havemybloodchild

Just started Lincoln in the Bardo, about halfway through now and desperate to talk about it! Anyone here read it?

Wow. This is just awful. I think perhaps the best sources students deciding on offers can rely on, besides the media if a professor’s bad behavior has been publicized, are existing graduate students within a program. I certainly asked questions about this of current students at my institution. However, and this is what troubles me the most, asking students to be accountable for reporting this shit behavior is really unfair. Especially in programs like English where finding employment after graduation is already incredibly difficult, how can we ask graduate students to potentially burn bridges within their communities before they’ve even hit the job market? It seems like these sorts of environments which protect abusive behavior are holdovers from yesteryear, when people within these jobs were all white men, who not only enjoyed the privileges of education and leadership, but also the authority of being simply white and male. I like to think of English programs as being often places of real progressivism, but that is clearly, to some extent, wishful thinking. Thanks for sharing this article! It certainly gives one a lot to think about.

Just applied for an apartment!

I’ve spent more than I should have buying cotton and linen stuff because it’s so hot in Texas meanwhile I live in Sacramento where it’s hot as balls and my existing wardrobe works just fine ?. Just wait until I get into my new apartment and start decorating though, haha, talk about major bucks!

S A M E

Didn’t see imposter syndrome kicking in quite this early, but that professor of mine is asking for feedback on the proposed reading list as well as additions. All of these people have already replied all with great insights and suggestions and I’m like... *crickets* Do I even grad school, bro?

I would not send in any application materials that don’t meet requirements! Personally, I took an 8 page paper over the summer and expanded it to 15 by incorporating new sources and delving more deeply into a couple of pieces of the original that were especially interesting to me but not fully developed. The professor whom the original was for thankfully offered to look over the new version prior to me sending it out with my applications, which was really helpful, as sometimes it was fairly challenging to see where the new pieces fit into the old, etc. Good luck!

That’s what I should be doing but instead I’m mostly binging Netflix and lounging around because I know I won’t be able to soon.

Besides how long it is ???? Haha A couple of my favorite books are on it, including Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved, as well as a ton of Pynchon. I think I’m going to get a start on it over the summer rereading the books I do have already, for...survival purposes. ?

Something else to think about is whether or not those papers would help to produce a really coherent idea of the scholar you will be upon exiting your PhD experience. One of the professors I spoke to during my interview process at the PhD program I’ll be attending this fall really discouraged the idea of publishing simply to publish (not saying that’s what you would be doing, but I definitely understand the desire to publish as much as possible without maybe fully knowing how those publications will speak to your interests/marketability later on), and spoke to some folks’ early publications as actually being detrimental to them when they entered the job market, because they muddied the waters as far as what that person ended up wanting to research and teach upon graduation. His comments really opened my eyes as to the purpose of publishing as a future job seeker within academia, not sure it’d they're helpful to you, but thought I’d share just in case! Good luck!

Just got the nicest email from my historical fiction 1965-present professor welcoming everyone to the seminar and sharing the potential reading list, and asking for feedback/additions. Holy shit I cannot wait to start grad school ?

It seems like every program is different, so if I were you I’d probably email asking about my program’s particular timeline.

I have to admit, I’m pretty jealous I can’t take this course. The ideas brought up in that description are fascinating. I love the question about which forms of poetry are marginalized due to our ideas about what poetry is/should be. Enjoy every second!!! I know you will ?

What is Poetry??? That sounds like it’s going to be awesome!

If your promotions aren’t directly tied to you area of interest re: graduate study I don’t think they’re relevant, especially not relevant enough for your SOP. I’d include them in your CV though.

Advanced literary studies, a pedagogy course, American lit 1965-present, and survey of criticism. ????

I got to register for all my classes and no one understands my wild excitement. ? Especially when I looked at the bill and it kind of all washed over me what a financial investment is being made in me, my work, and my future. It’s unreal. Like @ArcaMajora I too can’t believe I actually get to call myself a graduate student. I looked at my interview invite email from SMU again the other day and just cried and cried haha. How is this real life? What an incredible journey we’re all beginning ❤️

Congrats @jadeisokay for getting all settled in Chicago! I watched the third season of easy yesterday and the whole time was like, damn, I could have lived in that city. Like I’m confident I made the right choice but, damn, Chicago is just the best. As for what @Bopie5 was saying, yes I relate!!! I’m hoping to sign a lease starting July 1 so I can move in/decorate/explore before classes start the end of August. Honestly if I could snap my fingers and be in my new apartment (whatever it will be), starting my new life right now, I would do it. This is the fun part!!!

Might I suggest we stop feeding the troll?

I guess I'm reticent to ask because the stipend is so big (comparatively) I'm worried I'll come across badly...but goddamn those texts add up. I know several of my undergrad profs wanted me to buy the "correct" edition as well, for the reason you stated, but I always made it work. Eventually I charmed them into not caring, haha. But maybe it's unprofessional to do that in a graduate program.

I'm looking at textbooks and wondering- in grad school is it absolutely necessary to buy the newest edition? I always just bought the cheapest available option in undergrad and it was never a problem but I don't know if that will fly going forward.

I wouldn’t retake. Your writing sample and SOP will be much better indicators of your writing skill than that score, and the adcomm will pay far more attention to them.

I’ve gotten 3 rejection letters from Johns Hopkins if that makes you feel any better. And a rejection from BU where I removed myself from the waitlist over a month ago because I’d accepted another offer ??‍♀️

Dude you’re so on the ball! I’m not going down until next month to look for housing. Wish I had it all sorted now though, that’s for sure. Congrats on your cute house!

THAT IS FREAKING AWESOME!!! Congrats ?!!!!!!!