Hey LeaderAsAnimals,
I recently spoke with the DGS at Auburn. He was really friendly and told me that, due to university budget cuts, they are only accepting four Ph.D. students this year instead of the normal six or seven :/ They are still waiting to hear from students, so I guess we'll just sit tight for now. Good luck to you!
Currently, I'm gravitating towards being an Americanist (19th century), but most of my critical interest lies in ecocriticsm. What about you?