Pursuing a PhD in Anthropology offers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the study of human cultures and identities, particularly in the context of globalization and cross-cultural dynamics. A personal purpose statement is an essential tool for applicants to express their academic journey, research interests, and reasons for choosing a particular program. This example demonstrates how to highlight academic and professional experiences, along with research goals, to create a compelling personal statement for a PhD program in Anthropology.
PHD Anthropology Personal Purpose Statement Example
Recently graduating with a MA in Anthropology, I yearn to continue to thrive in the discipline, and I see ____ as the ideal location to study ethnography from a multi-cultural and multidisciplinary perspective, and I see the PHD in Anthropology curriculum as a most comprehensive intellectual foundation with an emphasis on social formation, especially the many ways that race, and power serve to shape our cultural identities, especially as related to globalization. I seek full immersion experience in ethnographical approaches to cross-cultural identity formation studies.
I look forward to doing research into the concept of what is referred to as the TCK in Shanghai, China, the 'third culture kid', who is raised in a culture quite different from the culture in which their parents were raised. This discussion often focuses on language immersion and the environmental impact of developmental years. I hope to examine the class, racial, and ethnic composition of TCKs through an anthropological approach addressing the complex relationship between family and host cultures. I hope to study towards the Ph.D. Degree in Anthropology at ____.
In one of my classes as an undergraduate student, I learned that I was an example of what is referred to in the literature as a Third Culture Kid (TCK), a and not until then I noticed that people like us are defined as third culture students whose identities have been shaped in important ways by a culture other than what either of our of their parents have known. Unlike my parents who were born and raised in China until their adulthood, I was born in Tokyo and raised mostly in Japan in a very orderly and consistent environment. When I moved to China, I was forced into a rapidly developing society and fluctuating environment that seemed chaotic to me compared to what I had known in Japan. These cultural contrasts came to have a profound influence on the formation of my adult, permanent identity.
While undergraduate student of Anthropology in the USA, I have been was immersed in a variety of the students’ communities y cultivated by multi-culture backgrounds, and have witnessed how transnational experiences tend to shape the evolution of our identities and we often become embodiments of our former selves that are quite different than what we were when immersed in in another culture. I am fascinated by the sharp contrast between who I am now and who I was when I first came to America. and questions of transnational and cultural identity.
Working as a global customer specialist at PayPal has enhanced my multi-language skills in effective communication and understanding of diverse cultural behaviors. Recently graduating with a BA in Anthropology, I yearn to continue to thrive in the discipline, and I see ____ as the ideal location to study ethnography from a multi-cultural and multidisciplinary perspective, with a solid base and emphasis on social formation, race, and difference and power to shape a cultural identity that relates to globalization.
I very much admire the research focus of Professors Lorraine V. Aragon and ____ in the Anthropology Department at ____, whose research is related to cross-cultural study and globalization. I am most interested in Professor ____'s long-term fieldwork concerned with Chinese people in Malaysia to be especially engaging, the way that she so adeptly explores complex interactions. Professor Nondini utilized participation observations and informal gatherings in her investigations, and I hope to use these approaches to address my research dealing with TCKs in Shanghai.
Because of Chinese government policy, TCKs are required to go to international schools that are categorized as higher-class education and have English as a primary language. Irrespective of ethnicity or race, TCKs often have their collective identity generalized to include all English speakers. While most of the international students or TCS struggling to be immersed achieve something close to a full immersion experience in Western countries, some TCS who live in Shanghai seem to be reluctant to learn and/or use Chinese, and less eager to be engage fully in the broader society than is generally the case with minorities or subcultures in the West. As a graduate student at ____, I hope to make an exhaustive study of class and ethnic diversity with a focus on the role of locality. I hope to explore class and racial separation within the TCS community in China and their level of engagement Ing with the broader Chinese society, as well as impacts of Chinese society on the complexity and diversity of the TCS.
