rhetoricus aesalon

So, I'm upgrading my creep level to 2.0, but I'm thinking of doing the same! So stoked to meet the Purdue cohort!

So awesome! I didn't know about this listserv. Thank you so much for sharing it, Proflorax!

Question for you all: I've come from small departments where rhet is more of a not-so-secret, secret area of study, if that makes sense. Very hipster, if you will, BowTies. Kind of like, "Oh I study rhetoric, but you've probably never heard of it." (Of course, I see the irony in that statement, but hopefully that helps paint a general picture.) I'm a bit nervous about the prospect of going into a larger program, where this sense of mystery is gone. I've heard from advisers that larger programs, aside from being more prestigious, are also helpful because there is a cohort-wide sense of pushing your work further, so it tends to be easier to feel pressure to publish, present, etc. Of course, funding also tends to be more secure. I was wondering what your experiences/opinions are on the matter. How do you feel about larger vs. smaller programs? What have been your concerns, if any?

For my MA, which is on the quarter system, we do 1-2-1 or 1-1-2 in the first year and the same (adding the option for 2-1-1) in the second. From talking with Ohio State and Wisconsin, they have mentioned their teaching load for PhD programs is 1-1, and fellowships relieve you of that for anywhere from 1-3 years. Something else to keep in mind in how your teaching load (especially if it varies from term to term) affects your stipend pay. For my MA, we are paid significantly less when teaching 1 section vs. the quarter in which we teach 2 sections. This can have a bearing on if you will need to take on a second job or loan money until you make a higher income to offset your initial stipend payments.

Just got my UT rejection! It may be a blessing, though. I've heard that UT has a strong lit focus, which makes sense considering their prestige in that area. A great school, though, and congrats to those who made the cut!

Holy Walter Ong, this forum got all crazy in the last 12 hours!! But, to respond to the issue at hand ... YES!

I can see that you feel defensive about this, so I apologize for that because it certainly wasn't my intention to make my disagreeing with some of your points make you feel like a child. I actually agree with what you are essentially saying here, but I do think you actually make some additional claims about attending school beyond just wanting to be a student, and in these cases I am scared (me personally, not in a scolding you for thinking this way kind of scared) because we can never really know what a hiring committee favors, and if there is a possibility of adding prestige on top of the many other qualities that will make an application shine, why not use it to your advantage?

I have my fingers crossed for you, too!! Sending good thoughts your way.

What a thought! If you want a tenure track job, just work hard and network! I don't think that's exactly what you meant, but that's the feeling I'm getting here ... and it scares me. I won't pretend like I don't love this post because I do. I really, really do. But I also think it's odd to suggest that prestige doesn't matter when applying to jobs. The harsh truth is that most of us will never have a tenure-track placement, and I for one am going for programs that will make me as marketable as possible. I can (and will) do good work in many places. But, maybe lit differs from rhet/comp a bit like that? Maybe I can phrase this a different way. You're applying to a tenure-track opening. 600 others are applying for the same position. What will make you stand out in the 6 seconds the hiring committee looks at your application? Prestige may not get you that job, but I certainly think it would help in this context.

Not sure if this will help with your anxiety, but I did the same and mine had been updated. The application status still says "applied," but the front page of spire had tons of new areas to look at and also a link to the official letter from the graduate school.

Completely love this conversation, and I just wanted to say that I am very glad to have your voice as a comm student here. I've been studying rhetoric for 8 years now (all my degrees are rhet/comp equivalents), and I think I've learned that even though division of fields (and sub-fields) is important, I'm usually delighted by how much more we have in common than we might initially think. I'm also really intrigued by your drawing out of "do" vs. "studying" because--to be honest--I'm not sure which you would apply to which ... I think for rhet/comp there is an interest in both, with the addition that there is also the felt need to teach how to do it, as well as teach how to interpret when and how to do it. IMHO the main contexts differ in that comm usually interprets language as it is spoken vs. rhet/comp that tends toward the interpretation of language that is written or composed. This may be pigeon-holing both fields a bit, but in general I think comm gravitates toward speech and rhet/comp toward composition. I also really love that rhet/comp, creative writing, and literature often get all thrown together--though sadly this is becoming less and less the norm. I think the three really compliment each other, and all are expanding on what composition is and what composition can do. I think, in a sense, we all need each other--though maybe it doesn't always feel that way. TL;DR All our fields rock, and I hope I can spend my life as a scholar learning where they each intersect and disconnect.

Hmm ... I see lots of numbers but very little talk about research. Not sure this is the right angle here.

