rhetoricus aesalon

Since this thread is no longer a productive conversation among several members, I'm gonna lock it. VirtualMessage and ComeBackZinc, feel free to continue your discussion over PM.
 

Check it: http://www.macmillanhighered.com/Catalog/static/bsm/bb/history.html
 
Also, would we call rhet/comp mainstream? I mean, we did get a Gawker article for the Sparkleponies. But I'm not sure I'd use the word mainstream. There's a relative sense of pride in the field being somewhat counter-culture, which carries over in my opinion from its resurgence and continued sense of re/defining since the mid- to late sixties.

It will not make or break your application. In fact, I'd wager (from an admissions standpoint) no one will care. It might be a nice way to network after you are admitted by talking about your experience once you are on campus visits or through email, but since your travel will have nothing to do with your interests, it will count for little to nothing in your application. Especially if you decide to apply straight to PhD programs.

The lines we draw between each other are problematic and counterproductive. Rhet/comp is a melting pot. The field has (incorrectly) been seen as only professionalization, preparation for administrative work, without theoretical or methodological rigor, lesser-than other English studies, solely interested in the training of a class of composition instructors. Rhet/comp is an and/in addition field, not a but/we do not field. This is difficult for some to wrap their head around, which is understandable: We operate in a system that defines a field by what it is not, and that is tricky for rhet/comp. In practice, all work is welcome that in some way relates back to the college writing or student experience--but even this has been heavily contested in the past decade.
 
I've also had faculty in rhetoric teach courses in technology and culture, digital media production, global feminisms, methodology, materialisms, persuasion, and writing program pedagogy. I have also taught courses in disability studies and fiction. I have always been a rhet/comp person (at least since undergrad, that is).

The lines we draw between each other are problematic and counterproductive. Rhet/comp is a melting pot. The field has (incorrectly) been seen as only professionalization, preparation for administrative work, without theoretical or methodological rigor, lesser-than other English studies, solely interested in the training of a class of composition instructors. Rhet/comp is an and/in addition field, not a but/we do not field. This is difficult for some to wrap their head around, which is understandable: We operate in a system that defines a field by what it is not, and that is tricky for rhet/comp. In practice, all work is welcome that in some way relates back to the college writing or student experience--but even this has been heavily contested in the past decade.
 
I've also had faculty in rhetoric teach courses in technology and culture, digital media production, global feminisms, methodology, materialisms, persuasion, and writing program pedagogy. I have also taught courses in disability studies and fiction. I have always been a rhet/comp person (at least since undergrad, that is).

Check it: http://www.macmillanhighered.com/Catalog/static/bsm/bb/history.html
 
Also, would we call rhet/comp mainstream? I mean, we did get a Gawker article for the Sparkleponies. But I'm not sure I'd use the word mainstream. There's a relative sense of pride in the field being somewhat counter-culture, which carries over in my opinion from its resurgence and continued sense of re/defining since the mid- to late sixties.

You should also check out Connected Community (is that it's called?). Lots of CCCCs presenters upload their materials just for this purpose!

I thought maybe people considering Purdue R/C would want to see this list of presentations from current Purdue people at CCCC and ATTW this week. Not really a representative sample, of course, but a nice slice of what current students and faculty are working on.
 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2VnGW7jBt3xd3c0M2hCSHhDN0E/view?usp=sharing

Visited a department  that was my dream program. Had wanted to go there for years. I honestly didn't like very much about it (not the right place for me personally or professionally). But it was still the single most helpful thing I could've done, because none of the things I learned were things I would've known from a website or phone conversation, and I would've always wondered if I was making the right choice to turn them down. Now I know. 

we keep it family
 

They did a hire for Lunsford's position this season. I didn't follow up to see who got it.
 
And yeah, Berkely Rhet is really a theory and cultural studies program. More Judith Butler than Quintiliian. 

