missesENG

What. the. fuck.
Prozac.
Chip on my shoulder.

Wow. Seriously? I guess students in English aren't as well versed at reading between the lines as I thought.

My point is simple: Publications and research speak for themselves, not where you earned your degree.

This frustration grows out of garbage such as this: http://www.wlu.edu/x22901.xml and many others (go ahead, search around), as well as the fact that there are those (in this forum, no less), who want others to rank programs for them.

Why is this?

Bite the bullet, attend your 178th ranked program if that is where you got in, and if you have something to say, whether or not you 'learned' how to say it at a prestigious university has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you will be provided a forum (e.g. the univ. classroom) in which to teach. The connection between teaching and publishing is a rant for another day, but seriously, a little less on the rankings and a little more on the writing. You want to study creative writing? I got news for you. If you study with Saunders at Syracuse, you will become a writer. Neat-o, huh? The same people who obsess over rankings could very well be the same people who come up with thesis topics that, after you read them, you might just want to slap in the face.

And I prefer marijuana to prozac, by the way.

Hmmmm. I can only speak for myself and my close friends/family, but I disagree that tenure track jobs are impossibilities for people who didn't get their degrees from the "top" schools. That said, tenure track jobs at "top schools" may be really hard to get if you didn't go to an Ivy, but there is no such thing as impossible. A tenure track job at a "good" or respectable school is attainable, but it may require more personal networking for those of us who don't have super-prestigious degrees. I've NEVER gone to a prestigious school (failed out of non-flagship state school, bounced around junior colleges, got BA from non-flagship state school, got MA from same school, got law degree from brand-new law school no one's heard of...) and I have had NO problem finding work. I've competed against the Duke law students-even UNC and Wake Forest are technically "vastly superior" to me-and beaten them out for summer associate positions and (eventually) a pretty good gig where I'll not only be the first associate, I'll be the first female attorney. Every lawyer there went to a super-prestigious school and was Order of the Coif and law review. So what? That doesn't make them better than me; it means they probably paid a hell of a lot more for undergrad and law school than I did and maybe had higher undergrad grades. Ok. But in every department or law firm or business, there has to be at least ONE person who everyone likes and/or is easy to deal with, and I made damn sure to impress upon every person I've worked with (academia, law world, and otherwise) that I'm absolutely reliable, super-hardworking, and extremely grateful for the opportunity. A good attitude often tips the scales.

My advice to you is to knock the "but the world is closed to me if I don't have an Ivy PhD!" chip off your shoulder. It's not. You may have to work a little harder, force yourself to network (which I sense may not be your favorite thing to do), and yeah, kiss a little ass. But people will remember you, they'll like you, and when you apply for jobs or go to conventions, you'll have laid the groundwork for getting that dream job.

I think you have to go with your feelings for the program. I would consider attending any of the programs I applied to and while I did have my favorites I've found that a program I thought might be less interested in my application has shown the most interest and preparedness in my project. I received a waitlist, a handful of rejections, and then an acceptance (still awaiting 3 more decisions). Sometimes the departmental websites aren't very up to date with profs' current work and it turns out that the program that accepted me is very well equipped to support me. If you don't feel the one school that accepted you is that good for you then maybe you should consider declining. There is probably another student out there who is anxious to take your spot but remember, they accepted you for a reason and you also applied for a reason. The application process is so unpredictable that no one can guarantee the next year will be more promising but I think you have to deeply consider your options. I'm going to accept my offer not out of fear of being left out next year but because the program has shown its capability to support me and my work (which is kind of on the margins). If you accept the offer and then are unhappy during the first year and unable to transfer where will that leave you? That may be one thing to consider. On the other hand, you may find that it works out well for you. If there's even a chance of that happening then maybe you should go for it.

Go with the excited school. A school heavily recruited me for my Master's, but I chose the "higher" ranked program. The first program offered full funding, interesting opportunities -- and I should have attended. It didn't have the big name, but I think that initial boost would've gotten me further. In my chosen program, I felt awkward and never on par with the superstars. If I had to do it again, I would've selected the former. There's something to be said for being someplace where you're really wanted. Go there and be a star.

This is a pretty easy one. Following up isn't going to make them any sweeter on you. In the event that you do contact them about feedback, do be prepared for a limited or no response if they don't have time to go over things with you.

This is a pretty easy one. Following up isn't going to make them any sweeter on you. In the event that you do contact them about feedback, do be prepared for a limited or no response if they don't have time to go over things with you.

Affirmative action is not in place only to afford underprivileged individuals a leg up. It is so important to have people with whom a student can identify, to have people who represent the populace, in positions of power and authority. When students of a certain background see professors and grad students with whom they can identify, they will be more motivated to succeed. It's about finding mentors and role models. I know that I am not articulating this very well, but people always seem to think that affirmative action is designed to reward individuals for suffering. That is NOT the point. Let's look at the story of a hypothetical black girl, we will call her X. If X wants to be an academic, but does not see anyone who represents her, she may think that academia is not culturally appropriate for her; she may think that because of who she is and where she grew up that she is not good enough for academia, because no one like her has succeeded in pursuing it; she may work really hard but never crack the ceiling because she doesn't have anyone to mentor her the way all of the white students around her do; or, she may say "screw it" and work her ass off to succeed, and do it. If X were able, from the start of her journey, to have a role model--a black female academic with whom she could identify (even if that role model were from a financially privileged family)--she would be less likely to regard her background as a barrier and would be more likely to succeed from the start.

Now, this is only one hypothetical story. And, those of you who have always had role models who look and sound like you, who have always had mentors and people to look up to--you may not understand how important it is to have role models with whom you can identify. If you don't realize HOW lucky you are to have had these role models and mentors with whom you can identify (for whatever reason) you entire life--THAT is called privilege. You have the privilege of having people who represent you in visible positions of authority. You have the privilege not to realize what a difference this makes.

I realize that I probably did not articulate this well at all, that people will probably pick holes in what I say, and that I may enrage others. But I feel like the posters on this thread have largely missed the point. This isn't about institutionalized racism or Jim Crow or being denied a bank loan because of your ethnicity (as was the case with someone I know). The drive for diversity is as aspirational as it is anything else. And many of the people here need to wake up and smell the privilege. If you've never had to think about this because it doesn't directly impact your life: you are lucky, and privileged.

Edited to add: I am not trying to stomp on anyone's opinion here or suggest that s/he shouldn't be allowed to have one, whatever it is. Just trying to add some perspective. I hope I haven't implied here that I think one is not "entitled to have an opinion" for any reason.

Something a lot of people don't realize though, is the difference between assigning your own (filthy/sexual/whatever) interpretation to a text and reading it from a diachronic perspective that takes into account its origins/time of production/original intent and designated readership.
Fact is a lot of today's "Disney" fairy-tales were written by 18th century noblewomen to explain their futures as married women to their unmarried (and thus virgin) daughters.
Beauty and the Beast is one of those, written by Madame Leprince de Beaumont (not Perrault, as many people seem to assume) to instruct the younger ladies of the court that an older grumpy husband can actually be quite tender. While the rose-as-vagina may seem to us somewhat far-fetched, it was in fact an already existing and relatively self-evident trope in courtly literature at the time... Consider it the delicate 18th century equivalent to today's euphemistic promise rings or whatnot.

Folk tales (as opposed to literary tales penned by one author) like the ones recorded by the Grimms are sometimes even more explicitly sexual. Rapunzel, for instance, is teeming with allegoric representations of intercourse and is basically a giant metaphor of losing your virginity.

Sorry to get all lecture-y on you. I just wrote a cool couple papers on this.