szdat

Here is some possibly bad advice from someone who was once in a boat a little like yours and has just gotten accepted to a couple of very cool interdisciplinary programs where you can do stuff a bit like what you are saying.  But the road between A and B is not necessarily easy.
 
The first thing is: don't try to reinvent the wheel (this is a bit what your post sounds like).  Everyone already knows about Foucault, you can use him to think about institutions, the formation of subjects, blah blah blah.  Do not think of yourself as a "Fouauldian" or an exegete or else you will not get where you are trying to go.  Take a step back and ask, "Why I am interested in MF in the first place? What questions lead me to want to think about MF?"  Basically you need to decenter Foucault from your idea of what your intellectual project is if you want to do something other than disciplinary work (if you want to go into English lit, for example, it might be fine to be that into Foucault - but then you are just an epigone)
 
My suggestion is to plan to spend some time away from the academy for a couple years supporting yourself in other ways and reading as many books as possible.  You still have an enormous amount to learn and all it takes is time (you don't need a professor to tell you, just go read all the stuff you know you haven't read).  You may find that during this time, and in the bubble-bursting experience of no longer being in a formal educational environment, your idea of what you are interested in will change and become more refined.
 
I spent two years outside the academy, and I'm now finishing up an MA in English which I found deeply unsatisfying but which helped me understand what it is that I DO want to do.  It's only now, four years after my BA, that I'm really even qualified to begin doing the kind of interdisciplinary work that you seem to want to do.  And it's now finally paying off, but only after a period of four years which was not especially emotionally easy.
 
I would take some time off, find yourself a bit and read for several hours every day, apply to a disciplinary PhD program in English or Philosophy (make sure you get funding), and then bail with the MA and apply to an interdisciplinary program.  Some good candidates might be UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness, U Minnesota Discourse and Society, , Berkeley Rhetoric.  You could also apply to these programs right out of BA but probably much harder to get into.
 
basically, don't be in a hurry.  you can't do what you are saying you want to do if you are in a hurry.
 
good luck

Here is some possibly bad advice from someone who was once in a boat a little like yours and has just gotten accepted to a couple of very cool interdisciplinary programs where you can do stuff a bit like what you are saying.  But the road between A and B is not necessarily easy.
 
The first thing is: don't try to reinvent the wheel (this is a bit what your post sounds like).  Everyone already knows about Foucault, you can use him to think about institutions, the formation of subjects, blah blah blah.  Do not think of yourself as a "Fouauldian" or an exegete or else you will not get where you are trying to go.  Take a step back and ask, "Why I am interested in MF in the first place? What questions lead me to want to think about MF?"  Basically you need to decenter Foucault from your idea of what your intellectual project is if you want to do something other than disciplinary work (if you want to go into English lit, for example, it might be fine to be that into Foucault - but then you are just an epigone)
 
My suggestion is to plan to spend some time away from the academy for a couple years supporting yourself in other ways and reading as many books as possible.  You still have an enormous amount to learn and all it takes is time (you don't need a professor to tell you, just go read all the stuff you know you haven't read).  You may find that during this time, and in the bubble-bursting experience of no longer being in a formal educational environment, your idea of what you are interested in will change and become more refined.
 
I spent two years outside the academy, and I'm now finishing up an MA in English which I found deeply unsatisfying but which helped me understand what it is that I DO want to do.  It's only now, four years after my BA, that I'm really even qualified to begin doing the kind of interdisciplinary work that you seem to want to do.  And it's now finally paying off, but only after a period of four years which was not especially emotionally easy.
 
I would take some time off, find yourself a bit and read for several hours every day, apply to a disciplinary PhD program in English or Philosophy (make sure you get funding), and then bail with the MA and apply to an interdisciplinary program.  Some good candidates might be UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness, U Minnesota Discourse and Society, , Berkeley Rhetoric.  You could also apply to these programs right out of BA but probably much harder to get into.
 
basically, don't be in a hurry.  you can't do what you are saying you want to do if you are in a hurry.
 
good luck

Here is some possibly bad advice from someone who was once in a boat a little like yours and has just gotten accepted to a couple of very cool interdisciplinary programs where you can do stuff a bit like what you are saying.  But the road between A and B is not necessarily easy.
 
The first thing is: don't try to reinvent the wheel (this is a bit what your post sounds like).  Everyone already knows about Foucault, you can use him to think about institutions, the formation of subjects, blah blah blah.  Do not think of yourself as a "Fouauldian" or an exegete or else you will not get where you are trying to go.  Take a step back and ask, "Why I am interested in MF in the first place? What questions lead me to want to think about MF?"  Basically you need to decenter Foucault from your idea of what your intellectual project is if you want to do something other than disciplinary work (if you want to go into English lit, for example, it might be fine to be that into Foucault - but then you are just an epigone)
 
My suggestion is to plan to spend some time away from the academy for a couple years supporting yourself in other ways and reading as many books as possible.  You still have an enormous amount to learn and all it takes is time (you don't need a professor to tell you, just go read all the stuff you know you haven't read).  You may find that during this time, and in the bubble-bursting experience of no longer being in a formal educational environment, your idea of what you are interested in will change and become more refined.
 
