heliogabalus

Wait--somebody posting something eurocentric in a Classics department thread! *drops monocle in tea* Despite all the undergrad rage mustered at this concept, the US for the most part is a very Western country (as is every country in America, since the majority or official language of every one is indeed European), and as a result Western Culture is viewed as patrimony. If you're upset about this, a Classics thread doesn't seem like a place to hang out.

What was all the pandering/imploring?

Well, that's horrific... From his bio: He has published on Sappho, Sulpicia, sexuality, slavery, sadism, and spectacles. I'm sure the other inmates will appreciate his alliteration skills.

The most damning indictment of Columbia's MFA program is that they actually let that guy in.

Yeah, I wouldn't really recommend anyone do an NYC MFA, unless they have no dependents and the stipend is somehow enough to live on--which I'm not sure any NYC MFA stipend is.

I ask because I did an MFA at a CUNY, and the professors were always hoping that tuition-remissions and stipends would be offered in the future. Because I could keep my job, paying for the CUNY MFA was actually the most financially sound option for me. If you have a job, the tuition-remission is really icing on the cake. Being in NYC does open up some opportunities as well. But New York is so ridiculously expensive.

I always take fully-funded to mean tuition+stipend. Is Hunter giving just tuition remissions--which is big for a CUNY--or are they giving stipends too?

Ok, to play devil's advocate--and I actually think that the original post is just a lame trolling attempt--I don't think that the "so much is lost in translation" argument holds up as well as most people think. When it comes to non-fiction prose, the translator's understanding and communication of the original is arguably as good, if not better, than the understanding of most specialist readers. It is possible that the translator has made some odd changes according to her "whims," but it's unlikely. Also, 90% of Classicists are at the mercy of paleographers' and editors' whims when they are reading Latin and Greek : not many could actually read some parchment or papyrus that was found. Pro Augustis is, of course, dead on about epigraphy and papyrology--which is more important to a historian than a lit specialist--as is Petros with his argument. If you want to be a specialist in Roman history, you're going to need to know Latin. You aren't a specialist unless you know the language of the people you study, you're just some guy who reads about Roman history, and why would a graduate program accept you and take the risk that you won't be able to learn it, when there are lots of good applicants that already know it. Also, since you're going to have to know Greek too, and you'll be required to learn German and French/Italian before you finish, you won't have time to learn the basics in grad school. And it's not just elitism--although there is that, I mean why do you want to study Rome as opposed to 20th Century Yugoslav history? Incidentally, if you did want to study 20th Century Yugoslav history, you would be required to learn Serb-Croatian, if not Slovenian and Macedonian too.

What do area of English lit do you want to focus on, and why did you have a bad experience during your MA? Are you sure that you will not have a similar experience again?

Well, good luck with the whole process. I hope it all turns out well for you.

Gatsbygirl, my post was directed towards you. Your story and style sound very similar to an old poster here. If you are not the same, I do apologize. If you are the same person, that's fine too. There must be tons of people who haven't had the best experiences during their MAs and got an unfunded offer for a PhD, but there's just something about your style that brings YoungCharlie101 to mind. Either way, I wouldn't get a second MA in the hopes that you'll get better recs out of it. Why not use recs from professors from your undergrad? Also, how do you know that you didn't get good recs from your MA program--aren't they confidential? Two MAs is probably overkill. Also, why do you want a PhD? It sounds like you have a teaching job, what would make it worth it to give up your career for the dubious prospects that an English PhD brings?

Also saw this one--although I only remember the mentions of NYU. <<I graduated with my MA from Columbia back in May, and I was set to go to Syracuse for my PhD in anthropology, but it was an unfunded offer. Also, as you can tell, my health is not exactly in the best position. I have severe anxiety that left me hospitalized twice. That's why I decided to take a year off school and reapply.>>

It's gotta be...

You didn't happen to post as YoungCharlie earlier, did you?

It may have changed now, but I went to UT and it was very easy to live cheaply there. (16,000 might feel like 26,000 in LA, plus I think it's the most fun city in the US). But check out placements and the direction the department is going in. I know a friend who took a job at USC (in Art History) was very impressed with the resources and vision of the school.

I don't think there's an exact formula, but I'd look at standard of living in relation to money being offered (and teaching requirements), location, and placement. I feel like USC's reputation has been rising rapidly in the last 10 years, so that might be something to consider.

DifferentPaths, would you be working full time while you go to NYU? Traveling an hour for grad school is not a big deal--and even if you live in NYC, the commute to a school might be an hour, but when you add it to the commute to work, family commitments, etc. it can be a lot. Just take it all into account.

One thing to consider is that, depending on how busy you are (are you working, for instance), travel time will really cut into writing-time. During my MFA, I actually ended up writing less than usual because I was working, commuting over 2 hours (there and back), and spending a lot of time reading and commenting on others' work. The ideal situation is to live very close to where you are attending.

Cincinnati has a phenomenal Classics department and a great creative writing track within English. There's definitely a lot of interesting stuff to get into there.

My big question is, are you a sci-fi student at UC-Riverside? (Sorry, couldn't resist. But yeah, unless you have an incredibly good and casual relationship with your advisor, or you are sleeping with them, I think this is really weird.)

For Czech they have Bolton and Tuckerova (I don't know if the position is long-term, though), so Harvard is probably the best place for Czech underground lit.

Are post-baccs generally for applicants that have less language training than MA students? I do wonder why post-baccs seem more popular than respectable terminal MAs.

With 4 undergraduate majors, why aren't you applying to PhD programs?

My dream is to teach translation theory courses in a leper colony--take that Applied Science!

Nikolai, if you're working on Byzantine-Russian topics and OCS, your year of Classical Greek will be seen in a positive light, I imagine. OCS reads, unsurprisingly, a lot like Koine Greek.