Swagato

I've always been curious about fencing, so I'd like to explore opportunities for that at Yale. Not sure yet if my SO wants in on that too, but if she does, great! And I'd like us both to take dance lessons. Formal/ballroom type. I can't dance the "nightclub" way, but I'm interested in formal lessons. Other than that, regular gym/swimming. I have some thoughts about being active in graduate student government, as well.

That's a fantastic resource, thanks so much. To be honest, we've only barely begun looking since it's not even April 15th. I figure the real searching will get underway around the end of this month onward. Mainly, we've been browsing through the listings Yale's own off-campus service offers. I will definitely look into Pike Intn'l. Do please keep me posted should anything else come by you! I'd be happy to reciprocate, but it looks like you're not that interested in the downtown area..?

Hah, that's ...well, it could cut both ways. I always felt Chicago was so interdisciplinary that it is fantastic for someone who has a core set of interests but is keen on building new connections. On the flip side, it could be debilitating for someone with very amorphous interests since they might never find a real focus. But, with that said, I'm sure you'll get a great dissertation put together--clearly the faculty deemed you fit! In other news, anyone who is still waitlisted at Pitt may be in for disappointment. I just had a quick exchange with the DGS (English) who confirmed that I will not be offered a spot as not enough people have declined. Also, they're running late and many are finalizing decisions rather late in the game. So if you're still holding out for Pitt, you may want to contact them now.

The differences are rather nuanced. Others can pile in, but here's my impression. State schools are, in part, funded by their state budgets. They have certain obligations to fulfill toward the home state, such as a certain percentage of in-state admissions (this may not be a rule as much as an "unspoken quota" issue), state scholarships, and so on. Since different states' budgets are at different levels, this means that different state universities may be variably inclined toward certain fields. In other words, Republican-majority or Republican-led states typically see their universities suffer when it comes to the humanities, arts, and generally anything related to culture. Recently, the governor of North Carolina disparaged some humanities work at UNC. UNC, of all places. And over in Wisconsin, the university system is suffering badly because of another boneheaded right-wing loon. So, there is that. Private universities (which I obviously favour for these reasons) do not suffer from such obligations. Funding may also be more liberal. Resources, too. Again, this obviously depends on what we're comparing. A small private university versus a major public university such as Berkeley? Clearly Berkeley wins. And then there are some oddballs like Pittsburgh, which are...neither public nor private, as far as I can make out. I'm actually a bit confused over what exactly Pittsburgh defines itself as, but dazedandbemused has extensive knowledge of Pitt and might be of more help.

It's probable. I don't know the latest on that, but here's the Spectator: http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/11/11/judith-butler-join-faculty-2012

Not the story being reflected via placement stats at the leading programs. (Not by rank, but rather programs that are both prestigious and successful at placing a sizable proportion of their graduates--eg., Austin, Chicago, UNC for English. Or Berkeley, Yale, Chicago for film studies. Etc.) Other programs, bluntly, don't count. Don't go a middling program in your field and expect a tenure track job. Likewise, not every graduate from a top program can expect to land a TT position, obviously. However, I've seen nothing to indicate that one cannot hedge one's bets by: -- Making sure you earn your PhD at both a leading program and a leading program that has a good record of TT placement -- Doing your due diligence to network, network, network. And publish, making use of those networks. And all the other things we're supposed to do. -- Keeping one's senses about them. Now, you may be a very innovative scholar, but the brute reality is that if you earned your PhD at Flyover State, you're not likely to receive notice (barring an exceptional circumstance such as having a rockstar intervene personally on your behalf). Names matter. Equally or more than the work done.

Dry food/weight gain is a very serious problem. Cats are not meant, naturally, to be fat, sedentary creatures. Yet this is the life many indoor cats mature into, thanks to our habits of feeding them carb-heavy, corn-meal-stuffed kibbles bought from grocery stores. Please take their food seriously. The best food is grain/meal-free (dry) mixed with wet food. If your cat has a visible "pouch" of fat hanging from his/her stomach, that needs to go.

^ Rather odd. I hope you started her, or tried to, early on? Sometimes kittens don't want to change their habits later on. Our cats are 3 years old and 8 months old respectively, and both are maniacal over wet food. They are both indoor cats.

