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holdsteady

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    2014 Fall

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  1. That definitely helps. I love Philosophy and Literature (the journal), for so many reasons. They've published some dud articles, but overall it's one of the most exciting journals out there as far as I'm concerned. Both of the essays you mentioned are in the anthology I have. I tend to want broader exposure to a lot of these issues, which is why anthologies come in handy. The aesthetics/ethics anthology you mentioned seems really compelling. Thanks, also, for the list of names. Some I'm familiar with, others not so much. There are a few (Cavell for instance) I'm familiar with but need to read more of.
  2. I'm interested in this field. It doesn't have the following and influence 'Critical Theory' does, so it can be a bit hard to track down a lot of reading material. I'd really love some suggestions, especially on anthologies worth buying. I only have one at the moment. It's called Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Literature: An Analytic Approach. I have the following in my amazon cart: A Companion to the Philosophy of Literature (Blackwell) Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature- Martha Nussbaum The Philosophy of Literature: Contemporary and Classic Readings (Blackwell) The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature Any other suggestions? General comments are also welcome.
  3. I'm interested in this field. It doesn't have the following and influence 'Critical Theory' does, so it can be a bit hard to track down a lot of reading material. I'd really love some suggestions, especially on anthologies worth buying. I only have one at the moment. It's called Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Literature: An Analytic Approach. I have the following in my amazon cart: A Companion to the Philosophy of Literature (Blackwell) Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature- Martha Nussbaum The Philosophy of Literature: Contemporary and Classic Readings (Blackwell) The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature Any other suggestions? General comments are also welcome.
  4. oDesk, elance, and freelancer. You might also want to look up specific content farms as they might have open opportunities that they haven't yet posted through the freelancing websites. I'm most familiar with oDesk. You just have to create your online profile (which doubles as a resume/CV), get some writing samples together, and (this is very important) take ALL the relevant Writing & Translation tests. This is the easiest way for clients to get an idea of how skilled you are. You'll attract attention if you score in the top 10% in all or most of these and it'll make up for the lack of experience/star ratings you have on the site. Heads up, though. It'll be a pain in the ass, trying to find the right jobs. A lot of stuff on there is meant for Filipino writers who will work for a lot less. That they're actually good at what they do makes things worse for us. Still, a lot of jobs, which are generally higher paid, are looking for native writers (by which they mean people from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada). If you know some foreign languages, there's a bunch of translation work on there that widens the range of opportunities further. Still, there are thousands of jobs on there within the Writing & Translation category and something will come up that you're suited for. For all the fiction stuff, they'll want to see writing samples. I learned the hard way that the more "literary" your creative writing samples are, the less frequently you'll be considered for fiction ghostwriting gigs.
  5. In addition to all the stuff discussed here, there's lots of freelance writing and editing work online. The writing opportunities are quite diverse. I only have a BA (starting my MA this fall), but since I finished undergrad a year ago, I've written for a 'content farm' and for a PR company requiring biographical and topical articles for their clients (to improve online reputation/gain more web presence). The 'content farm' gig didn't pay as well as the latter, but was really interesting. They had thousands of keywords and you'd write the article based on the keywords, taking the overall subtopic into account. I wrote on lit, philosophy, eastern religions, travel, education, and a bunch of other topics. The other one is easier and better paid, though less fun. You're given a business' website and what they want you to write about and you go about writing a bunch of articles the PR company will publish online. I've quite easily found this work, with a BA. The reason I'm posting in this thread is that there are several more interesting and higher paid opportunities I missed out on because they went to people with MAs in English. The editing gigs especially. The money's alright as long as you can do this kind of work quickly. At, say, $10 per 400 words, you'll be making $40 an hour if you write four articles in an hour. If it takes you a whole hour to write one article, you should probably avoid looking for this kind of work. You can work from home or from a coffee shop or wherever. The lack of benefits and it being freelance work might turn people off, but overall it's fairly interesting work that goes primarily to English graduates. I've also seen a lot of fiction ghostwriting gigs posted on these sites. The most popular genres are romance and erotica, but I've also seen a bunch of mystery and detective stories/novels up for grabs, with pretty decent pay.
