Straparlare

@steve3020 I was mostly thinking in terms of narrative, and how narratives are meant to tell stories, but there's a reliance on power with discourse, and so some stories don't get told while others do - or else it changes how they are interpreted and then related. If that makes sense? Hopefully? eh...maybe I'm too in my head....But, anyway, I was also thinking about this grad seminar I took last spring and it was on the politics of form, covering narrative, poetry, cinema, and photography, and how these media/forms are used as political tools. For example, I read a chapter of this theory of poetry book on the relationship of elegy and national mourning/identity. It was really interesting and I think many disciplines (or at least those in the humanities) are exploring the politicization of these things. And welcome!

Given my interest in narrative and the current interest in the politicizing (or maybe it's politics?) of different disciplines, I'll probably end up going in a similar direction (at least if I hope in getting a job in academia). But maybe my mind will entirely change in grad school, who knows! You sound super interesting, so if I end up getting accepted to Berkeley, we should be friends Good luck to you on the Fullbright MA front!

My interests are a little divided...largely I'm interested in literary and visual narrative, centered mostly the novel and 17th-19th century painting. I'm particularly interested in questions on narrative space, interpretation of narrative, and the relationship between narrative and audience. And then I have generic interests of Gothic fiction, Boccaccio and the Boccaccian model of tales (the italian novella), and fairy tales.

@Yanaka Good luck on the English MA's! Also, I never asked, what are your research interests?

Oh? What are you reading? I guess for me, I still go at the same pace as usual - check my email every few hours, sit around on GC for a few hours, and look at every other hour. It's just so quiet and I hate that

*sigh* anyone else hate Sundays? A day full of stressing and obsessing even though nothing will probably come...Best of luck in the coming week....

Clearly, my issues aren't as bad as some of you but between my mom asking when I'll have a job (or at least a future direction) and my long term boyfriend getting a job at Google, I feel like a failure. Plus, you know, the regular "I'm probably gonna get rejected from everywhere" angst. I'll just go wait in a corner....

A. that sounds super interesting! I would love to know but novels you're working with since I like Gothic fiction and that sorta stems/is the Gothic but totally accept your privacy and B. Totally makes sense! I kinda agree and that's why I left mine kinda vague too. Good Luck to you on your thesis!

@Yanaka thanks. I'm only kinda bummed because one of my LOR writers was from that program and she said I'd be great for it. Personally, I don't think it would have been the best fit with what a lot of current student's interests were but eh. Just trying not to spiral into thinking that I was a complete fool and they'll all be rejections. Good luck to you on your remaining!

Nevermind, heard back. Complete rejection... oh well.

@Kilos Your absurdist paper sounds fascinating! The paper sounds like a topic I generally would approach xD good luck to you! @jrockford27 if you care to share, what was the topic of the thesis?

So...someone posted about the University of Oregon....is someone gonna claim it? Really wanting to hear back and all....

@gyeum isn't every methodology the first time someone uses it? I bet it'll be amazing! Good luck!

Sounds super interesting! Did you choose a specific form of literature (poem or novel) or go with a mix?

@claritus I bet it's a huge weight off your shoulders!...or poop-brick gone.....eh....Congrats!

Congrats! What program?

Did you just die receiving an email from Judith Butler? Congrats on Berkeley!

Trying to pass the time until I hear back, I've been reading through past threads and came across one where people talked about how they looked as an applicant - school, gpa, gre, sop, ws, etc. - and what I enjoyed the most was reading the different topics people had as their writing samples. It really made me wish I could track them down and read them so I thought that it might be fun to talk about the different topics we used as our writing samples this application season! My WS was a paper I wrote for a graduate seminar I was lucky enough to take last Spring in Comp Lit. Coming from public sphere theory, I argued using postcolonial literature that the ideal public sphere remains distant in a broader societal sense and that it is most closely approximated in public spheres which are insular (as among those oppressed by a larger society). I'd be fascinated to hear what other people did

As I wait to hear back from any of the programs I applied to (a measly six and with patience being a virtue that I have not found yet) and I continue to see the results page, I'm curious if it's ever a good sign to receive an email to check online for the decision? Does anyone know of a situation where this ended happily?

Historically, Modern Thought doesn't usually come out until the teens of February. I'm also waiting with baited breath even though it's probably a reach. Good Luck!

I just had a professor glance through mine and tell me what they thought. They gave me advice on how to broaden it a bit. I don't see how it can be cheating, I mean, it's still your work. You're the one applying to grad school, not them.

@Wyatt's Terps I am in no way saying that GPA isn't relevant or should be ignored, but I'm surprised you don't find it heartening, since you seem to be the most encouraging of GCers, that even an applicant with a terrible GPA can over come it and get into a graduate program. Since most programs now look at applications holistically, I thought everyone might take a sigh of relief. I know I did.

Good point. Does anyone else, though, appreciate when there are people who get into programs, whatever they are, with less than a 3.0? I like the underdog win story, especially when there have been rejections of people with 4.0s on the results board that have implied subtext of "I'm perfect, I don't know what they're f*ing looking for!". Maybe I'm evil but it makes me giggle. There's a lot of terror in this process but a lot of hope too.

I think we all are worried that we don't hit some mark that they're looking for and just breeze past our applications. It probably rarely happens and as @imogenshakes said, they're generally looking holistically at the applications so you'll probably be fine. Don't worry

I'm certainly no expert, and I haven't really applied to English Programs, but I've heard schools look at anything above a 3.0, and anything at about 3.4-3.5 is competitive but that's only what I've heard (really read) here and there.