Comprehensive exams or general exams for the most part are different for everyone. Here is a collection of my thoughts and notes as I worked through preparations and reading lists.  My exam questions and answers are included on the site under the PDFs heading under 2017.  I hope this may help anyone on their own road to comps.

The Road to Comps Part 0: Beginnings

The Road to Comps Part 0.5 Getting Started

The Road to Comps Part 1: 19th Century Natural History in Comparative Perspective

The Road to Comps Part 2. The Darwinian Tradition

The Road to Comps Part 3: Emergent Specializations: Paleontology

The Road to Comps Part 4: Emergent Specializations-Anthropology/Paleoanthropology

The Road to Comps Part 5: Exploration and the Field

The Road to Comps Part 6: Different Approaches to the History of Natural History in the United States

The Road to Comps Part 7: Scenic Turnout 1

The Road to Comps Part 8: American Studies Background

The Road to Comps Part 9: Literary and Print Culture Part 1

The Road to Comps Part 10: Literary and Print Culture Part 2

The Road To Comps Part 11: Representative Studies of American Culture and Society in the 19th Century Part 1

The Road To Comps Part 12: Representative Studies of American Culture and Society in the 19th Century Part 2

THE ROAD TO COMPS PART 13: REPRESENTATIVE STUDIES OF AMERICAN CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN THE 19TH CENTURY PART 3

The Road to Comps Part 14: Scenic Turnout 2

The Road to Comps part 15: Art and the American West in the 19th Century: General Background

The Road to Comps part 16: Art and the American West in the 19th Century: Studies of Individual Artists

The Road to Comps Part 17: Art and the American West in the 19th Century: Photography

The Road to Comps Part 18: Art in the American West in the 19th Century: Art and other Visual Arts

THE ROAD TO COMPS PART 19: ART IN THE AMERICAN WEST IN THE 19TH CENTURY: Scientific Visualization

The Road to Comps Part 20: Staying in the Car until the audiobook finishes

Bonus: The Aftermath

Now the real adventure begins