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gradschoolorbust!

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  1. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to sesquipedalian87 in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    You're very welcome. And I'm sorry for any hostility you perceived. I know I only recently discovered this thread and haven't offered you as much as advice as others but even I felt slighted when I noticed some of your curt responses. No hard feelings?



    Thanks!



    Fair enough. I concede that I indeed jumped the gun there.



    I'll drop you a line if I can think of any. Good luck to you!

    One last question that lingers in my mind from some of the previous posts in this discussion concerns your interest in Harold Bloom's work. When did that start and why do you suppose you're sympathetic to his opinions? (Sorry, that was two questions in one) Oh, and one more multi-part question: do you think you'll get to read some cultural studies texts in your next and last two years of undergrad? Or in grad school? Or perhaps in your own free time (e.g. over the summer)? I'm sure people on this thread would be willing to suggest specific authors and texts for you to check out if you were interested!
  2. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to Two Espressos in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    I can't say I'm really interested in Dr. Bloom's work (I haven't read much of his stuff beyond The Anxiety of Influence, which I happen to mostly disagree with), but I do sympathize with some of his traditionalism. Then again, perhaps in reading more of his work, I'd find myself in the anti-Harold Bloom camp.

    Anyways, my university is quite small (I believe there are 9 members of the English faculty) and does not offer graduate degrees (beyond perhaps a Master's in nursing), so taking a graduate course or two at my university, as someone had previously suggested, is not an option. My university does not offer classes in cultural studies, postcolonialism, queer theory, etc (at least, in the two years that I've attended, I've yet to see one offered--with the exception of perhaps one seminar in postcolonialism that I vaguely remember being offered last year), so any exposure to those subfields would have to come either in graduate school or on my own time.

    With that being said, I'm completely open to suggestions for summer reading (some works have already been suggested earlier in this topic). I'm (regrettably) unemployed, and I have plenty of free time. My only summer plans are to improve my French skills, teach myself symbolic logic (in preparation for a course in logic that I'm taking next semester), and read. So I'd love to devour any cultural studies texts that you or other posters can suggest!

    But yeah, no hard feelings.
  3. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to truckbasket in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    Not to belabor belaborable things, but your criteria for where you want to be located might also be problematic w/r/t to academia as a career. Hopefully by the time you're done, things will have changed a bit and there will be some hope for work. But as it stands right now, your geographic fussiness won't fly on the job market either; you really have to go where the work is. And that might mean working in godforsaken and satanically hot places (like LA). I know several professors who commute BY AIRPLANE to their jobs, simply because of family logistics or because their university is located in some total armpit or something. (And BTW, some of the places you ruled out -- like Stanford, Berkeley -- have very moderate temperatures compared to some summers in the North East. The Pacific NW is deliciously gloomy and dank. I also despise sunlight, so I know about such things.)
  4. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to JoeySsance in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    Good point. I was going to bring this up, too, actually! But in Two Espresso's defense, I get the feeling that the geographic limitation would be just for grad school... (Right?) At least I hope, for your sake, that you won't be this finicky with the job market. (Alas, no one can really afford to be...) But that is a relatively long way off for you, Two Espressos. While you are shutting out some amazing programs with relatively attractive funding if you restrict yourself solely to the Northeast, you are still left with a great concentration of superb institutions of all kinds, from small LACs to all the Ivies to big state and private research universities. Whether you think your ultimate goal will be primarily to teach, to research, or to strike a balance between the two, even just focusing on the Northeast, you'll be set (in terms of the training you'll get in grad school, that is). Truckbasket is right about the weather in Berkeley and Palo Alto, though. If I were you, I would still apply to maybe two or three schools outside of the Northeast just to vary things up (or as many as a quarter or even a third of your overall schools, depending on your target number). It was repeatedly hammered into my mind that being "bi-coastal" could be an advantage in the job market (e.g. in my case, having gone to both Princeton and Berkeley) and for a while it was a suggestion that I took pretty seriously. Ok, this time I swore to myself that I would write a shorter response and while it's already longer than I anticipated, I hope it's not as tedious as my last few responses. For now, give these suggestions some thought, and in the meantime, I'll see if I can come up with some accessible cultural studies suggestions for your summer reading. If anyone can think of any apposite texts and authors given Two Espressos's interests, by all means, feel free to suggest them before me!

    P.S.



    I'm sorry about the rough job situation but on the bright side, these are all fantastic summer goals! Great language choice, by the way! Not that I'm biased or anything!
  5. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to sesquipedalian87 in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    One word: laaaaaaaaaaaaaaame !

    C'mon, these people have dedicated their time to helping you and that's all you can muster? Seriously?! Do you really want to add laziness to the reasons why you're not cut out to be an academic? I guess the fact that more than one person here has called you out on "ignoring your interlocutors" must be an indication of something... I, for one, would like to know what you have to say regarding some of the great points people have brought up in this discussion. You also never indicated what you thought of most of the programs that have been suggested to you on this thread. I realize that you said "thanks" a few times to everyone but it seems more like a cop-out than sincere gratitude. Demonstrate that you are indeed grateful by engaging more sincerely in the dialogue. You did initiate it after all!