Gap year is a bit of a loaded term, usually one that refers specifically to a break in between high school and undergrad, but always one that means you will be taking a break from the normal course of your career. I think what you are talking about is more of a year dedicated to professional development. To give you my personal experience, I took four. And it was one of the best experiences of my life. I say this because I knew I wanted to get into a graduate program directly after undergrad, but I took time off instead so I could be with my wife while she finished up her own career training. I worked a job I hated but did well and made good money, but eventually my wife said she could tell I was extremely depressed because I wasn't in school. I began to take classes at a local university "non-degree seeking," which nearly every school will let you do as long as you pay tuition and have a degree. This time made me appreciate the opportunities and learning that I had in school that I didn't before, and it gave me time to really decide if this was the trajectory and path my life needed to take. I also made some incredible connections with professors who I remain in contact with today, especially one who wrote one of my letters of recommendation this year. IMO, taking classes if you can is a fantastic way to show you're dedicated, and you will stand out in a class because you are the one who is there for no other reason than because you love it. If you want, I'm happy to talk more about my experience or answer any questions I can in a PM.

In my experience, this doesn't really matter. While these things may be important for breaking ties between great potential students and meeting graduate school requirements set by the university itself, what admissions committees are really looking at is your statement of purpose, writing sample, and letters of recommendation. (Of course, we can never really know this, but I just mean you shouldn't give up hope yet ... especially since IT'S STILL SO EARLY!!)

So, this question is for everyone, but I guess mainly proflorax -- did you receive your confirmation by mail? From UMD's website, it looks like this is the only method of communication. Is that right?

Ditto.

Thinking "safety school" immediately takes me back to high school, when gearing up for undergrad applications always included that one state school that sent you the admit letter before you even applied--where tobacco lawsuit money was being thrown at you to attend and you still prayed you didn't have to. A safety school connotes that if you have a pulse and graduate, you will get in. This doesn't exist in grad school. And thinking so is pretty dangerous: what happens if you don't get into your safety school?

Let's just say, the program is looking better and better. Just got off the phone with the DGS, and I'll at the very least be there in March for the Open House! How about you?

I'm in the same boat! I checked and received the same message last night, which is just peachy considering it was also my birthday. I am banking on it not being a glitch because it also links to a page where you can accept or deny the admission's decision with the graduate school. Though I am, too, still waiting on some more info about funding from the department! Oh, and congrats! We might be colleagues!

The answer to that question is Breaking Bad. (At least, it is for me. )

Not that it's any of my business, but that is by far a better situation to be in than the one I referenced. I wish you the best of luck with applications!

First of all, welcome! I wish you the best of luck with app season next year. So, I hope I'm not being nosy because you sound like you've had lots of time to think about these choices, but are your professors the only ones to have talked you out of law school? I just wonder because I've had the experience of seeing some people talked out of what some professors might call "less noble" professions because of a gifted student who they want to support onto grad school. Your experience (almost certainly) is different, but I just wanted to say that if I could go back, I'd tell those people to make sure they know what they're getting into. It's your life, after all, and it's almost guaranteed that a life in the humanities will be more unpredictable than a life in law.

Well, maybe. But in the good spirit of academia, I'm going to complicate this a bit. First, most of the top 10 of US News do not offer PhD programs in rhet/comp. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that schools we would normally consider "the elite" typically admit students who test out of freshman-year composition, which is the backbone of composition studies and would often be justification for funding a large faculty of rhet/comp scholars and a cohort of rhet/comp graduates--even though a great deal of research in rhet/comp is happening outside FYC. Furthermore, this is why the best programs in rhet/comp are at large, public, land-grant universities that have lots and lots of students who take Eng 101 (or the equivalent), hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Second, my R1 institution is holding similar tenure-track searches right now ... but for literature faculty (one American and one Victorian). The candidates I know of come from Yale, UC Berkeley, and Emory. So, I guess what I'm trying to show is that schools with name recognition are different for rhet/comp and literature. And, even if it isn't the only factor that matters ... it still matters.

Oh, and I absolutely wanted to add that if I were going to be making more of a presence this year at Cs, I would completely extend the same offer that has graciously been given to you by the others. I am in your shoes, though, with not being tied directly to a PhD program yet and also have some funding issues, so there is not terribly much I can offer. Oh, and I think you very well should hear from schools by mid-March. The universal deadline to accept/decline is in April and good news usually comes before bad news.

Hm ... I don't necessarily see this as a problem. As awesome and important as these conferences are, they are still perceived as *just* conferences for those on the tenure track. I am not really familiar with Knoxville's program, but I would be more concerned about a lack of publications in books and reputable journals over conference presentations. I'm interested now, too ... Just from looking over the website quickly I get the sense that the program is in transition. What's your interest in Knoxville? Plus, I find it so hard to believe they aren't represented! Have you looked through multiple years of proceedings? This year might just be a one-off.