BrandNewName

Check with the DAAD about scholarships for language courses. You could do summer training. That's how I began initially, though I came on scholarship through a program at the Freie Universität Berlin. The program is called FUBiS and its just one of many. In that first summer (1.5 months) I took the equivalent of an entire first year of German by my university's calculation. You could do the summer course and then check at local universities near your campus for German tutors.

I had read Zizek's Welcome to the Desert of the Real not long before I joined TGC and, for some reason, I kept thinking back to this old Eastern European joke with which he opens the book: A Czech (or East German or Polish) worker is transferred to Siberia. He knows that when he will write letters from Siberia to his friends at home they will be read by the censors and so he tells his friends: "Let's establish a code: if a letter you receive from me is written in normal blue ink, it's true; if it is written in red ink, it's false." After a month, his friends receive a letter written in blue ink: "Everything is great here in Siberia: the shops are full, there is plenty of food, there are great and beautiful apartments, you can see all the latest Western films in the cinema and there are beautiful girls ready to go out with you - the only thing that you cannot get here is red ink." I liked the sense of the clandestine inherent to the red ink. Plus, it was a way for me to reveal my theory geekness without really revealing it. And so was born outofredink.

As excited as I am to get the results, I think I've prepared myself mentally and emotionally to not get in this year. And, if I don't, there are some things I am really looking forward to. My partner and I have been living in southern Germany for 2.5 years now and we really miss being in Berlin. So we'll move back up to Berlin in August/September and set up camp there. He'll be spending a lot of time in London where he teaches and is working on his PhD. My plans for the year: Pick back up with old translation clients to earn money as my current research/teaching contract is set to run out at the end of August. Get back on a regular sleep and exercise schedule. Spend about two months over the holidays back in the States -- it's always been so rushed since I moved away, it would be great to go home and spend quality time there...and perhaps see what it's like to be an adult in my childhood home, what it might feel like to attempt creativity at my grandparents' kitchen table, unburdened by lingering deadlines or upcoming conferences on the other side of the ocean. Write: academic and otherwise...probably more otherwise. Knit. A lot. And spend some time at the yarn shop picking up some new skills from the ladies that hang around there. Finally learn how to use the sewing machine I have had sitting in a cupboard for years now. Take some intensive German courses. Working in an English Department in Germany and having a partner, friends, and colleagues who all speak English means that I really only use German at the grocery store and when I meet a fellow dog owner in the park. Spend every sunny Berlin day in the park. With a beer, a book, and my dog. I guess once there is some space between me and my rejections (should that happen), I'll make the decision as to whether I should apply again or not. Luckily, most of the work is done. Yes, there will be revisions/refinement and probably a new sample, but knowing the process is half the battle, I think. Writing it out, I'm actually strangely in love with the idea of having a year of high quality life in a city I love. I'm not wishing for rejections, but if they come, it's not a bad alternative...grad schools aren't going anywhere and I'm still pretty young.

Was considering it, it's such a great program and I'm a big fan of winter and biking, so the Twin Cities seemed perfect for me. But, in the end, it just seems too middle-of-nowhere for me. I'd only be able to fly home and no family would ever be able to make that sort of journey out to see me (they're older). Seeing as I live in Germany now and my family is on the East Coast, they want me home and I think they'd kill me if I ended up back in the country and still more than a thousand miles away. Good luck though! Personally, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that an invitation to interview for Duke's Literature Program may pop up in my inbox sometime this week. People were notified on January 25th last year. Anyone else applying there?

I think most adcomms will think you shortened the name of the department to save space in your SoP. I really wouldn't worry too much about it, I can't imagine anyone being put off by that...most might not even notice.

