Branwen daughter of Llyr

I'm applying to U of O - excellent program. Oregon State, however, I've never heard of their English dept. Meaning it's probably not that large.

:lol: Luckily I'm not a theory-head at all. I'm highly deficient in theory training. I'm expanding a close reading paper (expanding the thesis significantly) and using a mish-mash of ideas to support my angle on it. I doubt anyone would call my paper "new historicist" LOL. I was just looking for some additional sources for my research, and I'm really not set on that particular approach. I do read texts in a historical and cultural context (what was going on at the time, and an audience's familiarity with "archetypal" tales and stories lend a very different interpretation of the text - for example, the cues a medieval audience would pick up, very easily, when hearing the description of the road to Hautdesert, or the entrance to the Green Chapel, and how that would affect their understanding of the text), but I'm just as enamored of Geraldine Heng's postcolonial take on Arthurian literature in Empire of Magic as I am of Greenblatt .

Good luck - I've been out of school for 10 years, and after last years application season (applied to 4, got in nowhere) I've decided to apply on a MUCH wider scale (and am applying only with a BA so a history of accepting from my program is really not relevant - I graduated in 2001, after all! I'm sure lots has changed since then). Costs are going to be high, but so be it. I WILL BE IN GRAD SCHOOL IN 2011 IF IT KILLS ME (the other option is remaining a technical writer, which will also kill me ). I hope 5 is enough for you!

Isn't Mason an MA only program? Since they're my Alma, I looked at their programs, and I don't remember a PhD available (GW does, of course...)

You rock. And you will be receiving a 20 page draft towards the end of September! (I've started coming up with some excellent ideas that tie in SGGK, concepts of chivalry in literature (working from Geoffroi de Charney's A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry), and the internal textual tension created between the meeting of the chivalric world and the Celtic "otherworld" - all which contribute to the "failure" of chivalry (however, making Gawain a much more interesting character), and how the failure of this chivalry reflects the fall of the Templar ideal in the early 14th century - all against a background of what the listening audience would have been attuned to (i.e. indications of Morgan le Fay even before the deus ex machina at the end), indications of the Celtic otherworld, their knowledge of the traditional beheading games tales, their knowledge of the Gawain archetype and tales, etc. I hope you'll enjoy!!

you're GRE scores are quite hot (I wish I managed above a 700 in quant, I could have broken the 1400 barrier). And you have more language training than I do. To brush up on Latin, get the Reading Latin books by Jones and Sidwell (I have NO background in Latin, and am using them to teach myself in preparation for Grad School) and review. My fluent language also doesn't have anything to do with my future studies (not much call for Hebrew in English lit - although I've found some marginal uses for it for future scholarship), but just having a second language shows that you have the ability to learn and absorb reading knowledge in additional languages! As long as your SOP and writing sample are kick-ass and you have a good fit with the programs you're applying to, you should be in the running! (obviously, there are no guarantees on anything Grad school related...) Good luck!

I'm applying to 13 PhD and 3 MA programs. All the MA's are "plan B" programs (i.e. I'll only go if i don't get in to ANY PhD program). I'd be perfectly happy to go to any of the 13 PhD programs (each for it's own reasons), but there are about 4-5 schools on the list which I will go into When Harry met Sally type orgasmic spasms if I get in, about 5 that I'd jump around screaming, and 3-4 that I'd just jump around with little yelps (a slightly decreasing scale of utter excitement). NONE are safe schools, since there is NO SUCH THING in English PhDs. We're lucky to get in anywhere that has a good program that suits our needs.

From what I've seen, most of the top-notch programs want at least a 650 for the verbal and above a 600 for the subject Lit GRE. If you hit those scores, you should be fine for the majority of the programs (as far as the GRE is concerned, at least. obviously, it's not the truly important factor in the selection). These scores should at least prevent you from being thrown into the reject pile right off the bat (including good GPA, of course). After that initial sorting, from what I've heard, read, and gathered (and I could be very wrong), what really matters is your SoP and writing sample (indicating fit for the program, among other things). Those are the be-all and end-all of your application. No stellar GRE score can compensate for an SoP that doesn't fit the program or is badly written, or a writing sample that is sub-par. The quant section score is not even looked at by the department most of the time. The total score is looked at by fellowships, however, so aiming for above a 1200 is always a good thing. There are many people, however, even in this forum, who have scored significantly less on the GRE and got accepted to excellent schools with a full funding package. It really is down to your SoP, writing sample, and how well you fit in the program you are applying to. Of course, you can take this all with a grain of salt. I haven't been accepted anywhere yet

Maryland is unfortunately not very strong in Medieval (I thought of applying there, since I lived in north VA for so long and know the area so well). I don't know about folklore, though.

