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havemybloodchild

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Posts posted by havemybloodchild

  1. Personally I don't think it'll matter too much. I have a feeling grades for this past year will be viewed with a little more grace than those of previous years, considering the state of the world. Especially if you get some good recs from faculty in the program for your PhD apps. Good job getting through everything! The first year is always rough but this year has been an entirely different beast.

  2. Personally, the grad student union and opportunity to design and teach your own syllabi would win me over. Franky, 17ish k is not enough to live period. You'll make it work but it's ridiculous and having the summer job guaranteed at UF is a big deal. As for the union, I mean, hell yes. Just look at Loyola Chicago- their union put enough pressure on the dept to get stipends raised from 18k to 28k. If you're concerned about four years (that is brief- my program does a five year option for incoming students with MAs, but most of us opt for the 6 year route), look to see if existing grad students and publishing and presenting and ask them how they are able to get it done in the time. The faculty friendliness is also a big deal, imo. Dealing with faculty who didn't like me or what I do made my first year miserable. 

    CONGRATS, btw

  3. Hey all,

    I'm a second year PhD student teaching first year undergraduate writing courses (just one per term, 15 students max). As a brand new instructor, I've had to teach an established syllabus this year, but next year I will have a lot more freedom. I'm wanting to get a feel for how other schools and instructors approach into writing and reasoning classes. We currently use They Say/I Say, Style, and The Little Seagull Handbook. The other departments like us to teach essays rather than fiction, but I don't have to do that next year if I don't want to. The class is structured as a workshop, with three or four fairly short writing assignments (focusing on summary, rhetorical analysis, and synthesis) that are drafted and revised in class over course of the term.

    Here's the thing: I would like to tie the class to my own interests, so I can practice teaching the kinds of material I plan to teach in the future. I'm into fatness and disability in African American and Chicanx texts, and there's plenty of interesting material out there to get freshman thinking and writing. But my only teaching experience has been the past year, so I am hoping to get some intel on how others approach these classes to help me think outside my current institution's box. If you have any advice or experience to share, it would be appreciated!

  4. 2 hours ago, HPurple said:

    I have three applications with early January deadlines, and 1 of my letter writers still has to submit to these schools. I am hoping for the best with this one. I sort of wish it was done already before the holiday season.

    I had one letter writer who didn’t submit letters until nearly a week after several deadlines and it didn’t end up making a difference. I contacted the schools and they explained that professors being a bit late is not unusual and they don’t hold it against the applicant (within reason). Try not to stress about it too much!

  5. I didn’t contact any POI before applying, but if I had I would have sent an email very briefly introducing myself and then drawing some parallels between their work and my own/my interest is pursuing graduate school at their institution. If you get encouraging or interested replies, I’d send a couple questions there, specifically if they are going to have interest/room to mentor a student in the upcoming year.

  6. My understanding is that humanities PhD programs are very difficult to get into versus other types of programs. I think it has a ton to do with the job market- a program is as good as it’s reputation for graduating people who get jobs. Like Cryss mentioned above the job market is particularly difficult for English PhDs and therefore a lot of programs have reduced their cohort size.

    I also think funding expectations are at work here. It’s not expected that law students will receive stipends/tuition remission/health insurance, etc., but unfunded English PhD programs...well they’re definitely more rare and (imo) not worth going to. So it costs schools a lot more money per student admitted into a cohort in English than into a lot of other programs.

    It is a complex question, this is just my basic two cents on it. 

  7. 23 hours ago, madandmoonly said:

    First orientation's in two days, yikes, and then the department orientation is the day after. First day of class likely on the 27th? Haven't technically signed up for classes yet, but I'm pretty sure. Talked to my advisor for a bit yesterday and we're getting along well so far, so that's been really nice and also a relief. Currently working through Derrida's Specters of Marx

    Do you sign up for classes at orientation? 

  8. I’ve been in Dallas a little over a month now (Lowest Greenville) if anyone has any questions! The city is awesome, dating here is actually fun, the art museum is mostly free...and the roaches are HUGE. ? Hit me up if you have queries! 

  9. 5 hours ago, Bopie5 said:

    I moved into my house on Saturday and my first orientation is this Wednesday!! I’m so excited. Class on the 26th for me too. I’m more excited than nervous but that might change as I’m walking up to the building haha!

    I’m super excited too! But scared also. It’s strange for me to be scared in an academic setting and yet there it is. I’m sure after my first week I’ll feel better. It’s hard not know exactly what I’m in for. 

    Congrats on your house! Please post or reach out after your first day! I’m excited to see how us 2018 applicants get along.

  10. 12 hours ago, EMeng31415 said:

     

    What are you guys' (especially the undergrads) choices for the WS? My thesis is probably not going to be ready in time and I'm debating between a more orthodox reading of Ulysses (an older, more polished paper) and a more theoretical psychoanalytic treatment of postcritique and the praxis of literary criticism (which I just wrote for a graduate seminar). The fact that WS length requirement ranges from 10 to 25 depending on the school doesn't help, either...

    Looking forward to being active on this forum for the upcoming application season and beyond!

    I applied as I was beginning my senior year of undergrad. I combed through my papers from classes, and expanded the one I was most excited about from 9 pages to 16. The professor for whom I had written the original offered to look over the new one thoroughly, so I knew the finished product was a very successful paper. Good luck!

  11. 14 hours ago, Bopie5 said:

    Apartment hunting from a distance is SO hard. ?I know I'm going to find something/figure something out, but that doesn't mean I'm not stressed af.

    Totally feel this but everything will fall into place, I promise. For me it all worked itself out when I was in the Dallas airport heading home and feeling so defeated for not finding anything. I’ve got my fingers crossed you’ll have the perfect spot soon.

  12. I got to visit Dallas for a few days last week to apartment hunt and I absolutely fell in love with the city and the people, which I wasn’t really expecting. Then I found out the day after I got home that I got my dream apartment in my dream neighborhood. I’m over the moon right now and it just makes the amazement and gratitude I feel about grad school that much bigger and better. I’m so happy right now.

  13. 4 hours ago, jadeisokay said:

    i made it halfway through before i had to return it and i found it infuriating because of the style/format. there'd be a beautiful half of a sentence... and a citation. i couldn't get invested because i kept stopping to google things. fine for non-fiction but i wanted to enjoy the actual prose more. 

    I can see that! Personally I am digging the hell out of it. Especially since so many of the “sources” are fake. Talk about unreliable narrators!

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