<p>Yale’s Graduate Department of History requires that those concentrating in American History can have, in appropriate cases, competence in statistics or other mathematical skills as a replacement for a foreign language. That’s rather interesting, I think.</p>
<p>^^ Do it if you do actually like math. I took stats in my senior year (as part of gen ed) and I was wishing I could be sitting in a foreign language class, actually learning about culture and history… not some numbers. I’d rather work harder at foreign languages than stats.</p>
<p>Student 35,</p>
<p>Yes, there are normally foreign language requirements for American History. French and Spanish are the norm. German is sometimes, but not always, required. And of course one’s subfield then comes into play, so Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, or something else entirely might be crucial.</p>
<p>Sligh_Anarchist’s observation is correct, of course, but this should be taken in a larger context. While demographic historians, for example, may wish to substitute quant skills for a less-important language, this is not a commonly available option, nor an option available to students in most subfields of specialization.</p>
<p>
Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but the “much preferred” really caught my attention. </p>
<p>How many semesters of conversational (assuming that means regular intro and intermediate courses) language study would equal or better a Reading & Research class? Is one R&R class really considered better preparation than 3 or 4 semesters of regular language study?</p>
<p>tenisghs, foreign languages aren’t just important “to look up archived materials that pre-date the computer revolution.” Even today, a lot of research and writing are done in other languages and do not get translated into English. Try flipping through some international scholarly journals and you’ll see all sorts of languages being used there. How are you supposed to join the debate if you can’t understand everything that’s being said?</p>
<p>Gil, I see you didn’t read the rest of the posts in this thread. Knowledge of foreign languages is an absolute requirement in the humanities (history, art history, philosophy, comparative literature, etc…) and international relations programs. Most humanities students travel abroad and visit museums, archives, historical centers, etc. for research on their dissertations. I think it’s common knowledge around here that before the U.S. became a superpower many decades ago, the lingua franca in science and international affairs was French/German. The social sciences departments don’t require applicants to have a knowledge of multiple languages to gain admission.</p>
<p>Depends what is required of you. In certain fields (math for example), you are required to have a “reading knowledge” of French or German (or Russian), which probably means that an intro class will do you fine. But if you’re expected to be able to read Marx in German, you’ll need a lot more than that.</p>
<p>I gotta bring up this thread too, but I was wondering are French and German required if you’re thinking of studying U.S or East Asian history?</p>
<p>French more likely than German for US or East Asian history. You think about what colonial powers controlled the area. But more importantly, if you’re serious about East Asian history, get Chinese and Japanese under your belt. They’re much more important than the European languages.</p>
<p>Ticklemepink,</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your input.</p>
<p>For U.S history is French the only requirement usually or is German required as well?</p>
<p>I’m pretty surprised that French is needed for East Asian history.</p>
<p>Either one. Most US history programs don’t really care. But you should really think about your subject matter. If you’re interested in diplomatic relations prior to the 20th century, French would be better as it was the lingua franca of diplomacy. If you’re interested in labor or intellectual, you might want to consider French or German (think of all the influential philosophers), and the like. You’ll just get more of the language.</p>
<p>Why are you surprised that French may be preferred for East Asian history? France had a large colony in Southeast Asia. It participated in the Open Door Policy with Germany… but I suppose it depends what part of East Asian history you’re most interested in. Like I said, focus on Chinese and Japanese.</p>
<p>Oh btw, this is off topic, but I noticed Umich as your location. I’m currently a umich student, are you as well or an alum?</p>
<p>Aluumna. :)</p>