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kurayamino

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Posts posted by kurayamino

    How to Curb Overambition

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    This is a great topic! I just finished up my honors thesis and that was a real bear. I ended up falling back to my fiction roots and re-read Stephen King's On Writing. Which I always found helpful. Here's his top 20 hints to writing, which you'd think are only applicable to fiction, but in writing about literature I've found them really relevant.

     

    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers/

    Professionalization and Reform

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    I second the advice about freelancing. I do that kind of horribly commercial writing you see on financial blogs all over the internet, but it pays well. When I'm in grad school I will be able to pay my rent and then some by working ten hours a week writing that kind of stuff.

     

    I never worked for free, but what I did do was offer one "sample" article to customers. I have never had somebody turn me down for a project after I gave them a customized sample.

     

    As for where to go to get this kind of work: Elance-type websites are not your friend, in my experience. My advice is to get on them, get customers, then run as fast as you can the other way (electronically, of course) and take those customers with you. Seriously, don't rely on places like that.

     

    I will attempt to nudge the writing career I have now on a more fulfilling path, but this is definitely a good way to get started.

     

    I think another way to get other work experience is through your program in some ways. I started working on transcription of audio interviews for a professor, but I can see that this type of skill will be useful outside of academia. Not that journalism is another field where jobs are abundant, but doing some of the background work such as transcribing interviews, might provide better opportunities than creative content. 

    If you're not sure how to get this work, I would say you look to the history and anthropology departments. I've never had a problem finding some work doing this and have worked on a number of book length projects throughout my undergraduate career. If you get one job doing it and do it well, chances are that professor will recommend you to others.

    Professionalization and Reform

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    This is a great piece about professionalization from the MLA in 2013. There's a lot of information about the "downturn" in English positions and the harsh realities we face. What I think is great is some of the stuff at the end where it talks about what grad students can do themselves, what types of things to look for in their programs, etc. https://www.mla.org/professionalization

     

    The word on the street is apocalyptic: there are hardly any jobs, and to get one students must have c.v.s of the dimensions that used to get people tenure--or even promotion to full professor. Such is the rumor, recognizably (and understandably) driven by anxiety. The reality is somewhat different. There are jobs, even if there are not enough for all in the academy, and to get one students need to have c.v.s that show their engagement with a variety of elements of the profession, but not to the extent or depth that rumor would have it.

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    Yes but, and again I find a lot to agree with you, what you're describing is the structure and function of capitalism. The entire economy is based on the exploitation of labor. The entire economy asks you to instrumentalize and commodify yourself and what you love. The entire economy shamelessly asks for uncompensated labor, as the reach of email and the smartphone compels us to work long into the night. What you're describing is what capitalism is.

     

    I don't excuse any of the academy's participation in these things, and they're as bad as you say. But they are system-wide, and someone going out and getting a job in the "real world" will not find the conditions any better. I'm increasingly convinced that you're someone who went into the academy with a series of illusions about it that were inevitably dashed. I don't pretend that no on in the academy perpetuates those myths, but I find it blindingly naive to think that what you're describing isn't an inherent function of capitalist society.

    God. Yes. Yes. Yes. Let's rail against the inequities of capitalism by becoming more educated rather than slamming our fist and saying academia is it's own unique problem. It's really not. As with any market, there are periods of boom and bust. That's the thing we should be upset about, not higher education itself.

    comparative literature acceptance thread!

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    Hi friends!!! I'm looking for some input from you very wise fellow future grads...

     

    I received an acceptance early on to University of Alberta's Comp Lit program—and I was (until yesterday) planning to accept. I loved the department's strong Slavic focus (especially in Ukrainian), and although the funding issue wasn't great (guaranteed funding only for 2 years and I'd have to pay tuition), I was willing to take the leap because it was such a good departmental fit. 

     

    Yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I received an acceptance at U Mass Amherst. I was ready for them to reject me because it's almost mid-April! But they are giving me a much better offer: full funding for 5 years (tuition included), medical, I get to teach comp lit, and it's an amazing school with a great reputation, not to mention it would save me the headache of moving to another country.

     

    The reluctance I have is that I know my work and focus will change, as Amherst does not have as strong of a Slavic component. I'm not opposed to this, but I'm sad to lose the Slavic community that Alberta has. 

     

    I'm leaning strongly towards Amherst because, let's face it, stability and financial support is important in this field. I want to be somewhere where my funding is guaranteed, and where I am given a livable wage. And I know it's a great program, and my MA mentor's have also mentioned a PhD from the U.S. is more secure. But I'm still interested in hearing what some of you have to say! Any feedback is welcome :)

    I second what others have said... Amherst seems like the best option, despite it's lack of a Slavic focus. Even if your research interests change because of the way the program is structured at least you won't have to worry about coming up with money for tuition!