  6. I'm in Canada. Turned down offers from McGill, Toronto, and Victoria.
  7. I'm going to be an MA student at UBC this fall. There's plenty of stuff you can do to get by with an English BA, MA, or PhD, including freelance writing online. The academic job market sucks, but most of us know that. It's a passion and a calling. If it's not that, you have no business being in a PhD or MA program. Most fields that are very interesting to people like us are really tough to find secure, long-term employment in. It's not that the academic job market isn't worse off than many other struggling job markets. It's not much worse off than many other long-shot dream jobs. There is at least the prospect of making it and getting a TT job. It's much harder to make a sensible income making the kinds of films you want to make or writing the kind of fiction or non-fiction you want to write, etc. I've looked at every profession there is. Aside from Engineering (not interested), Medical (not interested), Law (interested, but fuck it, you can go to law school in your late 30s; nobody's stopping you), and a handful of other fields (let's not even mention the financial industries), what are these magical professions that promise so much more than academia? Another thing: that lawyer earning $200,000 a year as a first-year associate is working 80 hours a week and it's not interesting work, necessarily. Moreover, she is likely working in corporate law, not in more compelling or perhaps personally rewarding areas. Yes, you can find a shitty office job or write or work at an ad agency or in the cultural industries somewhere, but you can do all that after your PhD, too. Those aren't the kinds of jobs PhDs close doors to. I'm still not sure I want to do a PhD, but I'm certain doing my MA will leave me nowhere near worse off than I am now. Which isn't even that bad. I work a few hours writing articles for a PR company online and make enough to pay rent and eat. A little perspective is helpful. Consider that most jobs in most highly developed countries are service and retail jobs etc. or mind-numbing, hideous office gigs with zero upward mobility. Unless you're trained for a specific profession in a professional or graduate program, or you're a fit, strong, young male capable of making oil rig millions or making an excellent income within the trades, that's mostly what's out there. You shouldn't pay out of pocket for a PhD, but if you're getting tuition covered and you're getting a stipend, what the hell. As long as you really love what you're doing. I'm reasonably comfortable financially, but it does cross my mind once in a while that I could be making a lot more than I am or will be for the next few years. Still, I really wouldn't enjoy that work.
  8. We may both be faceless and anonymous at the moment, but I look forward to meeting you in the fall (assuming you accept). Glad to make some sort of connection, no matter how tenuous, with a member of my cohort.
  9. I emailed Sandra Tomc directly today. They hadn't sent my offer, which is dated March 10th, because it was accidentally put in the wrong file (!). I can't guarantee that you or violetpanic will have gotten in, but you might be in a similar situation.
  10. Those waiting to hear back from UBC English should probably ask specifically about their application status and give their student number.
  11. I got into U of T as well but turned it down for lack of funding. I told UBC about my deadline, which is when they clarified that "it'll probably be before April 1."
  12. I'm going to school this fall for an English MA. This is not a degree with sure job prospects, of course. I have been admitted to perhaps the most prestigious university in Canada (keeping in mind that prestige is not as big a deal in Canada as it is in the States), one with a legitimate international reputation. I've also received little funding at that school. On top of that, tuition fees are much higher (more than double) my other choice. Funding would cover about half of my first year's tuition. I may win an external scholarship for my second year, but that will remain uncertain until well after I've begun my studies. Simply put, I'd be going much further into debt if I go there. If I go to my other option, I'll receive funding that covers the lower tuition costs for 16 months. That's at a minimum. I'm still eligible to receive funding that's only decided in the fall. In other words, I would not be paying for my degree. This school also has a work program that should give me work experience and financial security, allowing me to probably graduate with some savings. Every time I think I'm certain I'm going for the latter option (it's not like it would prevent me from going to the top PhD programs in Canada), I think of the reputation of the school I'd be rejecting and the city it's in. Still, I'd be paying out of pocket for an MA in English. Help. Please.
  13. Recent Sociology rejections from the University of Victoria: "Surprised. Essentially applied there as a safety net." "Also applied as a safety. "The Department of Sociology has determined that your academic background is not appropriate for graduate level studies in their department." kind of weird way of putting it." I love these more subdued ones even more than the folk who list all their accomplishments. Also love when very highly regarded schools that just aren't in the Canadian 'big three' (or four or five if you want to count Queen's and maybe McMaster) are talked about as if they're leper colonies by a certain type of grad school applicant. I'm sure the same happens in the States.
  14. I contacted UBC yesterday about my English MA application. They said they'll send out offers/rejections on or before April 1st. My deadline for accepting or rejecting McGill's offer is April 1st...
  15. Hang in there. There's still a chance they haven't sent out all acceptances and also a chance you're waitlisted. UBC is really frustrating. Even moreso when I look at the results page and see English MA results only in late March in some recent years...
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