bespectacled

I wonder whether literature programs really do have rigid slots corresponding to periods/genres, seeing as there's no real way they can hold people to what they say in their SOPs regarding fields of interest. People's interests can change in grad school, and presumably the committees know this. But for admission purposes, mentioning interest in an under-represented field would undoubtedly be eye-catching. Which makes it seem even more tempting to present yourself as interested in such a field for the purposes of the application, as another poster mentioned. Not that I'm advocating it, but still... I'm just weighing in because this is something I'm having trouble with as I prepare my applications for lit PhDs. I'm interested in a lot of 20th and 21st century authors/ideas, but this is an over-saturated period, so I'm wondering if, unless I mention a very specific (and preferably original) aspect/question I'm interested in, this might work against me. I realize it's always important to be as specific as humanly possible in the SOPs, but it seems like this is even more critical for people interested in more popular fields (and perhaps less important for those interested in under-represented ones). Do other people agree? I'm just wondering how much energy to put into coming up with a specific/original area of inquiry, given that committees, in the end, cannot hold applicants to what they say they intend to study in their SOPs.