Trystero0

Hi again, everyone – thanks for the insightful advice. I had a hunch that the whole process would be too cumbersome for most admissions committees, so it's nice to see you all corroborating my suspicions before it was too late. I'll probably paraphrase content from the film in a way not unlike that of Žižek, or perhaps submit an essay more entrenched in standard textual analysis and close-reading. Anyways, I appreciate the responses!

Hi, all – I apologize in advance if any of my questions are glaringly obvious, but I require gradcafe wisdom on submitting a multimedia essay to PhD programs in English literature and similar disciplines like cultural/media studies. As a point of reference, my essay examines the ideological edifice of two Steve Bannon documentaries, Torchbearer and Generation Zero, and draws on the theoretical framework of S. Žižek's The Sublime Object of Ideology. Such analysis requires that I embed clips from either film as textual evidence, and the platform I decided upon was WordPress, buying my own domain to give a little autonomy to the project. To start, how do different PhD programs deal with this type of submission? I'm sure disciplines like media studies have pretty clear-cut protocol for what I'm describing, but I'm not sure how English literature programs might differ, if at all, but they're my main point of interest here, so it'd help to receive as much knowledge as I can on the subject. Further, might there be an advantage to briefly describing relevant scenes in my essay, as Žižek so often does, in lieu of embedded clips? On the one hand, this move would streamline the complication by maintaining a purely textual essay; on the other hand, I can't possibly imagine paraphrasing a literary text, e.g. Ulysses, for an entire paper without losing rhetorical effect on some demonstrative level. (Good grief, I never thought I would ever align Joyce and Bannon in a metaphorical capacity – I think I may need an ice-cold shower, or perhaps a holy water blessing from Dr. Buck Mulligan himself.) If you're so inclined, I also have a few less-pressing questions: 1) Preferentially, is WordPress the best platform for a multimedia essay such as mine? 2) How does one formalize your page-count with embedded videos, or does this ultimately not matter as much as word-count when submitting to programs? 3) Submitted multimedia essays should preclude peripheral or paratextual content, like expository "About" tabs, right? Thanks everyone!

Hi, all – I apologize in advance if any of my questions are glaringly obvious, but I require gradcafe wisdom on submitting a multimedia essay to PhD programs in English literature and similar disciplines like cultural/media studies. As a point of reference, my essay examines the ideological edifice of two Steve Bannon documentaries, Torchbearer and Generation Zero, and draws on the theoretical framework of S. Žižek's The Sublime Object of Ideology. Such analysis requires that I embed clips from either film as textual evidence, and the platform I decided upon was WordPress, buying my own domain to give a little autonomy to the project. To start, how do different PhD programs deal with this type of submission? I'm sure disciplines like media studies have pretty clear-cut protocol for what I'm describing, but I'm not sure how English literature programs might differ, if at all, but they're my main point of interest here, so it'd help to receive as much knowledge as I can on the subject. Further, might there be an advantage to briefly describing relevant scenes in my essay, as Žižek so often does, in lieu of embedded clips? On the one hand, this move would streamline the complication by maintaining a purely textual essay; on the other hand, I can't possibly imagine paraphrasing a literary text, e.g. Ulysses, for an entire paper without losing rhetorical effect on some demonstrative level. (Good grief, I never thought I would ever align Joyce and Bannon in a metaphorical capacity – I think I may need an ice-cold shower, or perhaps a holy water blessing from Dr. Buck Mulligan himself.) If you're so inclined, I also have a few less-pressing questions: 1) Preferentially, is WordPress the best platform for a multimedia essay such as mine? 2) How does one formalize your page-count with embedded videos, or does this ultimately not matter as much as word-count when submitting to programs? 3) Submitted multimedia essays should preclude peripheral or paratextual content, like expository "About" tabs, right? Thanks everyone!

I'm in the same position. The Feb. 17 deadline is admittedly late, even for MA programs, which likely explains why they're not so swift with their decisions. However, I did see one acceptance come through in the results section approximately one week ago, so responses are certainly out there...

Hi everyone – I have a quick question, one which may or may not require some degree of vague speculation: that is, does anyone know if it might hurt my chances at receiving an offer from a school's PhD program if I apply to their M.A. program a year prior, receive an offer, and turn it down? Does this depend on a particular admissions committee? Any and all perspectives are welcome, thanks!

As an undergraduate student entering my senior year, I have an unfortunate amount of questions regarding the application process for doctoral programs in English literature. Having written extensively on Joyce's Ulysses, I'm primarily interested in the relationship between narrative theory and postcolonial studies, with an emphasis on 20th century modernism. So, then, does anyone know of some top tier doctoral programs known for research in postcolonialism, narratology, and/or modernism? I'm also interested in American postmodern literature—e.g. Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, and David Foster Wallace—but haven't come into contact with many reputable programs renown for that mode of contemporary scholarship, so guidance there would certainly help, too. On a semi-unrelated note, I'm also curious if those of you who have been accepted to top tier (or second-tier) programs 1) applied in the fall prior to graduation, 2) applied in the fall following graduation, 3) applied during an MA program, or 4) applied following the completion of an MA program. Any response to these questions and concerns would be greatly appreciated - thanks!