    [quote name=Two Espressos - Lighthearted Parody ' timestamp='1308083292' post='258396]
    Good points, postcolonialists! I feel too lazy to comment upon them, but they really are quite good! Kthxbyeyall!

  6. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to JoeySsance in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    Thanks ZeeMore21. I'm glad you appreciated my post and I couldn't agree more with your sentiment!



    Apology accepted. By the way, what do you think of the programs I and others have suggested? Your thoughts might help us in guiding you better. I have one last lengthy response that I'll be posting subsequent to this post and again, I apologize in advance for imposing on your time, but I really would like to help you as best as I can!
  7. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to JoeySsance in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    I'm a bit late following up but I think ZeeMore21, jakebarnes and truckbasket have really covered a lot of important ground! And in a far less circuitous manner than myself. At the risk of sounding perhaps a bit officious, I do have some more advice, mostly building off of the splendid suggestions you have received so far from others. I echo what's been said about how great it is that you're seeking advice now, while you're still in undergrad. I wish I had been as diligent and prepared my junior year as you seem to be! It's perfectly alright that you're still not 100% sure about your plans. You probably won't be until well into your graduate education, so be ready for a few years of relative uncertainty and continually evolving plans and interests. At least you admit that your theoretical interests are still developing. Good for you because you do have a very, very long road ahead of you. Trust me, it's better that we're telling you all of this now as opposed to just before you approach writing your dissertation in grad school. To re-cap some of the most (in my opinion) helpful advice I and others have offered you: you should, on the one hand, read more widely and give certain schools of thought a chance, and on the other hand, you should work on narrowing down your focus somewhat. Both will be indispensable for putting together a strong and successful grad school application and then for succeeding in grad school once you start.

    While I'm unequivocally and emphatically in the anti-Harold Bloom camp, I can't possibly expect you to ditch him if you find that you're truly passionate about his ideas. After all, grad school is all the more rewarding if you're passionate about your work. (If you're not, it can really be hell, and you'll find many an anecdote - dare I say, horror story - on The Grad Cafe about this) And academia is definitely about constructive dialogue between scholars that may not (and indeed don't always) agree. However, as I and others have stressed repeatedly, if you want to have a shot at succeeding in academia (i.e. getting into grad school in the first place, doing well there and then eventually finding a job) please, please, please - even if it's just for your own edification - challenge yourself to entertain some non-canonical perspectives on aesthetics! While Yale's English department is, surely, very difficult to get into (and I know you haven't expressed interest in this particular department; it's just an example), to put it bluntly, the fact alone that Harold Bloom is a faculty member there probably wouldn't be anywhere near enough to guarantee you any semblance of a decent shot at admission to that particular program (that is, assuming your interests remain close-minded and unfocused when it comes time to apply). The same goes for all the Harold Blooms in academia (and there are certainly a few out there)! The truth is, whether you like it or not, "traditionalist" scholars (to use your own term) are far outnumbered in the professoriate by those who care a great deal for more progressive and inclusive discourses and scholarship. This isn't to discourage you from being an empowered voice of dissent... If you feel that this is your calling, by all means go for it! But then that's all the more reason not to ignore cultural studies because, as someone astutely pointed out earlier, you'd be shutting out your main interlocutors! How could you ever produce substantive and nuanced scholarship - indeed how could you ever bloom as a scholar at all - if you limit yourself to good old Harry's (antediluvian) worldview?

    I have some more advice regarding your issue with period specialization. While the field I know the most about is French literature, I'm relatively sure that there is considerable enough structural overlap with English literature and even with Comp Lit that it wouldn't be completely irrelevant for me to offer it as an example. Take a look at Berkeley's expectations for specialization (http://french.berkeley.edu/grad/guide/grad_guide.php). I'm pointing out their approach because it's a pretty common one in literature departments. Here's a concise excerpt to sum it up, but do read further because it goes a bit more in depth:

    "To a large extent, students design their own programs of study, within guidelines set out by the Department and with the advice and assistance of faculty members. The guidelines are meant to ensure the necessary professional specialization in a field within French studies, to point toward the area of an eventual dissertation, and to prepare the student in a general way for research in that area. Each student is asked to define three areas of study within French literature. Each of the areas, while related to the others, obliges the student to view the discipline from a different perspective.

    The areas of study for the Ph.D. in French literature are:

    1. the work of a single major author;
    2. a historical period in French literature;
    3. the development of a genre, theme or carefully-delineated topic extending over a period of three centuries."