I spent two years outside the academy, and I'm now finishing up an MA in English which I found deeply unsatisfying but which helped me understand what it is that I DO want to do.  It's only now, four years after my BA, that I'm really even qualified to begin doing the kind of interdisciplinary work that you seem to want to do.  And it's now finally paying off, but only after a period of four years which was not especially emotionally easy.
 
I would take some time off, find yourself a bit and read for several hours every day, apply to a disciplinary PhD program in English or Philosophy (make sure you get funding), and then bail with the MA and apply to an interdisciplinary program.  Some good candidates might be UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness, U Minnesota Discourse and Society, , Berkeley Rhetoric.  You could also apply to these programs right out of BA but probably much harder to get into.
 
basically, don't be in a hurry.  you can't do what you are saying you want to do if you are in a hurry.
 
good luck

Here is some possibly bad advice from someone who was once in a boat a little like yours and has just gotten accepted to a couple of very cool interdisciplinary programs where you can do stuff a bit like what you are saying.  But the road between A and B is not necessarily easy.
 
The first thing is: don't try to reinvent the wheel (this is a bit what your post sounds like).  Everyone already knows about Foucault, you can use him to think about institutions, the formation of subjects, blah blah blah.  Do not think of yourself as a "Fouauldian" or an exegete or else you will not get where you are trying to go.  Take a step back and ask, "Why I am interested in MF in the first place? What questions lead me to want to think about MF?"  Basically you need to decenter Foucault from your idea of what your intellectual project is if you want to do something other than disciplinary work (if you want to go into English lit, for example, it might be fine to be that into Foucault - but then you are just an epigone)
 
My suggestion is to plan to spend some time away from the academy for a couple years supporting yourself in other ways and reading as many books as possible.  You still have an enormous amount to learn and all it takes is time (you don't need a professor to tell you, just go read all the stuff you know you haven't read).  You may find that during this time, and in the bubble-bursting experience of no longer being in a formal educational environment, your idea of what you are interested in will change and become more refined.
 
I spent two years outside the academy, and I'm now finishing up an MA in English which I found deeply unsatisfying but which helped me understand what it is that I DO want to do.  It's only now, four years after my BA, that I'm really even qualified to begin doing the kind of interdisciplinary work that you seem to want to do.  And it's now finally paying off, but only after a period of four years which was not especially emotionally easy.
 
I would take some time off, find yourself a bit and read for several hours every day, apply to a disciplinary PhD program in English or Philosophy (make sure you get funding), and then bail with the MA and apply to an interdisciplinary program.  Some good candidates might be UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness, U Minnesota Discourse and Society, , Berkeley Rhetoric.  You could also apply to these programs right out of BA but probably much harder to get into.
 
basically, don't be in a hurry.  you can't do what you are saying you want to do if you are in a hurry.
 
good luck

where the greater fools at??

Dear Prospective Students,
 
I thought of addressing this post to my former self when I was eager to attend a PhD English program--when I was totally committed to getting in, doing well, joining the profession. But I write to you as I am. I have a new PhD, it's from a program many of you wish to join, and I have been successful publishing my work. However, after years of hard, painstaking work, I find myself living a nightmare of despair, frustration, and anger. I'll spare you the particulars, but the academic job search has been worse than any of the articles on Slate or the Chronicle can describe. It has been crushing in ways that I do not have a language to describe. You might read this as hyperbole, but you forget that this is about making a living. And the consequences that follow from not making one. 
 
I want to tell you something that you've read many other places and that you know rationally: this profession is in shambles. It's a Ponzi scheme. And it does not matter if you attend UCLA or Columbia, UNC or Duke, the opportunities for a viable career are dwindling, rapidly. Look at the academic job wiki; see the reality of what awaits after you struggle intellectually and financially for at least several years in graduate school.
 
The problem is that these doctoral programs need you to survive. And they're looking to hook you on the illusion of academe. They offer you 30k to study! To get a PhD! To have a chance at the table to role the die for a TT job. Why not accept their offer? It's a dream!
 
Here's what they're not telling you and what you're not seeing at your campus visit: the emotional devastation of making this investment and suffering the rejection that awaits an increasing number of you in spite of your faith in divine academic providence (there are plenty of Calvinists that comprise your cohorts). It might not be about a job for you now, but it will become a mad hunt for a job once you have the exact same credentials, publications, and experience that merits an assistant professorship. But academic hiring is not about merit--it is about fit. And fit means inside hires, BS searches, and lateral moves. I know that these seem like distant, vague frustrations. But when you find that there are only a handful of openings in your field to begin with, the reality of these searches will overwhelm you.
 