I'll second University of Oregon, I'm applying there for 2011 as well (and I'm an aspiring medievalist). Many schools that have strong medieval departments also have some folklore concentrations - my recommendation to you, if you want to be a medievalist, is look for good, strong programs in medieval lit (you may look at my signature for ideas, every single school listed has a phenomenal medieval program - obviously there are many more out there, but the ones below suit my particular research interests in Arthurian lit / Medieval Studies secondary field) and then cross-reference with schools that offer a secondary PhD or PhD minor in folklore (I can understand the attraction - as a budding Arthurian scholar, lots of cross-references with folklore occur in medieval literature). I'm assuming you already have your 2 years of gen ed, if you're planning to graduate from Berkeley in 3-4 semesters? (good luck, btw). Take A LOT of medieval lit classes, obviously, but also some folklore, and try to write as many research papers that cross those fields - and there's your writing sample ). Good luck!

The only reason I'm considering an iPad/ebook reader is for the PDFs. However, I can also read all those PDFs on my laptop. So it's a huge quandary whether to invest $400 in an iPad, or invest those same $400 towards a new laptop (I"m currently leaning towards the laptop...) As far as the books go - I'm just shipping all my books to the states (the loooooooooooooooooooooong shipping method). I have no intention of losing yet another library due to an overseas move!

Proofread? yes. Comment? yes. Write? absolutely not. If there was one thing that was drilled into my brain during college was the honor code, no plagiarism, and presenting your own work. Anyone who pays to have their SOP and Writing Sample written for them aren't serious grad school contenders, as far as I'm concerned. I advise loads of non-native speakers about college applications, and their main concern is always the essays - I tell them flat out that I'll help them polish, proofread grammar, advise about structure and content - but the heart and soul of the essay has to be theirs. Otherwise, what's the point? YES, learn something (I love the comments that make me think rather than those that tell me how to correct).

awesome. count me in .

The ONLY reason I'm on the list is due to the dramatic drop in posts since April 15th (everyone got their decisions and left us poor souls alone in the dark). btw bgk - when are you opening the next blogging season? I'd like to put in my bid now (since I know I'm applying again and am already preparing)

My plan is - My applications are due between the end of November and the beginning of January, so I'll start working on the SOP in August, to be done in October, while also finishing my Writing Sample during that time (final, polished, reviewed by numerous people to death, drafts should be done by October 31st at the latest!). Since I'm applying to 16 schools total (13 PhD and 3 MA), and each SOP has to be somewhat unique (slight shifts of focus, why that school, etc.), this is expected to be a long and arduous process. I'm going to write the long version, and then cut for the programs that request less than 2 pages (I don't think I have any of those, but just in case). Overall, I think it's best to begin as early as possible - I've found that my current research is actually going to significantly affect my SOP and how I approach it. Good luck!

@Mudlark - thanks for the points (no dragons being sicced at you, I promise!). Subsequent emails have clarified things up somewhat with the prof (although he still thinks that New Historicism is bullshit, LOL) - I don't know why he assumed that I was a theory buff - I simply asked if he knew of any New Historicist studies of the two subject matters I was interested to collect as many relevant secondary sources for my project as I could, and start reading, before I sit down and brainstorm. In the discussion that followed the above email, I made it clear that I was interested in historical and cultural context for literature - i.e. literature is a part and parcel of the current discourse between "real-life events" and cultural products - art, literature, music, ideology, propaganda, etc. (I think some people call it post-marxism, and so on. I'd rather not label, personally. My preference is to read as much as possible, mush it up together in a cake bowl, and come up with something new in the oven). Re the originality issue - perhaps you are right - obviously I had no intention of coming up with new FACTS at this point in my academic career - I don't have the resources - I live in Israel with no access to libraries, can't read French or Latin, and am basically untrained for that at this point! I just want to come up with a fresh perspective about Gawain and the failure of chivalry in it. I think I found some interesting cultural discourse that may be relevant, as well as a contrary article that discusses how the failure is actually a bit of a "farce" - basically a ham actor tearing out his hair in over-reaction to a small thing. So I'm basically collecting loads of info. Re investment - obviously, I don't think this guy is invested in me as my undergrad profs were (they remember me after nearly 10 years since I graduated, and wrote LORs). However, we're only 7 students in this class (far from hundreds), and I was very very clear from when I registered (and before, when I exchanged emails with him about the class) that this is a prep-for-grad-school class in my book. However, as I stated before, I will make the best of it. I don't think he's suited as an LOR writer, however (unless our discussion continues to evolve positively - grade wise, I'm riding the 95-100 range in pretty much all the class assignments). However, your points are well taken. And yes, another thing I've learned from this is what not to do when I'm teaching .