    Approaches will definitely vary from one literature department to the next, but the expectation that one will strike a balance between breadth and specialization is essentially and inevitably a given in all literature departments. If you don't like this, I'll be as candid as others have been: you may not be cut out to pursue graduate studies in literature. Another recommendation I have for you is: check out a bunch of department websites in the fields of English and Comp Lit, since they may align most closely with your background and current training. Take a look at the following three things on each website: current grad students' interests, the faculty's interests and recently submitted dissertations. While grad students earlier in their programs (e.g. in their first, second and even sometimes in their third year) are typically still figuring out their interests, among the more advanced doctoral candidates and certainly among the faculty, you will notice almost exclusively specialists. (Remember, this doesn't mean that you have to radically limit yourself to one sole idea... Indeed, you'll see several grad students and professors who work on more than one time period, on several authors, and who approach their work through various theoretical lenses) You'll also notice that most grad students in literature are trained to grapple with theory. Unless you aspire to become the next Michel Foucault (which isn't even a feasible goal in the first place and I don't think anyone seriously aspires to do so; I mean, it either happens or it doesn't based on both the quality and innovation of your work as well as on factors you can't possibly control like your work's reception in academia and society at large), dubbing yourself the "theory specialist" will not help you succeed in academe. You will just be one theory nerd in a sea of many others and if you don't strive to be more open-minded, those other theory nerds will be way more competitive than you in the job market. You said:



    To be perfectly frank, precisely because the job market is so abysmal you must get over your aversion to specialize otherwise you'll never make it in academia. To answer your question succinctly: no, at least not in literature departments. Yet even interdisciplinary programs will expect you to care about and focus on the historical context of your interests, so the answer is unmistakably no for grad school programs in the humanities and social sciences in general. You won't find hiring committees say, "we're looking for a theorist to fill this position." If that were the case, in literature and certainly in interdisciplinary programs, the majority of applicants would be, to some extent, potential candidates. (Ok, an occasion in which they might say that is when they're looking for a specialist in, say, 19th and/or 20th century and contemporary literature and criticism, but again, that requires specializing in that entire historical period and not just a few isolated ideas about aesthetics)

    Luckily you still have time! If you decide that specialization and literature aren't your cup of tea, then there are certainly more interdisciplinary paths to pursue! I would reiterate my suggestion that you look for departments in both traditional and interdisciplinary fields (e.g. English, Comp Lit and Philosophy as well as programs like the ones for which several of us have offered you links). Take your target number of grad programs (I applied to 6 but you might want to apply to more than that) and split it however you see fit between traditional and interdisciplinary options (e.g. 50/50; 33.3/66.6; 25/75... you get the idea). Or you may find that you want to apply solely to interdisciplinary programs and that would be alright, too!

    Sorry once again for my long response. I know that you've been appreciative of our "tough love" so far but I think you'll be even more grateful for it later! I know I wish some nice grad students had guided me when I was in your shoes. Trust me, like you, I used to believe that I could specialize purely in theory and I also didn't care for being restricted to one particular period in literature. In my experience, while I definitely had a handful of undergraduate friends and peers who were, to varying degrees, also keen on studying theory, I found that, overall, it was decidedly not a popular route for undergrads. I did feel somewhat isolated at the beginning. However, I eventually found exciting company among my classmates in graduate-level seminars. Perhaps this might just be the dynamic at Princeton, but I have a feeling that in general, undergrads passionate enough about theory to continue pursuing it at the graduate level are a relatively small crowd. (There may be a lot of them on this site, but then again, this is a pretty self-selecting group of people... Emphasis on the word "pretty," of course ) In all seriousness, though, if you find that this is the case at your school, too, then see if you can enroll in a grad seminar or two and try to meet others with similar affinities! In a way, I feel like I'm offering advice to a slightly younger version of myself... Though a key difference between us may be that I discovered my passion for theory in a Queer studies class my sophomore year in college... but that's a whole other story.

    Some final thoughts: give yourself time to explore and discover your interests. Also, set a short-term goal (e.g. the rest of undergrad) of finding a stimulating thesis topic about which you're really passionate which could eventually double as your writing sample for your grad school applications. And remember that you don't have to specialize in this exact area in grad school (though you may well find it to be a useful starting point). You might even end up going in a completely new direction later on, and that's alright and even expected! But you will have a hard time even getting into grad school if you don't make an effort to focus your interests now and to be more open-minded as you do so. Make use of the resources you have in college; work closely with your professors; keep nurturing your drive to be independent but realize that it's alright to feel lost and it's perfectly respectable to ask for help. Sorry for such a sappy ending to my post but I do believe that The Grad Cafe is an excellent place to look for grad school-related help when you need it. I certainly found this to be a tremendously useful community when I was applying and I owe my success, in part, to the wonderful advice I garnered here. I suppose this is my way of "paying it forward." Good luck, Two Espressos!

