incognegra

Does anyone know what's going on with NYU? I've heard nothing as of today. Should I expect the worst?

Thanks for the updates, all. I'm admittedly sad to know that I didn't score one of the interviews but best of luck to you all in securing some of those coveted spots!

Hi cheeks and ivandub, Are they still doing the prospective students interview/visit weekend on campus? Is everything via Skype now?

After reading more of the results from previous years, I feel like I have a little more (however anecdotal) information than I had earlier in this thread. I noticed that last year, some prospective students received interview invitations on 1/23 and then another crop of applicants received invites on 1/30. I'm not sure why they would send out notifications to people a whole week apart (?!) but if they're doing this again, those of us without invites may still be in the running...at least until Friday :S

In addition to the obsessive web activity that has already been mentioned, I've been consuming herbal teas that make dreams come true (e.g. mugwort which promotes lucid dreaming-- "I don't care if you didn't accept me, Yale adcomm. I'm coming here anyway!" "Okay"), going on long car trips and amassing piles of books from academic libraries in the region in hopes of filling in gaps in knowledge (because September is around the corner and time is running out!), restoring myself through pleasure reading on non-academic subjects, and then dulling my thoughts completely training for the "Tough Mudder"-- you know, the 10 mile military obstacle race where they shock you with electric wires. I'm likely to compete in one of the safer, non-electrically charged races instead but the underlying message is the same: April, you cannot come soon enough.

Speaking of the Lit program, does the program interview all applicants that they are considering admitting? Seeing the number of interviews posted for previous years, I am just wondering whether they use it as a way to decide between similarly qualified candidates or something that they do with every student that they ultimately admit. I only ask because I see that a couple interview invitations have gone out and I want to know at what point I should give up hope. Thanks!

Thanks for your replies.

Hello, Can anyone comment on whether MTL at Stanford would be an appropriate program for someone who is not strongly invested in studying literature in and of itself? The interdisciplinary nature of the program and faculty working on STS/ecocriticism are appealing to me but I'm having trouble getting a sense of whether the ultimate focus of the program is literary study. Thanks!

Hello, Can anyone comment on whether MTL at Stanford would be an appropriate program for someone who is not strongly invested in studying literature in itself? The interdisciplinary nature of the program and the presence of faculty working on STS/ecocriticism are appealing to me but I'm having trouble getting a sense of whether the ultimate focus of the program is literary study. If it is, that would be a problem for me. Thanks!

Thanks very much for your replies.

Hello, Is anyone aware of programs where one can study political theory and philosophy only? I am very interested in 19th and 20th century political theory/philosophy as well as contemporary thought surrounding identity politics. I find political theorists within poli sci departments to have some of the most compelling reflections on these topics in their work.. However, I do not have the background necessary to pursue a PhD in straight-up philosophy and am not interested in the other areas of political science that I would need to study and in which I would need to be examined in the poli sci programs I've considered. Can anyone recommend a theory/philosophy-heavy Poli Sci doctoral program or an interdisciplinary program that could meet these criteria? Rhetoric at UCBerkeley has certainly crossed my mind but the funding situation in the UC system combined with Judith Butler's possible exit from the program make me wary. Thanks!

I somehow missed your message until now, Gilbert. Thanks for taking the time to share so much insight. I've had some experiences over the last 8 months that have helped me to clarify what is truly important to me. Though I intend to complete my MSW program and psychotherapy internship in the interest of having a professional degree to fall back on, I've realized that I spend most of my time reading academic titles, imagining how I would extend/challenge them, and wishing that I had a community with which to share these ideas. Though the idea of publishing work for a popular readership and "community engagement" remain, admittedly, appealing to me on some level, the uninspiring and anti-intellectual professional world in which I've been working and living is truly suffocating me. Despite my frustrations about the hierarchical and popularly inaccessible nature of academia, I feel sick of being in social and professional environments where I'm routinely chastised for being "too intellectual" or "thinking too much" about the issues at hand (even though I actively try to avoid taking up space in conversations and speak fairly little in work settings). I even recently had a Psychology PhD-holding supervisor pathologize me for supposedly "putting on" a performance in the "overly intellectual" way that I speak and carry myself. Apparently, the way that I embody blackness did not meet with her expectations. The idiocy of that supervisory relationship aside, I know that I won't be long for this profession because it feels much too lonely and depressing to have to suppress my candid thoughts and alter my manner of speech just to avoid intimidating (and, apparently, confusing) supervisors and other practitioners. As you mentioned in an earlier reply, I'm realizing that, for me, sharing my ideas with a community (any community, however "exclusive") would feel infinitely better than attempting to repress those passions and "fight the good fight" in politically correct ways. Thanks for helping me to come to terms with the reality of the situation. My GRE preparation book calls!

I appreciate your comment, Econosocio. It's definitely true that a TT position is not my ultimate career goal and perhaps that is reason enough to skip the PhD altogether. On the other hand, I think that the PhD could help me to achieve my long-term goals related to community engagement. My research interests are centered, in part, around the contemporary educational discourse and I would like to have the option of eventually starting my own experimental educational project or crossing over into educational leadership in an alternative learning community. Though I know that the actual PhD training is primarily about socializing grad students for academe and emphasizes communication in language used exclusively in that domain, I do have a desire to publish straight up academic writing as well as writing serious nonfiction for a more popular readership but I am concerned that I will struggle to publish the latter without the PhD (or a strong background in journalism). Though I often try to convince myself that it doesn't ultimately matter, it seems difficult to deny that I would be better able to circulate my fairly radical ideas with that academic stamp of approval. The disturbing politics aside, I'm aware that most people in this society will be more apt to listen to someone with an Ivy League PhD even though the Ivy League is principally an athletic organization. As I'm thinking about it now, these points feel like reason enough to pursue the degree even though I've been told (and often told myself) that the PhD is only for someone sure they want that coveted TT job. The more I think about it, the more I realize how important writing and speaking are to me and I'm concerned that I'll set myself up for an endless uphill battle if I attempt to do so without the credential, however shallow that might be. On the other hand, maybe what you would want to suggest is that the PhD process itself is such a soul-crushing uphill battle as to warrant extreme caution and enrolling only if one's future career goals absolutely require the degree. In view of the things I've elaborated on in terms of my goals, how do you think I should proceed? Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. After reading your replies and thinking about this more, I think I may be ready to face the music, so to speak. I guess it's time to start studying for the GRE...

I'm not sure if the OP shares my question on this subject but I am wondering whether simply having "AK Press" on a CV would raise eyebrows and make me look like a less-than-serious scholar. I agree with what you're saying about the peer-review component impacting how much having published would help ones application but I'm more curious about whether, and how much, it could hurt.