With the "Knight of Love/Knight of God" concept I'm still not sure about primary texts - possibly Malory (since he uses both romance and grail in his work), but obviously, earlier works would be appropriate as well - I want to work mostly in the Arthurian scope (obviously, Crusades are an external influence that may not appear de facto in the text, but influence the need to "up the stakes" for the knights with a "holy" quest, such as the holy grail). I'm more and more inclined to work on Gawain at this point, since I do have a very good core of close reading from undergrad which I can expand considerably with some research (and modify my argument somewhat), but a lot of the basics are there (and I got an A on the paper). I will, however, look at the texts you recommended, I'm not as familiar with them - if they suit, they may work as additional primary sources Thanks!

I'm not that eager to go to Toronto, overall - there are fellowship issues for non Canadians, and I have no intention of paying for grad school. In addition, I'm having enough trouble thinking about the cold in Wisconsin/Illinois/Boston/Upstate NY to think of even going further north!! I did look at the program, and wasn't impressed as I was by Northwestern, for example (also, the Arthuriana editor is now at Purdue!!). I'm having a hard time narrowing my list from 17 to 12 as it is, so adding yet another school to the mix is daunting, to say the least . Since I'm pretty much writing this one on my own, obviously, I'm trying to get my writing sample to work into my SOP interests (the Arthurian Cycle and the Crusades), so hopefully I can find a fresh angle, despite not working on "fresh" texts. Oh this is hard!

I thought so. It'll be good practice for Canterbury, but not more than that. I love obscure texts that no one knows about. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of access - since I live overseas, by the time something is in a book - there is considerable scholarship on it. I think I have a very original angle on the Arthurian cycle for my dissertation ideas (at least I haven't heard of this angle in research before) - approaching it in a VERY interdisciplinary way, but obviously, I can't begin to work on it now - I don't have the resources (i.e. access to original texts), and my undergrad honors thesis was on children's lit - a bit unrelated (also, due to a saving snafu back in 2001, the second half of it is just in rough draft!!). I've found a lot of info on Gawain that may help me in finding an original angle that somewhat ties into my research ideas - I did find an article that connects Gawain to the failure of the Templar ideal, which can be an interesting starting point. UMass Dartmouth. From the level of my classmates, I don't think the indented level of the class is very high... as I said, after a ten year fast, even crackers taste like the feast of the Holy Grail Thanks!

Oh THANKS . I was getting all worried that I was fussing over nothing. This is the first I've EVER encountered a professor who wasn't absolutely encouraging in finding original ideas and angles! And yes - the "scholarship review" paper is exactly what I thought - an EXERCISE - which is not suitable as a writing sample (basically, that would show that I'm able to read and summarize, not what I think the adcomms want to read). And yes, New Historicism is THE BOMB (I have an academic crush on Stephen Greenblatt!!). For me, at least, it makes no sense to separate a text from the cultural and social context in which it was written. OBVIOUSLY, Shakespeare was commenting on current goings on in his historical plays. OBVIOUSLY, Malory was injecting some sort of social commentary in his Morte. Texts come to be and grow out of the time they are written in. Obviously, our reading of them may evolve and change over the years, and some things remain truly relevant - but to call the attempt to contextualize literature into the period Bullshit is... well... annoying (and also highly insulting to the extremely valued and successful New Historicists out there, such as Stephen Greenblatt. It's basically saying "I spit at you, Norton Anthology!!"). Even after a drink I wouldn't call deconstructionism bullshit (I may, however, curse it for being so difficult, obscure, and filled with buzz-words I can't keep straight). I shall keep researching!