Maybe I should add this to the list of campus visit questions. "So...what sort of opportunities does your department offer for food?"

short-time lurker here, but I really love hearing folks talk about how they came to comp/rhet. I came from creative writing, and even though I've been doing this for ~2 years during my MFA, I still feel green. I wonder sometimes if that's the nature of comp/rhet: greenness, wide-eyed curiosity, all of us (many from different fields) coming to the table without ego or preconceptions.
 
at my current institution, comp/rhet classes usually involve a rotating food schedule (the program is very small and tight-knit), so in all honesty, I came to comp/rhet because of the food. 

Here's another tip: if you are driving across the country via the Northern route, take a detour through South Dakota. With Custer State Park, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Sioux Falls, and Crazy Horse, South Dakofa far more beautiful than it has any right to be. Plus, Wall Drug is a trip.

Also, we got some all-natural, non-narcotic anti-anxiety meds for the dog; they were a lifesaver. Ask your vet if they can help you out!

I can't ameliorate your depression. But I want you to think about this. 
 
Many of the top programs in these fields select perhaps 5 or 6 students for their programs. They might get 300 applications or more on the high end. Right off the bat, we're looking at admissions percentages in the small single digits. Now let's think about this from the perspectives of these programs. The nature of the beast is that these departments will always be serving their own needs first. That's how it goes. So if Prof So-and-So has been lacking in advisees, and they need someone who studies the same things as he or she does, and your  specialty is already overrepresented in the department, guess who's going to get a leg up over you? Or if your department is heavily skewed towards women scholars and you're a man? Departments require subject-matter diversity because of the nature of graduate programs, and the want demographic diversity because of the noble principles of multiculturalism. Then, there is the fact of patronage and connections, which people hate to talk about here but absolutely do make a difference. Maybe just one person in your application pool will get a spot because they have the connections you lack. But if there's only 5 people accepted in a round, what does that do to your odds?
 
And so you have to arrive at this inevitable conclusion: if you're not a great candidate, you'll never get in. But you can be a great candidate and easily get left out. People know enough to say that this process isn't fair, but I suspect after they get in to programs, they secretly believe that it is. Well, "fair" is not a concept I'm really interested in. What I am interested in is acknowledging that  chance and randomness and weight of numbers plays a huge role in this process, and you've got to give yourself a break for that reason.

Man you guys are all meeting up at Cs the one year I decide not to go.

Thanks, heja! I expect to slum it on the beach for at least several hours a day as well. Can't wait!
 
BTW, my name is Ruth, so if you see me at CCCC, please say hi! I love meeting GradCafers offline. (Word of warning, though: I don't actually look like the Lorax.)

I'll be there! This year's CCCC will be my first CCCC and my first conference with my daughter. I'm actually thrilled, mostly because of the promise of warm weather. 

Congratulations! And I have officially freaked myself out by calling that. If only being able to guess the program by the DGS's email had been on the lit subject test ...

Congratulations! And I have officially freaked myself out by calling that. If only being able to guess the program by the DGS's email had been on the lit subject test ...

Congratulations! And I have officially freaked myself out by calling that. If only being able to guess the program by the DGS's email had been on the lit subject test ...

I love reading all the good news! And yes, some of my closest friends in my cohort at UMD were also my friends here at TGC. Heck, Chadillac and I are presenting together at CCCC in March, all because we met here! I'm glad y'all ignored the hype and joined this awesome and supportive community. 
 
Time for a good news happy dance! Take it away, Abed. 
 

Yeah I still have all my old emails, and Dr. Garcha notified me about the fellowship nom when he called me. Then I received email confirmation of the nom about a week or so later (early February). And then I received an email notifying me that I'd actually been awarded the email at the beginning of March. And then the Open House was toward the end of March, and I personally confirmed my decision to attend OSU within like two days of attending the Open House. I really, really loved the Open House lol.

Absolutely! I am still getting over the roller-coaster of emotions from application season last year, so any info I can share I'm very happy to!