    As a quick response to your latest post:



    Those are all great ideas! I'm glad our advice has been helping you to put your interests into perspective. But don't give up on academia just yet. Yes, it's probably wise to have back-up plans, but it would be a shame to lose an individual as passionate about theory as you to, say, the corporate world! L L (You can always consider taking a gap year after undergrad - I did this - if you prefer to try other options before making the marriage proposal to academia, as a friend of mine once put it, semi-jokingly) You'll figure things out in due time and you're certainly on the right track!
  8. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to ZeeMore21 in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    In my opinion, I don't see any problem with you deciding to concentrate on aesthetics. However, I think what is being argued by other posters is that you are limiting yourself to a certain extent by discarding sub-fields such as cultural studies. I really don't think that you can fully study aesthetics without studying the historical, cultural, sociological, and economic forces that shape it. This is where cultural studies comes in handy. You don't necessarily have to specialize in minority/ethnic/post-colonial queer studies, but these kinds of sub-fields help to interrogate certain beliefs about aesthetics founded on a Eurocentric, heteronormative foundation. I really don't see how you could be a competitive, marketable scholar in aesthetics without entertaining the sub-fields mentioned.




  9. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to JoeySsance in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    I meant to mention this in my previous (admittedly very long) post and it slipped my mind. I did say that there is no such thing as theory in a vacuum. There is no way one could fully divorce or dislodge theory from history. When you're studying a given theoretical framework, you're not only examining an idea or system that's inextricably embedded in a certain moment in history, you're also considering what amounts to being the contingent result of an historical constellation of ideas. Whether you see it through the lens of Foucault's epistemes or Lacan's points de capiton, the point is that no system of thought or subjective engagement with the world is ahistorical or atemporal. Sure, with a slight risk of sounding anachronistic, one could speak of "applying" a feminist or psychoanalytic framework to an earlier time period, say, like the Middle Ages. Certainly these frameworks deepen our understanding and challenge our preconceptions of the social dynamics of these earlier periods. However, you can't say, for instance, "I want to study Marxist theory in and of itself," without also engaging with its historical and social contexts. (I mean, I suppose you could elucidate what Marx's main arguments were but what good does that do in complete and utter isolation from all other considerations?) I would go as far as to say that you will definitely not find a department that offers "pure theory." I would be shocked if such a program did exist and would be intrigued to hear about it if you happen to find one, but I seriously don't think that you will.

    One more thing about Berkeley: if you were to consider a department outside of Rhetoric (like English, Comp Lit, Philosophy, etc.), Berkeley happens to have a phenomenal "Designated Emphasis" (i.e. a minor field) in Critical Theory (http://townsendlab.berkeley.edu/critical-theory). Berkeley was another program I got into (for French lit) and their Critical Theory DE was simply one of the most exciting options I was considering! Let me know what you think of it. Admittedly I don't know you, but I have a feeling you might really like it! Just don't expect it to focus exclusively on methodology... Do you see what I mean when I say that it's just not possible to study theory outside of a specific historical period? When I was in college, I too wanted to believe that it could be done. I really and truly did! Now that I know better, as a grad student, I'll be focusing specifically on thought from the 19th century to the present, primarily because the main frameworks I'm passionate about are concentrated in this time period. Then again, it could be argued that Rabelais in the 16th century was already formulating a lot of what eventually came to be the foundational questions of structuralist, Saussurean linguistics and semiotics in the 19th century (which were further elaborated in the first half of the 20th century), e.g. During the Renaissance, Rabelais grappled with questions like: is there a connection between words and the objects to which they refer or is it purely arbitrary? Compare that to Saussure's 19th century writings about signifiers, signifieds and referents... But again, I digress, sorry! Do you see what I mean, though, about theory and history?
  10. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to JoeySsance in A Question about Theory/Criticism   
    Hi Two Espressos! It's always a pleasure to encounter a fellow theory enthusiast! I have some advice and constructive criticisms for you and I hope you realize that they're grounded in my genuine enthusiasm for and encouragement of your theoretical interests. I apologize in advance for the length of my post! I studied French literature in undergrad, at Princeton, and will soon be starting a PhD in the same field at Harvard. When I declared as a French major in undergrad, I ended up forging my own "theory track" which proved to be a rewarding interdisciplinary endeavor. I was able to take classes in big "traditional" disciplines like Comparative Literature, Anthropology, Sociology, English, Politics as well as in smaller programs like women, gender and sexuality studies, race and ethnic studies, etc. I was fortunate to have very supportive advisers who encouraged my interdisciplinary approach. I should note that in my field, one can't really avoid specializing in a particular period. As tenuous and fraught with inconsistencies as labels and categories can be, the job market nevertheless relentlessly particularizes scholars. At the moment, I see myself focusing, broadly speaking, on 20th century and contemporary French and Francophone literature and theory while also considering 19th century French and German philosophy and criticism. More specifically, I too am interested in the field of aesthetics but also in its relation to politics and epistemology. This doesn't mean that I'm completely shutting out pre-19th century texts, authors and movements. There's no way I could be successful in my field if I did that! In fact, despite my (post-)modernist bent, some of the courses I'm most thrilled about in my new department are in earlier periods, for instance, there's a medieval studies class I'm really curious about because, as one professor described it, it will involve a "reflect[ion] on the complex relation between the so-called "Middle Ages" and the so-called "Renaissance." One could claim that Rabelais is a medieval Renaissance man and his good giants (father and son) a powerful metaphor for the rupture and continuity between two "epistemes" to use Foucault's terminology." This professor knew how to draw me, a student of modern and postmodern theory, into a medieval/Renaissance studies class! I'll admit that I'm probably just unabashedly and voraciously nerdy in that I love and appreciate scholarship in various areas, but the point is, older periods can certainly be relevant and worth considering (even if you don't specialize in them). Another class I'm looking forward to is "Reading the 18th Century Through 21st Century Eyes." But I digress...