Hello fellow literati (medievalists, please pay close attention): I'm currently collecting articles and information for either a new or an expanded paper for my writing sample for the 2011 apps. You ALL know how important this is to me - making sure that I have a writing sample that is simply brilliant (as well as doing it on something that I enjoy and that I find relevant for my research interests). I've narrowed it down to two topics - either the "failure" of chivalry in Gawain and the Green Knight (which I have a close reading paper on, and can expand, with the appropriate secondary sources and an additional primary source to compare it to), or, analyzing the contradictions in the "Courtly" knight vs. "Knight of God" in Arthurian romance (i.e. how courtly love and service to a lady is the prime motivation in most Arthurian romance, while the inclusion of the search for the Grail suddenly places Christian values above the Courtly values - "a most perfect Christian Knight", and exploring the reasons for why the grail story was incorporated into the Arthurian cannon (social? cultural?). Methodically, I was hoping to analyze the works as "products of the time" - to me, obviously, there is SOME discourse between literature and the cultural, historical, and political events shaping the time when the literature was written. I suppose you could call it "light New Historicism" or similarly to Bakhtin - "Material Formalism." I know I'm strongest in close reading, but obviously, I need to use additional scholarship to engage in the discourse that is available. This is all as a prelude. As some of you may know, I'm taking an online class on medieval lit (which I am enjoying immensely overall, but as Eddie Murphy says - even crackers taste like gourmet food after a 10 year fast!), and I have been writing back and forth with the prof of the course regarding my writing sample. The paper that is required for the class is basically a "review" of the scholarship on Chaucer's Marriage Group in The Canterbury Tales, and is not something that I find sufficient for sending off with applications. I don't see how summarizing other people's research is a "critical piece of work" as required by so many schools. When I wrote him that I was hoping to write a more original piece of work, discoursing with scholarship, obviously, but coming up with an original thesis and point of view on the subject, I received the following: "Well, I think the chances of a student (of anyone, really) coming upwith a viable original argument on these matters are slim to none, but you never know, do you?" He then went on to state quite boldly that he thinks that New Historicism is bullshit (which I found particularly annoying. I may not like Deconstruction, but I would NEVER call it bullshit), and that he doesn't see how any cultural or social changes affected the shift from Courtly Knight to Knight of God in the Arthurian cycle. (this is from the same man who told me that adcomms don't really even read writing samples: "these writing samples are just meant to show general competence, not real expertise (I doubt that anyone ever reads them)") Now, obviously, I was disappointed at such a dismissive reply to my ideas. I don't see this as "promoting scholarship" or as being particularly helpful to a student who has stated over and over that the goal for this class is preparation for PhD studies at a TOP UNIVERSITY in Medieval Literature. I find it even somewhat insulting, that despite the fact that I have a BA in English, have already written an honors thesis (in which I came up with several original applications of Bakhtin's Carnivalesque theory on Anglo-Welsh children's lit), I am being talked to like a child. I want to do the absolute best that I can on this paper - this and the SOP are the prime focus of the applications, after all. Obviously, I am not going to ask this professor for any additional advice on the writing sample. I will be using the class for my own purposes - access to the library, returning to the literature that I love, and getting my feet wet back in the scholarship. But I would like your advice on the following, if you are willing: Is a "scholarship review" paper - i.e. summarizing and commenting on the current scholarship on a particular subject truly enough for a writing sample? Are my panties in a bunch for absolutely no reason?Any advice on the writing sample in general? Structure, methodology, etc? Did you apply a particular critical theory on a text? did you rely on close reading? Any advice will be welcome.Is my prof being a bit of a jerk, or am I too over-sensitive? My favorite prof in undergrad was equally blunt, but she always encouraged me to find original angles.Scholarship-wise, if anyone would like to point me in the direction of a good article/book on any of the above subjects, I would be grateful (I'm researching, obviously, but sometimes you just miss things). I have decided to view this as a challenge! Naysayers beware! Branwen, a confused pre-grad student.

It's possible. I raised my verbal score by 120 pts with 4 intensive weeks of studying (I HAD to get above 700).

Thanks for the Latin advice . My research interests are on Arthurian lit in general, Celtic origins of Arthurian lit, and the whole idea of Chivalry in general (I'm currently fascinated by the contradiction between the "courtly love" knight and the "knight of God," for example). However, I'm also gaga for Chaucer, Celtic mythology in general and it's influences on medieval literature (Breton, Welsh, and so on), and I've recently become excessively fascinated by marginalia (I have a background in art, as well), medieval drama, and I always love anything with dragons . So I range far and wide in my interests. Also, I'm glad to know that my "specs" are impressive to someone LOL (none of the schools I applied to this year were particularly impressed, so I'm working to change that!) Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh book project!! book project!!

I'll probably need French anyhow (even if I go for the Hebrew or Welsh, after all, as an Arthurian scholar, I should be able to read Chretien de Troyes and Marie de France in the original) - but you're right - the Latin will definitely help me pick up French faster, so I will do that - an intense year of Latin (so I can jump straight into Medieval Latin during grad school), and start French when I get there . I can't wait for grad school. These kind of challenges are invigorating, and don't drain my soul (unlike certain life challenges, such as dealing with stupid bureaucratic idiocies and house-hunting)