bdon19

Yay!! Welcome!!

I'm a current PhD student at Chapel Hill and, unfortunately, it seems to me that all acceptances and waitlists have been sent out. Sorry to spread the bad news -- UNC is a great place to be, and I wish all worthy candidates could be accepted here!  

Let the hate-fest begin (against me, of course), but I despise Jane Austen. I study the novel, but I can't bring myself to like her. Appreciate, yes. But like, never.

Man, that was a great conference!  Don't think I met any Gradcafe-ers there, but I had a splendid time!

I feel like work during grad school takes on two different meanings.  Hardly anyone I know takes on outside jobs other than the odd babysitting gig if they can help it.  However, nearly every graduate student in my department takes on some sort of additional work--tutoring, tech support, grading, etc.--within the department to earn some spare cash, which somehow doesn't seem like extra in the same sense.

Hi lovely GradCafe friends, I'll be making the trek from NC to Cali for my first real (read: not undergraduate) conference!  Yay!

I feel like work during grad school takes on two different meanings.  Hardly anyone I know takes on outside jobs other than the odd babysitting gig if they can help it.  However, nearly every graduate student in my department takes on some sort of additional work--tutoring, tech support, grading, etc.--within the department to earn some spare cash, which somehow doesn't seem like extra in the same sense.

From what I know about languages for medievalists/early modernists (the only fielsd other than comp lit for which languages *really* matter in most programs' eyes), there is absolutely no need to have your languages "match" those of your profs as long as you have the required language for whichever medieval/early modern field you plan on specializing in.  But with that list, I doubt anyone would bat an eye at you not having the other languages, unless the only reason you're applying to that particular program is to work with that professor, in which case you may want to reconsider applying to such a program in the first place.  Remember, it's never a good idea to apply to a program that only has one faculty member who really piques your interest.  Hope this helps!

After a year, I feel SO much better than if I had been checking in 6 months ago.  At that point, I was feeling a lot of "holy crap, what am I doing? WHY am I doing this!?"  But now, it is still summer (even if it doesn't feel like it!), and I'm sitting at Starbucks cranking out a conference proposal just because.  I am super pumped about the upcoming semester's classes and my first foray into the world of teaching!  I got a little "behind" last year (I didn't really do much...or really anything...by way of conferences), but as a first year coming straight from undergrad, I kind of feel like I experienced a year of burnout that I am going to follow up with a year of productivity!  In other words, I love my life as a grad student now, and I wouldn't have it any other way!  
 
How are the rest of y'all doing?  I kind of miss being on GradCafe every day!

After a year, I feel SO much better than if I had been checking in 6 months ago.  At that point, I was feeling a lot of "holy crap, what am I doing? WHY am I doing this!?"  But now, it is still summer (even if it doesn't feel like it!), and I'm sitting at Starbucks cranking out a conference proposal just because.  I am super pumped about the upcoming semester's classes and my first foray into the world of teaching!  I got a little "behind" last year (I didn't really do much...or really anything...by way of conferences), but as a first year coming straight from undergrad, I kind of feel like I experienced a year of burnout that I am going to follow up with a year of productivity!  In other words, I love my life as a grad student now, and I wouldn't have it any other way!  
 
How are the rest of y'all doing?  I kind of miss being on GradCafe every day!

Is it masochistic of me to wear my Princeton shirt to bed tonight? Perhaps. It's laundry night, though...

Mark McGurl's essay "The Posthuman Comedy" (and the following conversation between him and Wai-Chee Dimock) is worth looking into. Plus, McGurl is a rock star who knows how to wear a pair of black skinny jeans.

Definitely UNC!  (I'm not biased or anything...)  But, in all seriousness, UNC is really strong for early modern.  Let me re-state that: REALLY strong.  I came from a similar-sounding liberal arts institution for my B.A., and while I don't think that any graduate program will ever be able to offer (at least/especially on the administrative level), the exact type of environment that I had there, I definitely enjoyed my first year there greatly.  In terms of religion and literature, UNC offers the option of taking courses at Duke as well, and they have at least one or two cross-listed literature/religion courses every semester offered through the divinity school.  I am only on GradCafe sporadically now that I'm not applying myself (like now, it's usually when I'm procrastinating writing), but do feel free to PM me with any questions you might have about the program, and I'll try to get back to you!  Good luck with your applications!