Transnational identities stand at the center of my intellectual world of exploration for the present and the future. I am always probing and striving to elucidate the differences and similarities between cultures, particularly where they overlap in the realm of identities, ideals, challenges faced by, and tendencies common to TCS. Transnational Identity of Chinese Muslims in London is an overseas project that I wrote for my Research Design class in Anthropology, addressing the possible tension that exists between Chinese Muslim Hui and non-Muslim Han people abroad. My data collections included gathering information from several non-Muslim, Southeast Asians, ands well as representatives of the Muslim Diaspora in London. I conducted eight informal interviews, obtaining IRB approval, with five participants, both Hui and Han individuals. While it was an exceedingly small sample admittedly, I did note an evident ideological division between Chinese Muslims and other Chinese Han people living in London. The qualitative data that I gathered and evaluated helped me shed light on the way that individuals marginalized in their own home countries tend to carry some of those issues with them when they go abroad to study or otherwise ‘better’ themselves.
Graduating under the Pandemic and coming back to Shanghai has drawn my immediate attention to the ways people with different political and social ideologies have responded to the ongoing, interconnected crises. Shanghai is more globalized than four years ago and with the impact of the Pandemic, the TCS/TCK found themselves forced to reevaluate priorities and make great sacrifices in response, staying in the host country longer than expected or going back to their home country.
I hope to follow closely and build upon the work of Andrea Louis's study, How Chinese Are You, exploring the way that Chineseness is something produced rather than inherited. For most TCS like myself, life is about defining and redefining ourselves, particularly with respect to transnational communication. Our identities are in a state of flux, and this has enormous ramifications across generations for people around the world in a large variety of contexts, spurred on by economic development and globalization. The identity issues that I look forward to grappling within my contributions to the literature will be a focus on the TCS in Shanghai. I look forward to taking an in-depth look at TCS in the context of TCS family status, host cultural influence, with an attempt to and identity and describe a variety of ethnic-based complexities within the TCS community. I hope my graduate study will provide a foundation for my long- term studies in globalization and cross-culture communication in the field.
Working as a global customer specialist at PayPal has been very much enhancing my multilingual abilities, providing an opportunity for enhanced communication, and understanding of diverse cultural behaviors. I hope to undertake research into the concept of 'classification and formation of TCS/TCK in Shanghai’. With your help, I hope to draft an anthropological examination of the class, racial and ethnic composition of TCS in Shanghai, an anthropological approach concerning the relationship between their family and host culture, as my doctoral dissertation for the Ph.D. Degree in Anthropology at ____.
Thank you for considering my application to Anthropology at ____.
Detailed Analysis
Introduction
Strengths: The introduction effectively outlines the applicant’s academic background, current interests, and motivations for pursuing a PhD. It also links the applicant's experiences to the program's strengths, showcasing a clear fit with the university.
Improvement: The introduction could be even stronger by briefly mentioning specific methodologies or areas of interest to create an immediate connection with the program’s research focus.
Main Body
Academic Background and Early Interest: Provides a compelling narrative about the applicant’s personal experiences as a TCK, effectively linking these experiences to their academic interest in Anthropology.
Research Interests: Clearly outlines the applicant's proposed study on TCKs in Shanghai, providing concrete examples of the themes they wish to explore. The focus on class, race, and identity aligns well with current discussions in Anthropology.
Relevant Experience: The applicant’s work at PayPal enhances their qualifications by showing an ability to engage with diverse cultures, adding a professional dimension to their academic pursuits.
Why This Program: Demonstrates strong research alignment with faculty members and their work, which is crucial for a PhD application.
Conclusion
Strengths: The conclusion confidently summarizes the applicant’s research goals and emphasizes their long-term commitment to contributing to the field of Anthropology.
Improvement: Could include a more specific reference to potential contributions to the university’s research community or future career aspirations in academia.
FAQs
What should be included in a PhD personal purpose statement?
Your personal purpose statement should include your academic background, research interests, and reasons for choosing a specific program. It’s also important to showcase your career goals and how the program will help you achieve them.
How do I structure my personal statement?
How can I make my personal statement stand out?
Additional Resources
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PHD Anthropology Personal Statement Example