I've taken to 'fluff' reading as well, indulging my fascination with zombies and true crime. I hang my head low when reading it in public, but it's been so good to just read for the sake of reading something I enjoy. I just finished up Max Brooks' World War Z: The Oral History of the Zombie War and Dave Cullen's Columbine. I've never been much of a sci-fi/monsters sort of person, but Brooks book was so enjoyable, such a great idea for a book. And Cullen's writing on Columbine -- definitely not a light topic -- but it does read like a novel and is utterly engrossing. It also has one of my favorite covers ever. Oh, and I love love love Geoff Ryman's take on The Wizard of Oz called Was.

morning glory

Grew up outside of Philly and never realized how wonderful it is until I only got to spend a few weeks each year over the holidays there. There are some really wonderful things happening in that city, completely underrated. My best friend lives in the Art Museum area and I've taken to spending most of my time back in Philly there (Mugshots Cafe is fantastic, if not somewhat overpriced) or in Northern Liberties. Whoever ends up there, enjoy it, I'll be jealous!

Thanks. I'm a bit of a superstitious person and I was worried that leaving it open (as if to imply that it will be filled with the name of some school in the near future) would only serve to jinx me in the long run. I'm so superstitious, in fact, that I'm nervous to even acknowledge my anti-jinxing signature activities in this post for fear that that too will jinx me in some way. I think I need help. I've also taken to seeing how many steps I can make it down before the hallway door in my apartment building closes, that number being equal to the number of schools that will accept me naturally. If you care, it's normally seven. Ha. I wish. Yeah...results need to happen soon.

I also saw that UChicago English notified January 28th of last year. And, Duke Literature sent out interview invites on January 25th in 2009! I wish I wasn't thinking about it so much, but those dates are approaching so quickly I can't stop checking the results page.

My trick for webcam interviews is to write out keywords, phrases, and/or questions and tape them just behind my computer. No need to consult notes and by the time the question period comes around, you've been staring at those keywords/questions so long that you don't even really need to think about it.

You might want to check out the Results section of TGC, there you can keep an eye on acceptances and rejections coming in...you can also search for information on past application rounds there. It might help give you an idea of about how long the program normally takes to notify those that are accepted or on the waitlist. Good luck.

Don't know if I really fit in with the English crowd per say, but it's where I normally group myself for clarity's sake. Interests: 20th/21st Century American (Cultural) Studies Material Culture Studies Critical & Queer Theories Performance Studies Poverty & Class Issues Schools (in no particular order): Columbia University - English PhD Washington University in St. Louis - English PhD University of Pennsylvania - English PhD Cornell University - English PhD Princeton University - English PhD University of Chicago - English PhD Harvard University - History of American Civilization PhD Yale University - American Studies PhD New York University - American Studies PhD Brown University - American Civilization PhD Duke University - Literature PhD I was doing really well, but as the holidays fade further and further into the past, I'm getting more and more anxious. Good luck to everyone!

We were staying in this warehouse-ish type space in Berlin at the time. Lots of room to work, but the furniture and space itself was a bit dreary and straight out of a Kafkaesque/70s office nightmare (old metal desks and outdated rolling chairs). So there was this really cool staircase leading up to the second level made out of concrete slabs that just protruded from the wall. We positioned the camera up high enough that part of the staircase cut diagonally across the upper left hand side of the frame. Then under it, we put a bookcase, a small chair, and coffee table with flowers. My partner was positioned in the foreground and we borrowed some lights from the other studios in the building to make sure there were no shadows. Looking at the space while standing in it, it was a mess, but on camera it framed my partner perfectly and gave an entirely different impression of the space he was in. And, I'll add, he won the fellowship he was interviewing for too...I'm convinced it was all because of my decorating skills.

Webcam interviews are great because you can totally create a fake world behind you. My partner had one this past summer and I spent a few hours beforehand creating the 'set' for him. To echo what's been said above, definitely dress to impress, but since you'll most likely be sitting, I'd say the bottom half doesn't matter...nothing like some exhibitionism to heighten interview nervousness.

I am assuming that if I no invitation to interview shows up by the beginning of February, then it's a no-go. Do they fly students in for the interviews? Even from Europe?

