Roquentin

Dual income no kids, no debt. Our rent was set to increase, and we realized that we could get a mortgage for the same as renting, so we went for it. Best decision ever.

I was once offered a TA gig the day before classes started. It wasn't ideal!

Are grad students even humans? No. They are odd humans.

(shrugs) It’s the old prestige/merit argument. Obviously students should shoot for both, but the reality is that most new PhDs enter the job market without much/enough of either. Canada and the U.S. share the problem of having too many minor programs and too many students. The answer to the question “Should I go for a PhD in literature,” regardless of locale, is usually no. Stories that I have of Canadian PhDs finding work in the U.S. are anecdotal and, of course, the exception, as are stories that I have of Canadian PhDs finding work in Canada. It should go without saying that trying to make it on merit alone is perilous. That’s just the nature of the beast. I raised the issue of tuition because it seems to me, a casual observer, that many U.S. programs offer tuition waivers as a major part of their support; other funding can be competitive and limited. I received comparatively generous offers from Canadian universities (more anecdotal evidence!). Regardless, no one in either country makes much more than a living wage. (my apologies for going off topic, OP)

Surely there can be value in having a variety of presenting opportunities? For example, I enjoy a regular brown bag series, in which grad students in my department take turns informally presenting their latest research. Having to make my work accessible and interesting to peers in other fields has been thoroughly worthwhile. I've chaired panels at undergrad conferences in the past, and they can be fun to attend as well. I tend to approach these dealings with undergrads as a chance to begin thinking about supervision. What advice would I give this student, what directions would I push them in, what weaknesses need improvement, and what strengths could be harnessed? I'd never present at one, of course (I suspect that the poster above who will is between BA and MA), but attending them has been fine. As for local conferences, they seem uniformly positive too. What's the beef?

Not all students, particularly in first-year courses, are ready to be there. Giving a student a failing grade does not necessarily mean that you have failed them as an instructor.

There's no harm in applying to Canadian departments that are strong in your field. I'd recommend that you check out the University of Alberta (you would have the opportunity to work with the incomparable Stephen Slemon...). Other matters might be a little premature at this point, but should you choose to apply, be fortunate enough to be accepted into a good program, flourish during your degree, and enter the job market in a competitive fashion, I'd offer that the border is rather more permeable than has been suggested. I've known a few Canadian PhDs who chose to work in the U.S. If you're good enough, you can be a strong candidate in either country. This comes with a caveat, though. In my experience, American academics have a poor knowledge of Canadian universities and departments. If you do pursue a PhD in Canada, you should be prepared to describe/sell your department with gusto when required (though that's not a bad skill to develop regardless of where you go). Working with a supervisor who has international connections and landing a postdoc in the U.S. can make things easier too. As well, these matters can appear skewed by the fact that some Canadian PhDs, for valid reasons, limit their searches to Canadian positions (though this point is rather anecdotal). As for funding, I've heard the reverse of poliscar's point. That is, I've heard that funding is better in Canada (SSHRC or no SSHRC). Tuition is also far less expensive.

Your BA should be preparation enough (I think that MAs are invaluable in this respect too, but whatever). I recommend that you use the time to read for pleasure, because it can be hard to find time to do that when things get going. Oh, for a spare night or two to read some Kafka...

How about a thread on crappy conferences (cough RSA cough cough). I presented at the annual MLA circus in January, and I was pretty impressed - the quality of the presentations I attended was uniformly high, and it was very easy to network. I'm sick of big society gatherings, though. I'm not planning to do another one of those (Congress) until summer 2015 (or 2016, or both years). I'm more interested in smaller, focused conferences these days, and I've got a couple in mind for the next couple years (but I've never attended either of them before, so I can't speak to their quality).

I was a rather shy, quiet student while completing my bachelor's degree, and transitioning into graduate seminars was difficult. My strategy was to try to say at least one thing every seminar. That didn't always happen, but over time I became more confident and articulate. Speaking at conferences and teaching also helped. OP, I'm sure that your contributions will be welcomed by others in your seminars, who will recognize the value of what you have to say. Best of luck to you!

I've had half a dozen RAships over the years in the fields of English and History. Responsibilities vary depending on the project you're working on and the faculty member you're working with. Wages also vary from hourly rates to yearly (or multi-year) salaries. I suspect, OP, that if this is an RAship that's come your way as part of your funding package rather than an assistantship that you've arranged on the side, you'll be assigned to a professor at the start of the term who will supervise your work on some of their research. This work might continue for more than one term, or you might be assigned to a different professor/project each term. I suspect that wages would represent a lump sum, paid monthly, rather than a strictly hourly rate, but you would know that better than I. As for the work itself, I've done all kind of things. I've compiled indexes and made annotated bibliographies. I've done archival research, helped populate a scholarly blog, and I've had various editing/transcribing/encoding duties. The work can be tedious, depending on what you're working on, but I've also had some great opportunities as a result of my RAships: paid conference and research travel, publications, the development of secondary research interests, and closer relationships with faculty (which can have any number of benefits). I recommend that you get in touch with your contacts in the department to find out the specifics of your RAship. Enjoy!