I may have asked this before, but would you remind me what your area of specialization is and who your main faculty of interest are at Chicago?

It's really great to see so many people in history of art getting into excellent programs. I feel like I'm the odd one out due to the preponderance of film-oriented research interests.

Wet food and dry food both, actually. Dry provides the fibre. Wet ..is more natural. Before Grain is generally considered one of the top brands for both.

Such is the game we've all chosen to play. I'm sure you'll do the needful over the intervening months and have a more successful second round.

Faculty/research fit Placement info funding (TA stuff included) Other resources/opportunities Dept. culture Location

Ideally, lease begins from August. But we're flexible to some extent (late July, for example).

Is there a reason you're not mentioning Boston Univ.? I have a friend there who appears to be thrilled, so far (just completing first year). I don't know much about their exact area but it involves scifi, the emerging areas of speculative realism, etc. As for Austin, you should talk to dazedandbemused here on the forum, who turned down a very attractive package from Pitt to go for Austin--they would have much better guidance for you.

I assume you got USC's $30k offer? That's assuming their humanities packages are fairly similar...but anyway, bear in mind that living costs make a big difference here. Austin is likely not nearly as expensive as living near USC.

My SO and I are looking for a 1-BR or large studio. Pet-friendly (two cats). Preferably as many utilities included as possible. Max. $1200 for the rent itself. Sq. footage: again, bigger is better. 450 and up, I suppose. Dwight, Downtown areas preferred. Basically as close to main campus as possible, really. We're in NYC so we are hoping to shortlist apartments and do a visit.

^ Reading that makes me actually really glad I didn't have any especially tough choices to make (Yale vs Chicago vs Berkeley, for example--which would be a deathmatch between my three top choices). Congratulations on being able to make a reasoned choice, though--I recall Berkeley had offered you some excellent terms.

I agree with Mary's comment. History of Art is not like film studies, where the ostensible core of the field itself has come under assault. At least, not yet. I think making meta-questions about the field and its concerns is certainly a valid effort, but only where it is clear that the focus of the field is at risk of becoming overly blurred (as is the case for film studies today). To the best of my knowledge, History of Art doesn't (yet) suffer from any such problems, making the original question a non-issue.

I won't comment further on the many fallacies/misrepresentations present in the original article, However, Eigen, where on earth are these stats from: I'm not questioning your sources, but I have to say the first two assertions are majorly surprising to me. First, I only know two people past their eighth year, and that's covering four hum. fields across at least a dozen institutions. Second, I don't know anyone who has, or can expect to have, a penny of debt after completing their PhD. And that really covers a fairly large sample...think the top twenty programs or so across 6-7 fields. My caveat for the above is that I'm focusing on conditions at the top 20 (at most) programs. The fields I've covered are: English, CompLit, Philosophy, History, Anthropology, Film Studies, History of Art.

Hah. Two bits of good news in as many days. This year really has been good all around. I feel that being waitlisted and getting accepted off it is, in many ways, so much more difficult than getting a straight admit or reject. You're forced to endure an indefinite period of knowing you're good enough to be accepted, if only they had enough spaces, yet you have to wait at the very threshold. I can imagine when the good news arrives for waitlisted folks, it must feel especially sweet.

This really depends on your goal. Remember that a PhD is, despite all the fuss we make about it here, merely a stepping-stone. Your mission is to choose a stepping stone that is sturdy enough. US News rankings don't mean anything, practically speaking. You should consider your projected interests, faculty and research fit at your institution, recent and historical placement trends at that department. For example, a certain university that isn't especially a "star" in any rankings had, historically, the country's tippy-top program in cinema studies. I say had, because due to various factors over the years, it is now nowhere near where it was. So, again, rankings don't mean squat. If you got into one out of 9 and it was not the best fit for all these reasons, I'd suggest going at it again. Typically, a "good" application does succeed at more than one place in a given round. Obviously, there can be exceptions, sometimes good, sometimes not so much. ...All that being said, if you are in the humanities and your department is not decently strong either in NRC rankings (not USNWR) or in terms of how it is viewed within the academic world, nor does it have an unusually good placement record, you are better off not going.

Aha..balance is restored. Partly my fault since I'm the sucker who accepted a joint PhD offer. I don't actually know what people pursuing a single program (i.e., English) do.