    Waiting to Exhale (the wait list thread)

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    I honestly don't understand why people who aren't on waitlists haven't made final decisions yet. (I'm not saying that to complain---I genuinely don't know what the hold-up is.) The only reason I can't make a decision is because I'm on 2 waitlists---I feel so bad keeping my acceptances hanging. If I had all of my acceptances and rejections in hand, I would decide immediately for everyone's sake.

     

    I know some schools had their visiting weekends last weekend---maybe that's why? do we know of any others yet to happen? At that point maybe people can make up their minds.... My husband is trying to look for a teaching job in 3 different areas of the country at once because we don't know where we're going to be. :/

    I know my own personal delay in deciding is that both programs are great fits and that my visit to one of them just ended on Wednesday. I'm still trying to process the huge amount of information presented from both schools so I can make a good decision. I suspect that this week and the next week are when things really start shuffling, but I do know that a friend who got into a school last year received a phone call at 5pm on April 15th to bring him/her in off the waitlist. For my own part... it's pretty agonizing to be in limbo like this. I'm looking at what a life would be like in two very different cities. I have a meeting with my advisor on Tuesday and suspect I'll make my own final decision at the end of next week.

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

     

    Note how every time a "high profile" rant is published (Schuman, Iber), the authords are mocked by faculty, by other grad students. "None promised you a job", they say. Sure, none promised anyone a job. Yet most people were led to believe they'd be the exception and will get that job. If "anecdotal evidence" did not threaten the graduate school narrative, there wouldn't be such reactions. Those small stories are useful because they tell a story that is not reflected in the raw numbers (that are easily fudged or concealed).

     

    I understand that the focus in this forum is on academic jobs because that is the field that we all are attempting to get into, but perspective is so important. Recognizing that we are in a recession across the board, and that places like Forbes suggest that there will be another deep recession by the end of 2015 can help to put the lack of academic jobs in perspective. (http://fortune.com/2014/10/28/global-recession-us-europe-china/)

    I see the adjunctification of academia as a by-product of capital needs and equate it with the hiring of cheap labor in any other industry to make ends meet. Is it fair? No, of course it's not. But it also isn't just you and your peers.

     

    In addition, I found this article to be helpful. http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/why-you-should-go-to-graduate-school-in-the-humanities-59821It places realistic expectations on the job market by explaining how the market for academic jobs has always been terrible. From the article:

     

    If graduate school in the humanities is a professional school—one whose success depends on its graduates entering and thriving in a single job over the long term—then it’s never been a very good one.

    After all, the numbers haven’t changed much from the mid-20th century. The most recent study of humanities Ph.D. employment by the National Endowment for the Humanities concluded that just 60.9 percent were employed as professors. (The vast majority of them—77 percent—were tenured or on the tenure track.)

    This is exactly the type of figure that people like to get worked up about: If only 60 percent of Ph.D.s are working as professors, the other 40 percent, well, aren’t. But just because two-fifths of humanities Ph.D.s aren’t employed as professors doesn’t mean that they’re not employed at all. Contrary to the myths of rampant joblessness, the same NEH study also found that only 1.8 percent of all humanities doctorates were unemployed in the sense of being involuntarily out of work, at a time when the national unemployment rate was about 5.6 percent.

     

    and

     

     

    But if you do complete a doctoral degree in the humanities, you will probably not end up 30 and unemployed. Far from it. Since the 1930s, Ph.D.s in the humanities have consistently pursued a mix of academic and non-academic career paths with unemployment rates that have always been significantly below the national average. All available evidence suggests that you will get a job and that you will enjoy a high degree of satisfaction with that job.

    It just may not be the job you thought you wanted.

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    My statements about how many times this stuff has been discussed really should have been more along the lines of "how many times this stuff has been talked around and around." I get frustrated when there is no actual benefit and people are just providing anecdotal evidence about how hard things are. My point really was just that I think we all know it's hard and my snide comments were just out of frustration that no one, even those with the best intentions, have no advice except to abandon ship.

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    The essence of lying is in the deception, not in the words. 

     

    1) What is the actual average time to the degree? 

    2) What are the placement numbers (not only re-placements that are listed as unique placements) but how many people sought placement, how many years it took them to find placement, and what they did to make a living? What are they doing now? (this tracking needs to account for the 2008 collapse) 

    3) What happens when you run out of funding? 

    4) How do outcomes for students change based on their individual funding situation? For example, how do multiple-year dissertation fellowships correlate with time to the degree and placement?

    5) What is the truth about a given faculty member and his/her actual reputation within the department? What was the average time to the degree for his/her students who finished the degree? How many started but did not finish?

    6) How many dissertation students have had to adjunct because they ran out of funding? How much does an adjunct make? 

    7) What are the opportunities for funding if you're making good progress but have run out of time writing your dissertation?

    8) What have been the experiences of advanced graduate students who are on the market? 

