Two Espressos

Suicide studies, eh? Thanks for the heads up. As an undergraduate, I can't really keep up with the pace of our discipline, so it's good to know of new progressions.

Ouch. Notwithstanding your curt, overgeneralized disregard of an entire discipline, I'll give you props for being memorable.

I'm wondering which comment you've filed away? Hm... I know you like the gender-irrelevance, but... Correct.

Great question, rosales! Frankly, I don't think I've read enough theorists to build up a "Mt. Rushmore" of names. I of course have read lots of theoretical books and articles, but I can't say that my thinking, at this point, is predicated upon any solid set of names. So I'll just list four intellectuals whose work is trending with me as of late: Michel Foucault John Stuart Mill David Hume Hans-Georg Gadamer

Hm, I can't tell if this is a joke about my username or an actual prediction about my impending admissions results.

Oh? If you want to take a stab at my gender (or not, as this is all pretty superfluous), shoot! I'll tell you if you're correct or not. I'm kinda curious, actually.

Discussions about gender cues and discourse popped up earlier this year, and I think during that thread someone made a guess at my gender. But this time around, no one has for me, either.

Let me guess: you think I'll be shut out this spring?

I agree with some of your points to some degree, but I'm wondering how you know any of this. It comes off as just pontificating, especially since structuralism certainly isn't dominating English departments and hasn't for 30-40 years or so.

That's what I thought too, but then I wondered if maybe I gave the more generalized us-versus-them vibe that Don'tHate refers to. My intention certainly wasn't to make sweeping claims.

A fair point. I'll be more careful with my rhetoric next time.

Great thread idea! Money was an issue for me, but if I had the extra cash, I probably would have applied to 1) Chicago: it has a reputation for being quite rigorous, and I am just drawn to the program for some reason. Lauren Berlant is there too. 2) Duke (Literature): I like the interdisciplinarity of the program a lot, but I was a little leery after hearing some negative feedback from some accepted applicants last year. 3) Michigan: a great program, but it got edged out by another school in a similar geographic location. Those three come to mind off the top of my head. Oh and had I taken the Lit GRE: Rutgers. My advisor got her Ph.D. from there, knows lots of people in the program, and could have put in a good word for me.

It certainly is an interesting question. I think that there's only so much that can be said from a non-empirical basis, though, so we'd have to hear from the neuroscientists, biologists, and psychologists to really make progress (sorry, gender theorists!).

How so? I'm merely pointing out the truism that practice makes perfect, so there is nothing wrong with a graduate student or professional scholar being confident in the intellectual abilities she has honed and refined through their career choice. It's easy for someone who hasn't gone to graduate school to casually dismiss it or assume he could have gone; that's all I'm saying. I don't see any elitism in my remarks.

The best part is that neither of us would likely know who the other was if we met. I've given away only very vague personal information on this website, so I don't think I can be identified (easily). I often think about this: will I at some point meet TripWillis, bfat, rems, etc. in real life and not know it?

As much as I think this thread is a bad idea... I think rems and bfat will get some acceptances; they seem like they have their shit together. I'm not as familiar with the regular posters this application season, despite my being a part of this application season, so I can't really say anything for anyone else. To the OP: I can't speak to your admissions chances, but I feel bad for those who will encounter you in real life.

What has happened to the English forums these days?

I agree! Ideas do not only come from the staid conference room: they often come from less "serious" discussions among colleagues as well, perhaps even more so.

Exactly. It's easy to be sardonic about graduate school if you didn't go but said you could. Really though, if someone didn't go--or even more so, if this person didn't even apply-- I have no reason to believe that she or he could actually do it. Again, exactly. There may be those naive, ignorant applicants who are oblivious to these things, but most of us on these forums know all of the above and still apply anyways. To my mind, this signifies two things that are not necessarily mutually exclusive: 1) We're extremely dedicated and passionate about the work we want to do. 2) We're slightly insane. And while lots of people say that the life of the mind doesn't exist, I'm not convinced this is the case. Many careers outside academia foster creativity and higher-order thinking, of course, but none of them offer the unique opportunity that graduate school does to reach the highest echelons of thought. As with any endeavor, intellectual or physical, practice hones and develops ability. Being an autodidact only gets you so far, especially when your time gets swallowed up by life's other concerns. In graduate school, you have the opportunity to make higher-order thinking your career, your full-time occupation, and thus get lots of time to practice and thereby develop your intellectual abilities. The life of the mind does exist; graduate school offers it, flawed and non-idyllic though it may be.

Yes, this. And I have no problem with farmers and such owning hunting rifles and using them as tools when needed. I live in a quasi-rural area (there are farms near me), but I still don't think my neighbors need assault weapons or anything like that. You don't need to spray three dozen bullets into a rabid animal to kill it.

Mass shootings will continue to happen unabated in the United States until we're willing to seriously evaluate our gun culture. Why is it that so many people fight more for their right to own ridiculous and unnecessary weapons, like assault rifles, than for the right to health care or education? There are people in this country who seem to be more concerned about restricting speech they dislike than restricting the harrowing gun violence in the U.S.

It's probably fake, but FUCK FUCK FUCK

Could you elaborate? I'm not applying to Purdue's Philosophy and Literature program, but my interests fall between both of those fields, so I considered the program at one point. I remember reading on the P&L webpage that the degree takes more time than a regular doctorate in the humanities, and considering a humanities doctorate can take up to a decade, that was a major turn-off for me.

I would be so neurotic about late LORs! All of my letters were submitted on time, but some of them came very close to the deadlines, which stressed me out. But yeah, I think that many schools won't mind if LORs are late by a few days or so. Some graduate program websites even state something along the lines of "we only accept supplementary materials up to one month after the deadline," etc.

Yeah, I'm basically fucked as far as this goes.