applemtnhigh

thanks, all, for your sweet replies! i agree that a hard conversation is necessary -- it's just a matter of when. i think my bigger question needs to be whether it's that academia in general just isn't for me. i'm hesitant to dismiss this world entirely, because i do get really excited about some research, TEACHING, and the possibilities for greater community engagement and changemaking through history work; but i'm also have some real and substantial difficulties with finding fulfillment in this lifestyle. (also a hard conversation to bring up -- i come from a sustainable farming/farm-outdoor-environmental-experiential ed background, and was used to, uh, living in a little cabin in the woods; so city life and the insularity of academia is really getting to me.) i definitely don't want to ever be an english professor in an english department, so that bit is clear enough ... i'm just trying to get thru the semester at this point; i'll get to mull this over more, i'm sure, over the break. i'm sure my feelings and passions -- and whether this is a good fit (english clearly isn't; i *can* manage to do what i want, but with really no mentors or direct guidance) -- will come more clear in time. i'm going to keep becoming who i am; and that's also going to be clear to my department, who may also come to feel that these all-sorts-of-texts-based, history-y projects are a bellwether for my not being at home here. now i've just got to try not to barf whenever bullshit theory comes up. *gags*

hi guys, i am coming here for some advice about a topic i can't get much clarity on. has anyone ever switched or transferred graduate programs? does this even happen? what about disciplines? i am in my first year of a lit PhD. program at a really great university; i'm pretty happy with many of my courses, but i'm getting SUPER involved in my research for some history coursework that i've chosen to do, and i really think i've (always) wanted to be a historian. this works, in a way, in english, because so many departments lean so heavily historicist, and employ folks trained in a variety of ways. still, for some of what i hope to work on, i feel like i'm having to reinvent the wheel, when i know there are other programs where numbers of graduate students do work like i'd like to do, and get highly trained in those methods. i'm also a country gal, with a beautiful dog, and am (very unhappily) living in a major urban center. i'd REALLY, REALLY like to get myself somewhere else, a.s.a.p., because it's taking a big toll on my life and work. has anyone ever switched? when is the best time to do it? now, one semester in to my first year; or next year, when i'll have some more substantial papers and projects behind me? is this even allowed? some programs that i have looked into say (makes my heart sink!) "NO TRANSFERS!"; but perhaps this only refers to the fact that an incoming graduate student can't transfer credit or year-status? ANY advice at all, practical or emotional, would be so helpful! i feel -- perhaps this is wrong -- that this is too sensitive of a subject to share so early in my career in my dept.; i don't want to alienate myself if i do end up staying, and i feel that some of my less orthodox/interdisciplinary styles have already drawn me some negative attention ... how/when should i even bring this up? or is it best to just soldier on and try to "do my own thing," within english? after all, i will have some fellowship in the 4th & 5th years, and could theoretically move elsewhere/work remotely ... (even so -- there are other english/lit programs where i think i'd rather be.) thanks so much for any help!

hi there -- does anyone have any experience with transferring programs? does this happen, AT ALL, in graduate school? i'm mid-way thru my first semester in a graduate program in literature, and it's increasingly clear to me that i really would like to be doing work in history. my department is open to historicist approaches, and definitely seems to be flexible enough (esp. in terms of fellowship & dissertation research support) to allow me to work with some of my much less lit-sy interests, like agricultural & environmental history. but, my advisor has been chastising me for taking too many classes outside of the department. i was told i would never (obviously) get a job in a history dept. as a lit. phD., so why bother? i explained that being trained as an historian is vital to what i hope to do. i LOVE my history classes. i feel like i'm straining at the bit to be a historian. plus, i'm super-critical (always have been) of the canonizing and literary-text-prioritizing impulses of much of the discipline of english lit., in spite of the great cultural history work happening. i'm just starting to feel that it's silly not to just charge forth & get to do these things -- and have advisors, mentors, and courses tailored to those subjects, instead of having to chart entire historiographies on my own. i'd love advice from anyone who's switched programs, or even disciplines. i'm afraid to ask anyone about it, because it seems uncouth. still, if this isn't the discipline for me, and history or history of science might work better, i'd assume that those supporting me here would be all for it? also any advice on how to deal with being this SCARED. i feel like everyone will hate me/kick me out/really discourage me if i explain how important this feels to me. i don't want to burn all my bridges or barr ANY possibility of getting to do this work. those who have switched -- when is the best time to do this? should i apply now, without any substantial 'new' papers or projects behind me? or apply next fall, wait it out thru year 2, take the master's, and hopefully have some new work/clear new scholarly directions to back it up? appreciate any advice or thoughts that anyone has on this! love, apple mtn.