Universities want faculty who can operate at national and international levels. Being competitive for externally awarded graduate fellowships/scholarships etc. is a good step in that direction. I was recently awarded a research fellowship, and the head of the fellowship committee told me that they had received applications from four continents from people working in a dozen disciplines. The other recipients are all intermediate/senior professors. The benefit to me thus goes beyond the value of an ego boost and an enhanced opportunity to pursue my research; I will be able to show, once I hit the job market, that I can effectively promote my research and successfully compete for external funding. So yeah, it's all good. Internally awarded graduate fellowships? Meh, they show strength within a cohort or a university, but I doubt they'd do much to distinguish top candidates for a faculty position. In general (and with exceptions, of course), internal fellowships are more about paying the bills and being compensated for your work.

Call the director.

I’m late to the party, but I don’t find that there’s currently much here for the ABD set (besides an opportunity to procrastinate). The top 30 threads in my branch of the humanities all relate to the application process (yawn - sorry!). Maybe ABD folks don’t need/have time to solicit advice from strangers on the net as much as those who are starting out, or maybe reddit/Chronicle forums/blogs etc. already fill that niche. I think you’d have to be a white knight, really passionate about helping applicants, to continually find reasons to post here as an intermediate/senior level PhD. Just my two cents. I’m sure I’ll continue to lurk here for a while yet…

Joke thread?

One of my goals for next year is to update my portfolio. Many thanks for the website!

Having to sit through the same half-baked presentation twice - now that's a fate worse than death!

The only time when this is justified, in my opinion, is when the presentations relate to a major research project being undertaken by a group over a number of years. Attending multiple presentations on the same large-scale project over the course of its development can be genuinely worthwhile. However, these presentations are likely more varied from year to year than the ones that you have in mind. I went to a gathering last summer that held a work-in-progress presentation series for a few days, followed by a larger, traditional conference. One of the attendees, an MA in my cohort, used this format to present the same paper twice. It was quite disappointing. When I asked him about it afterwards, he told me that he was glad to have two new entries to list on his CV. What a crock! I ceased to take him, and his grad student “career,” very seriously. So when it comes to solo-authored research, I’m not sure what the point would be (besides empty, cynical, and potentially dishonest CV-padding). Just because you can get away with it, and just because other people do it, doesn’t make it a good use of your time. Presentations can be a so-so way to receive feedback and move a paper forward, but the next logical step after that is to submit the paper to a journal, not present it again. In the grand scheme of things, conferences just aren’t that big of a deal. But I’m curious OP (and others). What do you think would be achieved by presenting the same thing twice (or more, shudder)?

don't put all of your eggs into one basket

Although fully funded conference travel is hard to come by, I tend to worry more about wasting my time than wasting my money. It is easy to overextend oneself with conference commitments. Case in point, I’m scheduled to present four (mostly unwritten) papers in the next seven months (a new personal record!) even though I’m currently working at full capacity on other, more important stuff. I’ll be laughing in eight months, but I’m going to be busy busy busy until then. I plan to limit my future commitments to a couple conferences every year. One per year might be a little light, OP, unless you consistently pick the very best and biggest in your field (btw, I’m in lit. studies too). After all, conferences are a fine way to polish your research. Surely you have more than one project on the go at any given time?

I give my kitten a kiss on her soft little orange head (ah, sweet anonymity!)

First of all, congratulations, 1000Plateaus, for finishing and defending your MA thesis – that achievement is a testament to your determination. However, I must agree with fuzzylogician (though I’ll be blunter). Doctoral studies are not for everyone. Given your difficulties and the manner in which you’ve described them, I recommend that you follow another vocation. Doing so will not diminish the work that you’ve just completed. A master’s degree in a discipline as challenging as philosophy is a very fine accomplishment. My only intent is to help. Please take care.

Depending on your focus, you might want to expand your search north. Many Canadian schools employ a number of Aboriginal literature specialists - it's a growing field. If you do decide to apply to a Canadian department, I would recommend that you reconsider your terminology. My understanding is that the term "Indian" is mainly used in the U.S. - in general, it won't fly up here in an academic setting (even "Native" is iffy - certainly, on something as refined as an SOP, there are better, more specific (i.e. accurate) terms to use). You're likely more familiar with the field's politics than I am, so I'll just suggest that it's probably a good idea to tailor your terminology to that which is used on the websites of the departments you apply to.

poached eggs on toast and black coffee, with some fruit and cheese on the side

Ooop - at the risk of sounding pedantic, when I said that it's important to produce, I meant that it's important to publish. Specializing in a hot, evolving field is fine, but specializations without publications don't mean much on the job market. A general level of excellence is expected - what many people fail to do, though, is demonstrate that they have the ability to help keep their fields hot and evolving by their work (i.e. at the doctoral level and beyond).