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Sample Statement of Purpose, Page 2 of 4

elaborate, modify, and complicate⁹ my original assertions about the nature of the "problem" of female appetite in early modern England. Indeed, many of the conclusions reached in the thesis, such as my claim that the cultural eroticization of feminine appetite in early modern England betrayed a deep-seated masculine mistrust of female sexuality and sexual power, serve as starting points¹⁰ for future research and study.

On a more basic level, writing a thesis gave me the chance to become better acquainted with the essentials of historical research. Suspecting that normative discourses in early modern England participated aggressively in the monitoring of women's appetites, I navigated the sea of early English printed sources in pursuit of the slightest mention of food and diet. Those sources I encountered during my research, which ranged from the popular conduct book, The Education of a Christian Woman by Juan Luis Vives, to the anonymous sex manual, Aristotle's Masterpiece, challenged my basic understanding of history and the original premise of my thesis in ways not anticipated. From deciphering esoteric type-fonts to developing an awareness of the importance of time and funds, I experienced the mundane realities of research that inevitably stunt the historian's aspirations. Even more important was my gradual acceptance of the fact that early modern sources, no matter how we read them, do not always accommodate modern biases and expectations.¹¹

Though I cannot predict the course this project might take in graduate school, I expect that it will address the following themes and issues. First is the overarching issue of distinguishing the phenomena I observe from other forms of food restriction and obsession, namely the modern ritual of dieting and its most extreme manifestation, an eating disorder. Though not willing to evade those complicated (and controversial) parallels between modern and early modern usages of food and food symbolism to control the lives of women, I also wish to offer as an historian a nuanced portrayal of how early modern conceptualizations of female appetite were infused with contemporary, historically contingent notions of sexuality and gender.

Furthermore, the question of female agency in a project devoted almost exclusively to male prescriptions for diet and behavior demands further discussion. Admittedly, on

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• ⁹ Again, to say that as a historian, she will "elaborate, modify, and complicate" the subject matter is to show that she really understands the work of historians. A less experienced candidate might have written that she wants to uncover the "truth" in history.
• ¹⁰ "Starting points" --referring to her research interests--is a very measured way of saying that she knows what tugs at her heart, has done enough research to have some hunches, but is open to surprise endings. A beautiful rendition of a historian's sentiment. You may turn off your readers if you come off sounding overly confident. Maintaining a measured tone is very important.
• ¹¹ This paragraph details further specific lessons and skills earned through this research project. Note the use of colorful verbs such as "navigated" and "stunt."