Not a giant change or anything, but UNC Chapel Hill has been bumped up to #15 (from #16), tied with Brown! I have to admit that this news makes me happy. I can't really share this with anyone unless I want to sound hella arrogant, but I'll do a little dance in my head. 

One of my favorite human rights related texts is Human Rights, Inc.:  The World Novel, Narrative Form, and International Law by Joseph Slaughter (oh, the irony in that name).  

Thanks, ComeBack, for a great post. And Trip, for starting this thread.

We're all here because, well, I mean, look at us. We're pretty awesome. Look at how far we've come in just a few short months. Yes, the application process may be hell, but you know what, it's taught me more about myself than I usually learn in years. Just applying has made me realize that, yes, this is exactly what I want to do. Because of that, I think rejection hurts all the more. Like I've said elsewhere the past few days, I have a feeling the rest of the season may be pretty much over for me (I'm looking at two Ivies and Toronto left, minus the M.A. I'll surely turn down because of Ph.D. acceptances), and I'll continue to neurotically check the boards and my e-mail until it's completely over (and until Michigan and Rutgers finally just fucking reject me, already!). But taking a moment to be like, "Holy shit. I did this. This thing that sucked my entire life away for a good nine months or so (hmmmm, weird analogies happening there) has actually worked out and there are programs that want me, me over 98-fucking-percent of people." I mean, that's a pretty amazing feeling. So, go us. We rock.

Let's keep thinking positively, like our good friend and role model Trip Willis, but make sure that the positive thinking goes across the board. I'm sure I won't be successful (especially when those last rejections roll in), but I can try. Let's use this thread for stress-relieving but also positive thinking. WE ROCK. GO US.

The earrings? Yes, they really exist. I can't currently find any, but this is from the same seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JONATHAN-SWIFT-art-PENDANT-BROOCH-Pin-/330690601105?pt=Handcrafted_Artisan_Jewelry&hash=item4cfeb22091

I went through a phase my sophomore year when I bought a ton of literary jewelry... Yeah. Sometimes I wonder how I got into grad school...

Well, here's some good news for you.  Chapel Hill has a university-wide policy on the use of gender neutral language, so you'll be right at home there.

Why was this voted down?  Personally, I try to alternate between masculine and feminine pronouns in my writing.  I think "they" as a singular pronoun is awkward.  I can't stand it.
 
And I always write "she or he" instead of "he or she" because I rarely see the former and think it's minimally subversive.
 
Really though, I think gender-pronoun usage is a minor problem, especially compared with the much more severe hetero- and cis-sexist shit going on.
 
ETA: I mean think about gendered nouns and adjectives in French (and presumably other romance languages as well?).  We don't even have to worry about that in English.

"Hello Dr. Copjec, I like your shoes. You know, they kind of remind me of that article you wrote about Lacan."

After two years of posting on these threads, rejoicing in others' acceptances, commiserating in others' rejections, and constantly questioning whether or not I really could be a scholar, I'm ecstatic to report:
 
I'VE JUST BEEN WAITLISTED AT UNC-CHAPEL HILL! 

Ditto.  I happened to see the grad admissions director in the student union today, meeting with undergraduate students. These are professors who are still teaching both undergrad and grad courses, getting their students through major/minor exams, mentoring students, planning the visitation weekend for students who do get accepted, and doing a whole bunch of other things.. I don't envy them, as I can barely get my work done as is!

Unfortunately, I only heard this from a friend, who heard it from a faculty member he passed on the staircase today.  Other than that, I don't know much at all.  I don't even know who's on the committee, minus the admissions director, DGS, and such.  Good luck to you though!  UNC is a great place to be!
 
 
Good luck to you, Two Espressos! You've been working so hard at this; I really hope it works out for you!!

Hey friends! Just wanted to throw out there, I heard rumors today that the adcomm here at UNC is finalizing decisions basically as we speak and will be starting to notify soon! I know I got my e-mail last year at about 8 pm, so keep your eyes out! I am crpssing my fingers for all of you!!