    More to the point, I can't even get a Masters in my field (much less a PhD) without demonstrating that I understand the breadth and complexities of the French and Francophone literary canon, history, politics and culture from the Middle Ages to the present. If you end up applying to graduate programs in English or Comp Lit, you'll find rather similar expectations, so if you're really averse to period specialization, that's something to consider. However it is possible and - in both of our cases even desirable - to strike a balance between specialization and interdisciplinarity. I would recommend that you consider, on the one hand, the interdisciplinary possibilities in more traditional disciplines like English, Comp Lit and Philosophy, and on the other hand, explicitly interdisciplinary programs. In the latter category, a program I don't think I've seen mentioned on this thread yet (thought it's possible I missed it) is Stanford's Modern Thought and Literature department. Have you looked into it? http://www.stanford.edu/dept/MTL/cgi-bin/drupal/ I think other posters have suggested some great programs to you so far. Also, while it may have been mentioned already, I would (echo others who) encourage you to look into Cornell's School of Criticism and Theory: http://sct.arts.cornell.edu/indexLaunch.php?time=1307839787 It's a summer program rather than a full-time graduate degree-granting program, but it's certainly worth considering at some point in your studies. I hope to participate in it, myself, next summer or the one after! One recommendation I do remember reading and that I support as well is Berkeley's Rhetoric program. I would encourage you to look at traditional and interdisciplinary programs and see if you can pick and choose departments from both sides to come up with a list of potential graduate programs that really excite you as a theory scholar in training.

    Like you, I used to be wary of and even to some extent uninterested in specializing in a specific period. I wanted to just focus on "pure theory." Guess what I discovered while pursuing that? There is no such thing as theory in a vacuum! Sure, there are courses that look at theory from a more or less rigid historical or philosophical perspective and if you're interested in that, it's out there (albeit not in the form of an entire department or program devoted solely to that). That being said, no serious literary scholar and critic could afford to avoid interdisciplinary studies, and it seems like you have astutely embraced this possibility, which is wonderful! However, the specific post of yours that I'm citing raised a few pretty big red flags for me. For starters, your interest in canonization is, on the one hand, fascinating and certainly merits further study at the graduate level, but on the other hand, seems to come from a somewhat misinformed vantage point regarding the inherently political and cultural aspects of canonization. While you don't seem interested in focusing on cultural studies, race/gender/sexuality, postcolonialism, minority studies, etc. I would urge you to at least take a few seminars on those topics in grad school (and to start or continue doing so while you're still an undergraduate). I'm sure you realize how much those discourses problematize conventional views concerning canonization but I'm not yet sure that you appreciate the extent to which they could enrich your framework. By ignoring them, at the very least, in the job market you'd risk coming across as a close-minded scholar and at the worst, you risk privileging and perpetuating certain epistemic frameworks of canonization, e.g. Eurocentric/White, male, heteronormative, etc. Yeah, I know, I bet I sound like your typical PC broken record but I just figured you might want to give it a little thought as you pursue your theoretical studies. I'm not averse to studying canonical authors whatsoever... As I mentioned earlier, I will need to continue engaging with them to be successful in my field and I fully intend to do so (and I'm even very excited about it)! I'm not sure if you've come across this term but it might help you understand a bit better where I'm coming from: epistemological humility. Here's a clear definition I found online: "This term is used to refer to an understanding of the limits of an epistemological perspective. Epistemological humility reflects a belief or adherence to an epistemological stance as valid or authoritative, but not complete." (http://www.postmodernpsychology.com/Postmodernism_Dictionary.html) I hope that my work will, at its core, always be epistemologically humble and I believe that it's possible to achieve this even in canon studies only insofar as the canon is approached not solely from the omnipresent normative specter of the dead straight White male perspective but with serious consideration of and engagement and dialogue with the "constitutive outside" voices and experiences without which it doesn't even make sense to speak of a canon in the first place.

