Liesje

If you like Eagleton try Raymond Williams (The Country and the City) or Stuart Hall. A lot of people seem to be into Ranciere these days and he's also working on a more historical, less deterministic marxist approach (the ignorant schoolmaster, the politics of aesthetics).

IMO: SoP definitely no, CV if you want to. As some schools request it on CV I'm just leaving it on there for all. It's not going to disrupt anyone glancing over my CV, but I don't see how it would fit into an SoP without seeming tangential or obnoxious.

i don't have time to go at it thoroughly, and i don't have a good sense of what's expected in SoPs, and Master's SoPs in particular, but some thoughts: you begin by talking about high school and don't mention your undergrad til the third paragraph; high school should get no more than a passing mention at the very most. the first paragraph has some issues. it isn't very nuanced, which is fine of course in a high school class, but the notion that "definitions were superficial and therefore value was attributed off personal bias" is a surfacey reading of saussure/derrida. you need to demonstrate that you have a more complex understanding now. the point is that stable meaning would depend on a distinction between text and context or non-text that can't be definitively drawn, not simply that everyone has their own definitions. that quote is also in the passive, and the wording needs work - attributed through or via personal bias, not off. finally, you are applying to medieval departments - many medievalists (but not all) do not want to hear about deconstruction. there's a lot of passive throughout, and the scope is really really broad, for example: "I plan to further explore the areas most interesting to me as an undergraduate by integrating the literary analysis of twentieth century British literature and medieval romance literature with the study of linguistics and critical theory." anyway i would focus on articulating one or two ideas thoroughly rather than outlining 2 lifetimes of future study. but most importantly 1) don't get discouraged 2) ignore me and find someone who understands the expectations of MA programs and have them tell you what the SoP needs to accomplish specifically.

Always better to risk pretension than risk looking uninvolved. IMO undergraduates who bother to become members are impressive. There's always an obnoxious, douchey period between pretending and achieving that you've gotta fight through, I seem to be perpetually stuck in it though.

Seconded - you don't want to depict the program as a launching pad that you will leave far below and look down on from the sky. I will worship anyone who goes with a metaphor in this vein: "Your Program will incubate my scholarship as if a uterus from which I would not and could not ever sever the umbilical cord" can't figure out how to word it right, anyway someone needs to fuck with all the cheesy embryonic metaphors

Hmm, I'm struggling with this myself. My first inclination is a nice bottle of scotch, but I don't think that says the right things about me or them =x This is a particular challenge for me because 2 of my LOR profs are married to each other. I guess just that means I need a generic gift for the both of them, but that feels impersonal. I can think of books to get 1 of them, but then I have to get a book for the other as well, and no idea on the 2nd. Maybe DVDs? Ken McMullen's Ghost Dance, featuring the Derrida cameo? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nmu3uwqzbI&feature=related

I'm having a hard time getting a sense for which schools have a more conservative, singularity of the text type program and which are more theory centric or inclined towards new approaches (I realize that's not necessarily the same thing). For example I was told that marquette is actually quite conservative despite talk about literary theory on their website and faculty listing various theoretical approaches as interests. I actually don't consider myself a theory person but I do come to literature from philosophy and approach texts through the specific logic of representation they develop so I'm told I need to be in a theory friendly department anyway that's a tangent, here's the list: Auburn University Marquette University University of Cincinnati Georgia State University University of Dallas Southern Methodist University University of Memphis Duquesne University St. John's University SUNY-Stony Brook University of Tulsa Can anyone offer anything about them?

Do make sure to check with the schools because some at least claim to have a "hard deadline" by which time all materials including GREs must be received.

i don't know if you wasted money, but i'd call ETS and try to figure it out, you may be able to cancel. there's a point early in the phone call when it's 1 to get your score over the phone, 2 to order additional score reports. obviously you want 1 there =x

thanks both of you. quite surprising that harvard considers 650 high, that would be something like 85th % i'm guessing, maybe lower.

whew. could have been slightly better or much worse. i'll take it. any idea what kind of raw scores or percentiles schools are looking for? on the GRE verbal it seems like top schools are expecting around 700+ on average, while decent schools are looking for 600+. i can't figure out what expectations are for the subject test.

yeah your situation sounds ideally suited to a master's program. i'm finishing one this year and i think it was a really good decision, not just in terms of preparation for phd programs but also getting acquainted with what the profession entails and getting a sense of how teaching works and how to do it effectively.

pm me or post a section and I might look at it if you're just looking for general evaluation. proofreading, no thx.

I don't think it matters that much. I mean, if you have published articles or presentations, that's awesome, but the difference between nothing and a bunch of weak fellowships or scholarships or shitty shit like phi beta kappa taking up space is not that great, IMO. Same goes for work experience - I can't really include my 4 summers of off the books construction work, so I'm just leaving it blank. Though I'm sure it depends on what kind of department you're applying to.

It's ETS, they won't miss an opportunity to extort us.

Most (not every) English programs are grounded in Theory. That merely suggests that students will be familiarized with the common approaches within whatever passes for Theory at a given school, probably in some intro to theory class that they shuffle all their incoming students through. However, there is a difference between a class on Lacan and a class on Shakespeare, though both Hamlet and psychoanalysis could feature in either class. And as you clearly know but stubbornly overlook, by Theory I, and the rankings, mean something quite specific that doesn't include necessarily Erich Auerbach or Hugh Kenner despite the highly theoretical nature of their approaches to literature. Who cares? Well, it might kind of suck to spend several years with a group of people who have decidedly different ideas about the utility and worth of this kind of stuff than you do.

Just had to call ETS about some unrelated incompetence and confirmed that scores will be available by phone on the 7th, and will be mailed on the 18th

Anyone tried the phone score report yet? I was guessing it will be December 7th, the first monday after 4 weeks have passed

Pittsburgh is December 11th

Hello all, I've seen this list: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-english-schools/literary-criticism Does anyone know of lists that go beyond the top 10, or know of other programs strong in this area? I've heard that Northwestern, WUSTL, and CUNY among others are notable, but am having trouble getting a sense of programs in this popular subsection of the field.