You can dismiss this post as a bitter rant.  However, I intend this as a sincere warning. I mean this from my heart, and I would not or will not amend it even if I find myself employed in the academy, managing the scheme. Believe me, I wish I could extol the virtues of this profession; I believe deeply in the importance of teaching and research. However, the profession often actively undermines these labors in favor of careerism, self-aggrandizement, and nepotism. These realities have been devastating in ways that I never anticipated and that I never thought I would be vulnerable to experiencing. Again, once you commit--which you have to do in order to produce work you can take pride in--you open yourself up to living the nightmare because escape becomes increasingly unfathomable.
 
Take your intelligence and your drive and your curiosity and find something that will reward you with a living. You cannot make a living doing this. The people responsible for safeguarding this profession turned their backs on you long ago; don't turn towards them now.

Here is some possibly bad advice from someone who was once in a boat a little like yours and has just gotten accepted to a couple of very cool interdisciplinary programs where you can do stuff a bit like what you are saying.  But the road between A and B is not necessarily easy.
 
The first thing is: don't try to reinvent the wheel (this is a bit what your post sounds like).  Everyone already knows about Foucault, you can use him to think about institutions, the formation of subjects, blah blah blah.  Do not think of yourself as a "Fouauldian" or an exegete or else you will not get where you are trying to go.  Take a step back and ask, "Why I am interested in MF in the first place? What questions lead me to want to think about MF?"  Basically you need to decenter Foucault from your idea of what your intellectual project is if you want to do something other than disciplinary work (if you want to go into English lit, for example, it might be fine to be that into Foucault - but then you are just an epigone)
 
My suggestion is to plan to spend some time away from the academy for a couple years supporting yourself in other ways and reading as many books as possible.  You still have an enormous amount to learn and all it takes is time (you don't need a professor to tell you, just go read all the stuff you know you haven't read).  You may find that during this time, and in the bubble-bursting experience of no longer being in a formal educational environment, your idea of what you are interested in will change and become more refined.
 
I spent two years outside the academy, and I'm now finishing up an MA in English which I found deeply unsatisfying but which helped me understand what it is that I DO want to do.  It's only now, four years after my BA, that I'm really even qualified to begin doing the kind of interdisciplinary work that you seem to want to do.  And it's now finally paying off, but only after a period of four years which was not especially emotionally easy.
 
I would take some time off, find yourself a bit and read for several hours every day, apply to a disciplinary PhD program in English or Philosophy (make sure you get funding), and then bail with the MA and apply to an interdisciplinary program.  Some good candidates might be UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness, U Minnesota Discourse and Society, , Berkeley Rhetoric.  You could also apply to these programs right out of BA but probably much harder to get into.
 
basically, don't be in a hurry.  you can't do what you are saying you want to do if you are in a hurry.
 
good luck

Here is some possibly bad advice from someone who was once in a boat a little like yours and has just gotten accepted to a couple of very cool interdisciplinary programs where you can do stuff a bit like what you are saying.  But the road between A and B is not necessarily easy.
 
The first thing is: don't try to reinvent the wheel (this is a bit what your post sounds like).  Everyone already knows about Foucault, you can use him to think about institutions, the formation of subjects, blah blah blah.  Do not think of yourself as a "Fouauldian" or an exegete or else you will not get where you are trying to go.  Take a step back and ask, "Why I am interested in MF in the first place? What questions lead me to want to think about MF?"  Basically you need to decenter Foucault from your idea of what your intellectual project is if you want to do something other than disciplinary work (if you want to go into English lit, for example, it might be fine to be that into Foucault - but then you are just an epigone)
 
My suggestion is to plan to spend some time away from the academy for a couple years supporting yourself in other ways and reading as many books as possible.  You still have an enormous amount to learn and all it takes is time (you don't need a professor to tell you, just go read all the stuff you know you haven't read).  You may find that during this time, and in the bubble-bursting experience of no longer being in a formal educational environment, your idea of what you are interested in will change and become more refined.
 
I spent two years outside the academy, and I'm now finishing up an MA in English which I found deeply unsatisfying but which helped me understand what it is that I DO want to do.  It's only now, four years after my BA, that I'm really even qualified to begin doing the kind of interdisciplinary work that you seem to want to do.  And it's now finally paying off, but only after a period of four years which was not especially emotionally easy.
 
I would take some time off, find yourself a bit and read for several hours every day, apply to a disciplinary PhD program in English or Philosophy (make sure you get funding), and then bail with the MA and apply to an interdisciplinary program.  Some good candidates might be UC Santa Cruz History of Consciousness, U Minnesota Discourse and Society, , Berkeley Rhetoric.  You could also apply to these programs right out of BA but probably much harder to get into.
 
basically, don't be in a hurry.  you can't do what you are saying you want to do if you are in a hurry.
 
good luck