    Another point I'd like to bring up is your stated unsympathetic position toward and disinterest in certain branches of theoretical inquiry. We can't possibly be interested in and much less fully invest ourselves in every conceivable framework. Fair enough. In my experience, though, a genuine lover and scholar of theory, notwithstanding her/his theoretical preferences, enjoys engaging broadly with other frameworks. Let's start with psychoanalysis. You don't have to "believe in" psychoanalysis to appreciate its tremendous contributions to theory and criticism. I happen to be very sympathetic to Freudian and Lacanian theories of subjectivity and while I understand your reservations, once again, I believe they may be misinformed. Sure, in the fields of psychology and medicine, biological and neurological approaches are viewed as more cutting-edge and scientifically rigorous. However, psychoanalysis is still a respected and useful clinical approach (it hasn't universally been written off as outdated as you suggested). Notwithstanding the debates within the scientific and medical communities, none of that takes away from the incisiveness of psychoanalysis in the realm of literary and critical theory (I'm distinguishing here between clinical/medical psychoanalysis and literary/theoretical psychoanalysis in the humanities even though they do have rich intersections). For a theoretically rigorous yet accessible (yes that sounds like an oxymoron but it is possible!) defense of psychoanalytic theory, I would strongly encourage you to read Joan Copjec's Read My Desire: Lacan Against the Historicists. An author whose work might make psychoanalysis even more palatable for you is Slavoj Žižek. He's very interdisciplinary, like you, and blends psychoanalysis with Marxism, Hegel and other German Idealist philosophers (e.g. Schelling) and also film, politics, current events and pop culture. Žižek is a great theorist to bring up when people argue that the humanities are irrelevant and out of touch with the contemporary world because his work eloquently and amusingly proves otherwise.

    And now on to Queer and ethnic studies. I'd like to add that like you, I also don't identify as heterosexual. I understand that you might not feel a need to focus explicitly on Queer theory; it's perfectly alright if it doesn't become your specialization. However, if your interest does indeed lie in canonization, then as I said earlier, if you want to come across as a serious scholar in that particular area, you should not brush off considering the Queer and also racial and ethnic "outsides" - indeed the others - of the canon, even if it means just taking one seminar on Queer studies and another on, say, postcolonial literature. When you say, "I'm not opposed to considering culture/cultural concerns, but I don't want to focus on this (sub)field of theory. I'm not particularly interested in postcolonial theory/minority studies" what I'm sensing is either unacknowledged White privilege (i.e. if you are White) or a just as unfortunate privileging of White and Eurocentric canonical studies regardless of your race. Furthermore, when you admit that "As a gay person, I feel like these issues [e.g. heterosexual normativity, deviancy, social constructs of sexuality] are highly important and need to be studied" but then honestly aver that "I'm not particularly interested in postcolonial theory/minority studies" - which is totally your prerogative, by the way, and I don't mean to invalidate your personal experience - you seem to be saying (if you're White, that is) "if it's pertinent to me, it's important, and if not, it's not worthy of my time and doesn't need to be studied." (As a side note, one doesn't have to be a person of color to understand the ethical urgency to engage with issues in ethnic studies; society sees me as White and yet I'm very committed to race studies)

    You said: "I realize my "articulation" for each area is more or less "I'm just not interested in this." Lol I don't really know how else to put it. I can assure you, though, that my disinterest is not emotional." From a psychoanalytic or even a philosophical perspective, I wonder to what extent that's true... That fact that you from your subjective position embody the enunciating "I" precludes any fully objective assertion that you're absolutely emotionally detached. That is to say, that as the speaking "I" you necessarily and inextricably implicate your subjectivity with the issues from which you seem to be distancing yourself. Is your disinterest fully non-emotional? What might be going on for you psychically that pushes you away from these fields? (To be sure, interest in these fields should not by any means be construed as a marker of "normality," whatever that could possibly mean. Indeed one could ask the same of someone like myself, who is very invested in these fields: Why am I so drawn to them?) While I appreciate the sincerity in your position, I'm troubled by what comes across as your perhaps tacit ignorance of your own privilege in society and in academia. If you're not White - as entitled as you are not to be interested in ethnic studies, regardless of your race - while it's good that you at least acknowledge that it's a legitimate discourse, I'd encourage you to engage with it just a little further, again, considering your stated interest in studying canonization. If you turn a blind eye to ethnic and racial concerns, regardless of your race, as a scholar, you'd be shirking your ethical duty to the other, whether you want to see that from a Levinasian perspective or a postcolonial one. While it's ok not to have a burning passion for minority studies, I would say that your attitude toward this area of scholarship could be interpreted as socially/ethically, academically and intellectually irresponsible. (I don't mean to single you out in particular. Unfortunately this is a pervasive issue in the humanities, in academia and in society at large.) Moreover, when you've delved deeply enough into Queer and ethnic studies (without necessarily specializing in them), you'll discover that it doesn't make sense to talk about one without the other; they happen to be mutually enriching fields which intersect to yield a hybrid realm of exciting scholarly possibilities! Now there's an example of the beauty of interdisciplinary studies! And you can do that and still consider yourself primarily a canon scholar and a damn versatile and innovative one at that!

