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etiolation

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  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    Too far from the Atlantic
  • Interests
    Multicultural/multiethnic literatures, minority American literatures, twentieth century poetry, contemporary literature, Icelandic and Scandinavian languages and literatures, contemporary poetry.
  • Application Season
    2013 Fall
  • Program
    English

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  1. I really appreciate all the advice, especially for your insight on languages! I think at this point that I should plan to continue on in multiethnic American lit, and study languages on the side. Among the universities that I'm considering applying to, several of them offer courses in Swedish, which might be a good way to go.
  2. Thanks very much for your perspective! What I've found since posting is that none of the universities in the area where I will be living/working this year offer relevant language/literature courses, so it doesn't really seem viable to get my languages up to the requisite level. I think that, as you suggested, I'll keep Scandinavian literature as a secondary interest and continue in my reading and language study as much as I can. Maybe some opportunity or connection will present itself further down the line.
  3. I've been looking into this program, and my impression is that you really have to be interested in literature to gain admission to/succeed in the program. The "About" page says this: "The Ph.D. program is designed specifically for students who have a strong interest in literature or culture, but whose approach or focus requires an interdisciplinary program--for example, students interested in anthropological or philosophical approaches to literature and culture; gender studies; ethnic studies; or in topics such as legal humanities, popular culture, and social or cultural theory." I would talk to them about what they consider "literature," but if you really have no interest in literature, it may not really be the right program for you.
  4. Fortunately (I guess?) I am not an international student, so I have only the routine worries about funding. With the difficulty in getting funding, where did you end up? Since your school doesn't offer Danish literature, have you found any viable independent study-type options?
  5. Congratulations! What specifically are you going to be studying? I have had several people suggest UC schools, as well. I will look around at universities' policies on letting students take classes in other departments/schools. That could be a good way to go, as it would be less of a formalized Scandinavian studies program and more of picking the classes that are particularly relevant to literature.
  6. My only problem with not going the English/literature route is that I'd eventually like to end up teaching literature at the secondary level. But I don't see how having a comparative literature degree would be a negative there, unless I'm missing something? However, doing Scandinavian studies exclusively might not work out as well in terms of getting a teaching job. I'll have to think about connections between multiethnic American lit and Scandinavian lit. That's a great suggestion.
  7. This is part of my worry - I have relatively little experience in the languages that would be relevant here. Do you think it would be a bad move to take a year or so off for further language study before applying?
  8. That seems to be the problem - finding schools which offer more than a course or two in Scandinavian literatures. My primary interest is contemporary literature, but I would also love to study medieval works to understand the big picture, so to speak.
  9. I'll look into that program, thank you! I have done basic Icelandic and plan to continue that this academic year. Other than that though, the only languages I have studied are Spanish and Latin. I'm looking around for a place to study Danish or Old Norse, as well.
  10. Hello! I'm trying to figure out where to apply for MA and/or PhD programs, but I'm having trouble tracking down exactly what I want. My interests are multiethnic American literatures and contemporary international literatures. I'm finding some universities that offer a good selection of classes in various multiethnic American literatures (although I'd appreciate any suggestions you have for more). But what I really can't find is where I can study contemporary literature of other countries/continents. I'm interested in Scandinavian literature, particularly Icelandic, but am having trouble tracking down any programs in the US that focus outside of American or British literature. I'd love any suggestions that you could offer.
  11. As a starting point I would check out the ubiquitous MFA blog: http://creative-writing-mfa-handbook.blogspot.com/ and the MFA Draft facebook group which is linked to there. Securing a well-funded spot at a good MFA program is a very competitive business, so I would start discussing your poetry with someone else (faculty members, classmates, members of the facebook group referenced above) as soon as you can. Not to question your writing ability, but I think it's very difficult to produce a body of good poetry without discussion and feedback. Also, the numbers of students admitted at well-funded programs are such that it's basically a lottery, even for students with stellar portfolios. Going through the documents of the facebook group is a good way to get a sense of what you're getting yourself into.
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