Statement of Purpose for American Material Culture Study

Course: History 8151 /MLA 8220–Studies In American Material Culture

Instructor: Dr. Seth C. Bruggeman

Student: Brad Lin (Lin, Yu-Hsia)

Date: 2012/09/03

Reading Blog URL: http://tuamericanmaterialculture.blogspot.com/

Statement of Purpose

I majored in sociology for undergraduate degree and now I am in the master of liberal arts program. I am interested in anything including human society operation that makes me curious about the highly developed culture and techniques. I have a great interest in issues that relates in connections between human relations and of course with objects. From attending this course, I hope to understand the connections between objects and human life. I’d like to learn not only the purpose or function of the object itself but also the meaning and the ideas applied on the object by human. As an international student from Taiwan, the most important goal is to understand American society and culture. Although that the language barrier makes this goal harder to achieve but my Eastern background gives me another point of view to observe and interpret the things learned in this country. That might make me learn how similar object has a different meaning between different people and region.To me, learning overseas is not only taking lectures in a foreign country but also is a process to practice what I learned. Through study for a master degree in another country is also a chance to learn, to experience, and to realize another cultures point of view or way to solve problems. I believe this kind of learning has far more advantages than the ordinary ones.

“The core of the Master of Liberal Arts degree entails a broad range of interdisciplinary courses that draw from such areas as cultural studies, philosophy, American studies, media/film studies, sociology, women's studies, psychology, journalism, and political science.” “In general, the great strength of the MLA program is that it can be tailored to the student's own particular interests, and students are encouraged to develop an individual focus, based on their personal, academic, and professional objectives.” Above are the concepts of the MLA program in Temple. I have always been passionate about the exploration and study in different fields. But I am more interested in doing research with a group of people from different majors or territories. In Temple University’s MLA Program, there are a wide variety of courses, and the flexibility in allowing students to develop their own intellectual pathways. I will have a chance to learn new concepts and ideas among the students and the professors. All of those advantages allow me to pursue my interest in a better, wider and deeper way.