    Try to keep some of that in mind as you put together your independent study and as you look for the right interdisciplinary program. I think your interests and enthusiasm are certainly admirable and, again, I strongly encourage you and hope that everything works out for you! Again, I'm sorry for the long and somewhat desultory post. I hope my suggestions and feedback are indeed as helpful and constructive as I was hoping they would be. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions about theory and criticism or about applying to grad school in these fields in general!
  11. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! got a reaction from hotmessexpress in Ford Foundation Fellowship 2011   
    Hey everyone! I'm a predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

    Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!
  12. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! got a reaction from HopefulGrad2B in Ford Foundation Fellowship 2011   
    Hey everyone! I'm a predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

    Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!
  13. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! got a reaction from JoeySsance in Ford Foundation Fellowship 2011   
    Hey everyone! I'm a predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

    Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!
  14. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to gradschoolorbust! in Ford Foundation Fellowship 2011   
    Hey everyone! I'm a predoctoral alternate. I called in today to ask when predoc alternates might expect to hear back. By now they've heard back from around half of the predoc awardees who've either accepted or declined. They said that predoc awardees have until next Wed. May 11th to accept or decline their awards. The rest of that week Ford has administrative/processing-related stuff to do. They said that predoc alternates who eventually become awardees might expect to be notified in about two weeks. You could call in at around that time to get a better idea. Apparently they're not notifying everyone, so if you don't hear back in two weeks, it's likely that you didn't get an award. Another helpful bit of information I got was that anyone can ask for feedback from the committees, even awardees (apparently some awardees have done this already). You can even do that now as you await further news. (I thought I'd have to wait until knowing for sure whether I got an award or Honorable Mention) They did say that it would take some time for the comments to be sent out, but if you request them, you'll definitely get them.

    Hope someone out there finds this post helpful!
  15. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to Eigen in Anger, anyone?   
    Oh, I completely agree that you should be notified... And I don't think there are many cases of a grad school *not* notifying people of rejections. Just contrasting the cases. As many others have said, it's still a bit early to be angry that you haven't heard, imo. I'd give it at least until April 1.

    I think a lot of people also forget how many layers there are to the application process- the administrative layer (at the college, likely) that takes the fee- then the admins in the department that collect all the application materials- and then the adcoms who read and make decisions- and then back to the college to approve admissions- and then back to the department admins to send out letters- and then back to the college and college admins to send out official funding offers. It can take a while to get it all done, and especially done properly. I know all of our Adcom members do it mostly over their lunch breaks/in their offtime in the evening since they're too busy to do it the rest of the day.
  16. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to Eigen in Anger, anyone?   
    It wasn't the original poster who made those points.

    I think a lot of you that are focusing on the fact that "admissions is a part of their job" have it only partially right... It is a "service" position they fill in a rotating basis. None of your application fees go to paying anything for the Adcom- I think it all gets sucked up at the college/university level at most schools.

    And how long you want them to take also factors in how well you want them to pay attention to your application, and how many people you want to read it.

    That said, prompt notification of the first "rejections" certainly isn't the top thing on any departments mind. They're focusing on the people they are trying to attract, not the people that didn't make the first cut. And honestly, that's perfectly understandable to me.

    I know people don't like it when I compare grad school applications to the job market, but it's extremely common not to ever *get* a notification that you're not in the running for a job you applied for. Most companies don't think it worth their time to notify anyone but the people they want to interview.
  17. Downvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to delfi in Anger, anyone?   
    <br /><br /><br />
    Dendrogirl - the adcom people are not just paid my app fee. Its part of their job (for which they get a salary) to review apps and like me there must be 100 other students who have applied to them, thats 7,000 USD right there! Not to mention the other costs that go into doing apps.
  18. Downvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to delfi in Anger, anyone?   
    <br /><br /><br />
    Dendrogirl - there is an implicit assumption in your reply that I am a less-than-top student!

    The schools that I am waiting to hear back from either havent made a decision. period; ( I know coz I contacted them and there have been no results on the results board) or they do admissions on a rolling basis.

    I too have done an internship app which took almost a year to materialize! But then that was with the UN and I had a rough expectation of their timeline coz they had made it clear upfront itself. And thats exactly what I am talking about, if you tell students upfront that its going to take "X' months, you know what to expect. In my case, my ire is particular directly at a school that said they will intimate students mid-Feb, and as yet havent made their decisions! Another school has said nothing at all about when students can expect a decisions. Again, that is wrong. Have a timeline in place, and then stick to it. Its as simple as that!
  19. Downvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to Starlajane in Anger, anyone?   
    This is a very kind and helpful response, and I appreciate it. I'm not trying to "blame" anyone: I'm angry that they encouraged me to apply but, mostly, that my profs were assuring me that I would get in; I think that is my biggest peeve with the advice, that it was so unrealistic.

