kd1990

Of course! I will send a PM with more details.

My work, as mentioned above, focuses primarily on Irish Modernism with a postcolonial twist. I’ll be sending out an article examining Irish authors’ response to the loss of Gaelic. The essay, which features Said and Fanon postcolonial criticism and Kamau Brathwaite’s notion of Nation Language, focuses on the dichotomy between Irish nationalism/revivalism (Yeats, Gregory, Synge) and the burgeoning Modernist movement (Primarily Joyce) in terms of how to respond to England stripping the national language and the importance of language and dialect in regards to national identity. I’ll be starting UNH’s PhD in the fall and will continue my work while branching out to Irish Modernism’s legacy in postcolonial literature. James Joyce, at the moment, is the current lynchpin for my next projects, although I’ll include in some form W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Salman Rushdie, Derek Walcott, etc throughout my research. I also work with British Modernism in terms of Empire and colonialization, particularly Virginia Woolf and EM Forster. I actually started my Master’s program as an Early Modernist, focusing on theatrical adaptations of Shakespeare’s female characters through the years. I also presented at a conference on Marlowe’s transformation of the tragic hero and it’s modern day equivalent in tv shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men. Obviously, I didn’t stay in Early Modern. My advice is to keep an open mind because you may find your passion lays in another area of literature or theory. For me, it was a Modernism class which swayed me to me current passion. I sat conferences out this year to focus on applications, but in the past I’ve presented at SCMLA and MMLA, as well as some regional conferences.

Thank you for creating the thread! I think this will be an excellent resource for all. If I can help in anyway, let me know. I have a lot of information on Irish literature, particularly Irish Modernism in regards to opportunities and programs in New England and some beyond.

A collaboration thread would be pretty cool. Especially since it can be difficult to begin collaborations in the field. I also wonder if it would be good to have something where grad students can talk about their research and potential fits in programs. Forgive me if this gets a bit stream of consciousness like as I am thinking of it as I go and read a lot of Joyce and Woolf. But a collaboration thread could also help those researching programs. As we know, it is impossible to research all the grad programs out there. So for those lucky enough to have been accepted to either a MA or Ph.D. program, we can help those either looking to get into grad school or those wanting to go from MA to Ph.D. Particularly those of us in Ph.D. programs can draw back on their research/comment on their current programs and help those looking for fits in their field of interest. Think of it as reaching out to current grad students, but maybe in a more familiar surrounding. I hope this makes sense.

I turned down a fully funded offer from URI and took myself off the waitlist at SUNY Albany. I hope this helps someone on here.

Just accepted UNH's Ph.D. offer. Exhale.

Tufts' waitlist is closed. Received a very nice email from the DGS. So its UNH or URI for me.

Thanks for the response. Best of luck wherever you ended up!

Has anyone on here been accepted to Tufts for Ph.D.? I am currently waitlisted and delaying my decision until I hear back; I'm hoping it is before April 15th. So I figured I would check on here to see if those who were accepted have let Tufts know of their decision or not.

Will be taking myself off the waitlist at SUNY Binghamton in the next couple of days. Not sure where I was on list, but I hope this helps someone.

I just wanted to add a couple notes from how I view schools when comparing their prestigiousness. I agree that fit should be the primary factor. One question I always ask a DGS, potential advisors, and current students is how well the program prepares their students for the job market. You want to find a program that takes a vested interest in your success on the job market after you graduate and offers help throughout the process. Also, as someone mentioned before, certain schools do very well in placing their students wherever they are located. While it may not necessarily be a R1 school, if location is important to you, that is something to consider.

I agree with everyone else. I don't think you missed out. The MA program is usually where you start working on the professionalization aspect (conference papers, publications, etc). While those aspects would obviously look nice on a MA application, they are not expected. The SOP and writing sample are the most important aspects. My recommendation should you reapply next year is to research programs where MA students usually receive funding. One issue with some universities is if they have a Ph.D. program, most of the funds are usually allocated for those students, and whatever is left (if anything) goes to MA students. However, you will be able to find programs that fit your interest which offer funding for MA. I know of certain programs in the Northeast/New England area (I live there) that do, so if you ever wanted to message me, I could recommend some.

I second the responses above. I would add that in submitting the same abstract to multiple conferences you run the risk of being accepted to all of them for the same paper. It sounds weird to call it a risk since it would be very good news that your paper interests multiple scholars. But you generally do not want to present the same paper at multiple conferences. I hope this helps some.

Congratulations on the acceptance! I don't think you overstepped. And this is just my opinion, but it sounds like you were letting Nebraska know that you are still very much interested in their program, but that you also have an offer that, presumably, you need to give a yes or no to by April 15th. It won't speed up their process, but they know you are seriously considering their offer. I don't know if I answered that well. Were you wait listed by Nebraska?

One way I have asked for feedback in the past was letting the school know I am still interested in their program and intend to apply the next application cycle (if it came to that). I then asked what could be built upon. Usually I received constructive advice that one (or multiple sections) were what kept my application from acceptance. And then I worked like hell on those. Also, and I guess this relates to everyone who may feel down about this cycle, keep persisting. This was my fourth application cycle. For a myriad of reasons (being shut out, not fully loving the fit, and personal issues preventing me from moving), I have done this four straight years (five of the last six, if you count my M.A. applications). Persistence pays off. This was the third time I applied to the school I will most likely attend in the fall. I almost did not apply because I figured a third rejection would have sucked. But I got in, and I could not be happier. So, long story short, keep your head up and keep going.