    9) What were the experiences of students who left the program, and why did they leave it? How many students on average leave the program?

    10) What is the average reimbursement for conference travel?

    11) How do full-time faculty member salaries compare to adjuncts if broken down by the number of courses taught? 

    12) How competitive are job candidates for postdocs? What has been the program's record with placing postdocs relative to "peer" programs?

    13) What are the mechanisms in place for redressing problems with faculty members ? Is there an institutionalized system that holds faculty members accountable?

    14) On average, how long does it take a given faculty member to return work, dissertation chapters, and respond to e-mails?

    15) What has been implied but not promised about the support ? What could change that would dramatically affect a student's ability to complete the degree?

     

    These are some of the questions that I imagine most prospective students will not ask and that most programs will not volunteer to answer. 

     

    Well, imagination and reality are two different things. I asked almost all of those questions because of a helpful list posted here on GC as well as suggestions by my current advisors. I also heard students talking about these things at the open houses. I just don't find my reality to match up with your imagined possibilities and, quite frankly, I find it a little patronizing to suggest that we're all just naive students being led to our doom. But, perhaps you haven't been on GC long enough to know that these are things that we've discussed in multiple forums. I'm sorry if you didn't ask these questions or that you've interacted only with graduate students who didn't think to ask them because these are some of the most important questions to ask a graduate program because they reflect directly on your well being as a student and ability to finish. 

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    I know that you all must already know this, but individual cases of not experiencing deception does not mean that it doesn't exist. 

     

    I have seen places that slightly fudge their numbers. For example, many schools cite numbers like "Because everyone gets 2 chances at quals, only 2% of students do not pass!", or "98% of students that pass quals finish their PhD!". These are misleading numbers. When pressed further, they clarified that the first statistic only includes people who failed quals on both attempts, however, many people choose to not even retake quals and leave graduate school--these people are not included at all. 

     

    Also, there is deception in how the school/department defines success. Sure, a school could say that the job market is lousy for academia and give real stats. However, this is not helpful to the student at all if their graduate program is still centered around training PhDs to become TT professors. That is, a school that says "All of you will get TT jobs" is not that much worse than a school that says "We recognize and inform you that only 10% of you will get TT jobs, however, we will still structure our program requirements to train you in skills that are only useful in a TT job". 

     

    I think if schools are truly serious about the condition of the job market, they will do more than just inform students. It is irresponsible to train 10 PhDs a year for TT jobs knowing that only one of them will make it. I know my field is doing better in this regard and they are reducing "traditional" PhD requirements that are only useful if you end up on the TT job market. For example, some schools used to require a lot of extra "scholarly" training (i.e. learning things for the sake of breadth/knowledge) and are now dropping these requirements in favour of training their graduates to have more marketable and transferable skills. 

     

    Of course, but providing information that not all schools are like what chateaulafitte suggested is just as important as saying there are schools that are like that.

     

    I think your last paragraph is really important though because I'm sure there are schools out there who are just doing it the way it has always been done because that's the way they've done it. However, I think there are a good number of schools who recognize the problem exists and provide alternative training for those who want it. Which, in my prospective institutions, has been the case across the board. I'm sure I didn't just get lucky enough to get into the only schools that have changed their curriculum and are broadening their training for other career paths.

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    But there is deception at work in higher education. Why do you think most departments are less than forthcoming about their graduate placement? Why do you think advisors keep saying "there are always jobs for good people"?

    I've never had that experience. My advisors at my current undergraduate institution and my prospective graduate institutions are forthright in their message that there is absolutely no guarantee that at the end of this there will be a job. My grad institutions put their placement figures on the website and had frank conversations about the difference between the placements and the re-placements, and what that meant as an incoming scholar. I don't feel duped or like I'm being led into some selfish money-making Ponzi scheme, but that I'm forced to have my eyes wide open with every conversation that includes both reservations about the future of the field and potential personal solutions to the crisis.

    The Graduate School Ponzi Scheme

    in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition

    Posted

    Thank you for these resources! I've mentioned freelancing as one of my possible backups. Do you have a plan for establishing an alt-ac possibility during your PhD?

     

    You're welcome! I have some knowledge of a coding language and at one of the schools I'm considering, a coding language is part of the DH. I think doing some database management would be really interesting for me as it would enable me to use my attention to detail and my ability to breakdown large information into smaller and more manageable chunks.

     

    This last semester of my undergrad I have also been doing some work transcribing audio interviews (for a book on the history of literary criticism) and I really enjoy the work. I can see how the benefits of transcription, especially from another language, would be useful in a multitude of ways.

     

    The other alternative I'm considering is working for the FBI. I had an interview (before I knew what my results were from grad apps) and they said if I was still interested in an analyst position to apply after my PhD as my education would increase my starting pay scale and ability to move up.

     

    Those are just some of the things I'm currently considering.

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