    And just to understand why I'm so upset: I haven't worked in three years and I passed up other opportunities because my profs were so certain that I would get in. Now I haven't and the response from them is, "Oh, well." I think that deserves a bit of righteous anger.
  20. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to wtncffts in Anger, anyone?   
    I'm not sure in what sense you mean 'right', but I'd say of course you're 'allowed' to be angry. I can't and don't want to constrain your emotions; I'm only suggesting the reasoning for your anger is flawed. People may be responsible for their own advice; that doesn't make them responsible for actions taken, as a result of that advice, by consenting, autonomous, and informed individuals. And I'm sorry, but unless your profs somehow coerced you forcibly to apply to grad school, it was solely your decision. You're not a child: you can't make the 'they made me do it' excuse any more. I'm not trying to be personal here, only responding to what you've presented.
  21. Downvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to Starlajane in Anger, anyone?   
    I have every right to be angry with my profs for giving me some very bad advice. I grew up being taught that you are just as responsible for the advice that you give as those are for listening to bad advice. Moreover, it was not "solely" my decision: I was very heavily encouraged and influenced by them to pursue graduate study. I wouldn't have pursued it if they hadn't encouraged me to do so.
  22. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to moralresearcher in Anger, anyone?   
    It could be that they aren't weighing their options, it could be that they're on a waitlist at a different program. Of course they aren't going to give up their admits to program A if they're waiting for a more-desired slot in program B that applicant X is holding onto until they hear if they're off the waitlist at program C that applicant Y is holding onto until they hear back from program D and so on. It's a giant domino effect that will sort itself out in time. Just chill. Yeah, the waiting sucks, and yeah, I want to be taken off the waitlist that I'm on, but I understand that I'm not the only person involved here, so I'm being patient. In the grand scheme of life, 4 months is really not that much time.
  23. Downvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to delfi in Anger, anyone?   
    <br /><br /><br />
    Well first off, reviewing applications is part of their job. So lets quit acting as though they are doing us a favor and going above and beyond their jobs to review our apps. They even take good money from us to get our apps reviewed. Secondly, it doesnt take more than 2 hours to read a SOP, 3 letters, and writing sample of an applicant. Third, none of the programs I have applied to receive 450 applications - most of the schools receive roughly around 50 to 150. So multiple 2 with 100, and you get 200 hours, or 28 working days comprising of 7 hrs each. Four adcom members could review these 100 apps within 7 days between them, if they were doing this ful-time. If half time, then lets say 14 days. Thats about 3 weeks. Anyhow, throw in another 5 weeks for re-reading, arguing, debating, etc!! And as you yourselff noted, not each app is reviewed by every single committee member, as quite a few of these would be rejected in the first round itself. So the re-reading etc i sdone only a subset of the apps. If you think more than two months is reasonable to wait, you've never worked in the private sector!!

    Anyhow, I really dont want to nit pick on numbers, etc. Suffice it to say, that there are (Thank God!) some schools who do seem to have their act (and attitude) together and are able to keep the applicants informed of where they are in the decision process, and get back to them in timely nature. Now these are not tier 2 or 3 schools, where you think they receive only a handful of apps. And I have seen a good mix of state and prvate schools in this category ( so please dont revert back saying prvt schools have the money to hire the staff!). Existence of such schools makes it justified to question the processes of other schools

    And by the way, I never once said the app process is corrupt. There is a difference between corruption and inefficiency. I said its long drawn out, to the extent that some schools think its totally ok to keep absolutely silent on the status of a candidate's application for over two months!
  24. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to qbtacoma in Anger, anyone?   
    I don't necessarily think a long time frame is evidence of inefficiency or unprofessional behavior on the part of the programs. Indeed, think of all the time it takes to read letters, SOPs, writing samples, and supplementary materials. Now multiply that by anywhere between 50-450 applications. Now realize that almost all of these applications have been read by several adcomm members, and many have been read by all of them. Now include the amount of time they go through to argue about who to admit and prioritizing the waitlist. Now include the time they put in to hashing out financial offers. Also, they ALL have other jobs. Two months sounds fairly reasonable to me.

    Keep in mind also that the Grad Cafe members are self-selected among applicants as 1) most anxious, and 2) most driven. Thus it is not surprising that some of them are hearing back in January, because those folks happen to have very impressive hit-it-out-of-the-ballpark profiles (a side benefit to being both driven and anxious - worrying leads to great revisions). Most of us, however, are good, but about the same amount of good as the competition. It is reasonable that it takes some time to evaluate us.

    However, I understand that anger is one of the emotions that comes out of anxious waiting. If the application process is really corrupt in some way, then, sure, anger is a logical response. But these programs are investing money and years into students, so it isn't too much to expect them to be measured about it.
  25. Upvote
    gradschoolorbust! reacted to HopefulGrad2B in Combining Funding   
    You're welcome! And I know you didn't ask for it, but here's yet another bit of potentially helpful info. My dream program at School A got back to me with more info on their funding policy with the Ford in particular:



    Just to clear something up, School A's program (which is an Ivy) is offering 5 guaranteed years of generous funding (years 1-4 and the completion year, which in most cases is year 6... since year 5 is unfunded, that's when students try to benefit from outside awards or teach classes... etc.). This is a very specific example but as far as the Ford Fellowship goes, it's probably a reasonably reliable model for other schools' policies regarding the Ford. Again, you should definitely look into your specific fellowships, departments and universities. I hope this was helpful, too!



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