I'm still in the process of winnowing a massive list of programs, so I won't even attempt to 'tier' the programs I'm interested in in any way, but I'm sure as I go along some will fit more strongly than others.
Michigan
U of Chicago
Vanderbilt
Brown
WUSTL
My research interests include the 20th cent. US novel ==> modernism ==> the relationship b/w economic and literary forms ==> literary representations of urbanization ==> Los Angeles fiction in the midst of 1930s/40s crisis, + Saul Bellow's Chicago and Dos Passos' New York.
With the use of arrows, I want to represent my interests as a range from general to specific, because I think that's a better way of understanding how we pursue our interests as critics: we have several levels of specificity we can engage on. And put this way it avoids looking at our interests as sometimes vapid, categorical specialization.
I guess the main reason I want to share my prospects and academic interests is to get some insight on an insider's experience of a department. Anybody go to any of these schools and can give a little perspective on the feel of any of these departments? Thank you, girl who wears glasses, for your advice on Michigan.