I studied and currently work in a European university and I would second the comment above. On the whole European schools don't give a squat about your morning or your struggle to deal with A, B, or C as a teenager...professionalism is the way to go. I've found that I grew accustomed to that style of writing quite quickly -- in many ways I think it's much easier -- trying to shift back into a more American style of writing proposals and application essays has proven incredibly difficult. That's neither here nor there though, I would say you should write something straightforward, I don't think cutesy or creative will get you very far with committees in the UK or Europe for that matter.

i'll take consolation in that. luckily i decided to withhold a donation from stanford this year and instead offer mine to columbia. now i have a few days to separate myself from my writing sample and come back to it with fresh eyes before duke's deadline.

failure. i'm mad at myself, but i'm not going to make the deadline. i could, but i'm still not happy with my writing sample and the materials i need to get it where it needs to be are at the office. i wasn't much sold on the idea of california or the $125 fee anyway, but i'm sad to have to cut it off my list at the last minute like this. i guess that's how the cookie crumbles, but good luck to all of you who are applying, it's a great program -- i'll be excited to hear how the process ends up for each of you.

you're submitting today! i'm jealous. i am going to be writing and re-writing parts of my sample until the very last minute. no sleep til wednesday! good luck!

barren wasteland

After taking the October test I felt the same way that many of you are describing and I was pleasantly suprised by my score. Honest to God, I was thinking that I might not even break 500 I felt so defeated after that exam, but it is true what they say, you remember the things that were difficult and then they come to dominate your mind. Don't fret everyone! And, at the very least, it's over! Congrats!

I used the sweep method and it worked well for me. During the first sweep, if I saw a question that mentioned authors or novels that I felt comfortable with, I answered them immediately (for me, this included Shakespeare/Renaissance Drama, Modernism, all things American, and all things theory). The first sweep took me a little over half of the test time. Anything I completed on the first sweep I would draw an X through and cross out the page number at the bottom. I knew oafter the first sweep, then, about how many points I was almost certain to get and was then able to calculate how many I had to at least attempt in order to end up in the score range that I wanted. I realized from practice tests that to even have a chance at ending up in the score range I was hoping for, I had to answer approximately X number of questions (understanding standing that about X% of them would be incorrect). By the time my second sweep came around, I first went to any comprehension questions I had left blank (at an initial glance, I marked the bottom of pages iwth comprehension questions with a C). After that, I ended with questions on Middle English and Romanticism (my two weakest areas) and made decisions on puzzling identifications (in my eyes, I either knew these or I didn't, once I decided I didn't know it, I didn't return to it). Although I found the sweep method inefficient when i first started practicing, once I trained it I think it became a method that made me feel a bit more in control of the test itself. I was not only able to calculate with some degree of accuracy how many questions I had correct, but also how many I still needed to answer. So, say I only needed to answer five more questions to get into the range of questions that had to be answered in order to end up near my desired score, the fact that I had mapped the test out (and made small notations next to the page numbers), enabled me to decide which questions were worthy of my time and attention. Also, because I knew, hey, there is no chance in hell I am going to figure out that section on the Canterbury Tales or whatever, I didn't feel bad about giving two or three extra minutes to a particularly difficult comprehnsion passage that could actually lead to picking up a point or two. Finally, there were a few questions that stumped me at first, but seeing other authors/works listed on the exam somewhere else jostled my memory of something and led me to a correct answer. Because I had swept and had time to go back, not to mention the fact I that I knew roughly where to find the applicable question, I was actually able to put the information made available on the test itself to use for me. It feels awkward to use the sweep at first, but I think there is something to be said for it.

Nice, do you have plans to work with her? It definitely makes Columbia more attractive, bumps it up a space or two.

Yes, she's going to be there as a visiting professor for the first two years and then will join the faculty full-time. Here's the letter from the chair of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University to graduate students in the department: Dear Graduate Students, I am thrilled to announce that Judith Butler will be joining our department as a regular faculty member. For each of the next two years she will be a full-time visitor in the spring terms. After that she will be here on a permanent year-round basis. In spring of this academic year Professor Butler will give a colloquium just for our department to which all faculty and grad students will be invited. It will be our chance to welcome her to our community. Best, Jean Howard Edited to say *yay* for simultaneous edits.