Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

Hi,

do you think you could be a bit more specific. Which part of what I said do
you disagree with? Everything you said seems to uphold what I said. You were
successful because you found your matching supervisors. Or am I missing
something here? Were you statements code for 'my supervisors hated me and
opposed everything I suggested even though I could demonstrate I knew these
languages well'? I really must be missing something here if you still think
we have opposing views.

James Christian

On 28 July 2010 21:31, James Spinti <JSpinti AT eisenbrauns.com> wrote:

> Bull! That is a bunch of crap, if ever I've seen it.
>
> Sure, there are some programs like James is referring to, but not most
> that I know of. The bottom line is, if you have good language skills,
> the ability to communicate well (without being adversarial), and are
> willing to work hard, you can find a program that probably will fund you
> and a professor (or two, or three) who will support your work. When I
> was at the University of Chicago, I had 4 professors (in Greek,
> Hebrew/Ugaritic, and Hittite) who pretty much allowed me to chase my
> interests, as long as I could prove that I knew the languages well (I
> did) and could defend my ideas intelligently (I could).
>
> Right now, the best linguistics/Hebrew program I know of is in limbo,
> with a professor retiring and another one moving to another institution.
> I asked someone who will know for a good recommendation and hope to hear
> back from them soon.
>
> James
>
> ________________________________
> James Spinti
> Marketing Director, Book Sales Division
> Eisenbrauns, Good books for more than 35 years
> Specializing in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies
> jspinti at eisenbrauns dot com
> Web: http://www.eisenbrauns.com
> Phone: 574-269-2011 ext 226
> Fax: 574-269-6788
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of James Christian
> Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 2:21 PM
> To: Joseph Justiss
> Cc: biblical hebrew list
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Hebrew Bible PhD programs (Joseph Justiss)
>
> I suppose it all depends on what you want. If you want funding then your
> best chances of getting a funded PhD are to a) have a first class degree
> in
> Hebrew and b) to be willing to do whatever (no matter how boring or
> ludicrous) the primary investigator proposed. This is usually some
> boring
> slight variation of his own previous work which he obviously finds
> immensely
> interesting and of great value to the research community.
>
> Now if you want to be able to do something which allows you to lead the
> research in your own direction your best hope is to be a) willing to do
> the
> PhD with no funding b) be willing to pay the tuition fees yourself and
> most
> importantly c) find a Doctor/Professor who is open minded enough to let
> you
> research in your own direction. These kind of programs are usually
> part-time
> programs so that you can work secularly while doing your PhD. I suppose
> what
> you should be ready to accept is that statistics show that these kind of
> PhD
> students rarely complete and most prospective supervisors are likely to
> treat you as if you are yet another one of those PhD candidates who is
> destined to never complete.
>
> Now, it would be great if you could find somebody who matches well to
> your
> interests and has the funding to boot. I happen to be one of those
> extremely
> lucky individuals (i.e. I have the funding, and I can do pretty much
> what I
> want, and my professor finds it all very interesting, and I don't have
> to
> put up with that negative treatment where everyone thinks you're
> destined to
> fail and treats you accordingly). I wish you the best and hope you
> manage to
> find your match. Locating the right supervisor is beyond a shadow of a
> doubt
> the most important factor in doing your PhD. So much of what could have
> been
> good and innovative research just goes down the drain because the
> student
> wasn't able to find the right matching supervisor for the job.
>
> I'm sorry I can't point you straight to your match but keep searching
> long
> and hard. The future of your PhD probably depends on this factor more
> than
> anything else. (i.e. even more than the value of your proposal or of
> your
> ability to do good and objective research). You've probably heard all
> this
> before but I can assure you that it is true.
>
> James Christian
>
> On 28 July 2010 20:32, Joseph Justiss <jljustiss AT msn.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Do the list members have any recommendations of PhD programs in Hebrew
> > Bible/Semitic philology which have a system in place to allow the
> student to
> > explore modern linguistics and be well-trained in both fields?
> >
> > Joseph Justiss
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