my asking, do you there would be any way of incorporating/ any reason to incorporate these anthro extracurriculars: president of law and anthropology society, TedX youth speech on cultural relativism and having opinions on controversial issues/being aware of world issues (I spent so much time on these I could throw up and cry 😭) Thanks
Original post by random_matt
I have only just noticed your primary interests. With that in mind, you should follow artful_lounger's advise.

🫡.
Original post by mariaws2358
Thank you so much, this was really helpful :smile: If you wouldn't mind my asking, do you there would be any way of incorporating/ any reason to incorporate these anthro extracurriculars: president of law and anthropology society, TedX youth speech on cultural relativism and having opinions on controversial issues/being aware of world issues (I spent so much time on these I could throw up and cry 😭) Thanks

I think the "president of law and anthropology society" is vague enough that it's fine to mention briefly but even if applying to law and/or anthropology I don't think would be a focal point anyway. The kind of thing you might mention briefly along with idk, sporting or performing arts activities/achievements, for a general academic degree.

"Having opinions on controversial issues/being aware of world issues" is so general that it's not worth mentioning at all I think? Besides which, what exactly constitutes a "controversial" issue? At what point does an issue start being a "world" issue rather than a local one? I mean for me even the very framing of it is a little...questionable. Would not focus on that at all as far as applying to uni goes, although it's fine to explore things in that manner in general (but I would definitely recommend you carefully evaluate any assumptions you make in the process and consider how your experiences may or may not limit your interpretations of the topic - and how others may see it in a different light).

In terms of a "TedX speech" although the actual concept seems weird to me, considerations of cultural relativism are essential in approaching ancient cultures for certain. It's essential to recognise these ancient cultures are fundamentally different to ours (I think Nietzsche made a point about this but I can't recall the quote to find it) and recognise we are approaching them from a necessarily etic perspective as it's not possible to approach it from an emic perspective - those cultures do not exist now and whatever remains of them have been inevitably changed over time.

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