Origin=Goal

I can claim the Berkeley admit. I was stunned to see an email from Frank Bezner on Friday night; haven't heard from anywhere else, though.

Cornell. They emailed to ask my permission to do so, because they also have that section. But it's perfectly plausible that Columbia would not send out such a confirmation to do so. Looks like we're applying to lots of the same programs (Princeton, Brown, UCB, UCLA, NYU, Penn), what do you work on?

I'm a comparatist, or whatever, as well. Haven't heard anything, accept for 1 fellowship submission request and 1 department switched my app to another department.

Some Comp Lit decisions came in on the 25th last year, heard they send out the first round then. I'm probably just a little eager though!

Anyone hear from Berkeley?

Anyone who thinks that the vanishing job market, disappearance of funding, shrinking graduate cohort, and so forth are in any way exclusive to literature is terribly mistaken; the crisis of the humanities is exsanguinating the languages (ever ask anyone how the job market is in French these days?), ethnic studies, cultural studies, film, theater, busking--hell, its even begun to affect the social sciences considerably (especially its critical wing: history, anthropology, etc). Don't be so assured that the enfeebled, shrinking field of literary studies does not reflect your own situation. Despite the moderate growth we've heard so much in Composition (a discipline I by no means am degrading here), we're all fighting to board and effectively sinking ship here. But we do so to avoid what is many ways an even worse economic situation, to say nothing of the social/cultural one outside of the academy.

Sorry to hear it, comrade! Don't let it get you down though, we're all going to get our fair share of rejections; no funding coupled with the mushrooming number of applicants inevitably leads to this. I'm pulling for you at UCSC! Still better than joining the reserve army of labour though, right?

English (Lit)= English Lit, Comparative Literature=Multiple Language/National Literatures (to be frank, the field is basically arbitrary), Rhetoric/Composition= Language composition, acquisition, etc; "Rhetoric" (e.g. Berkeley's Rhetoric Dept.) sometimes houses whatever academic trends and experiments (usually theoretical ones) that can't fit in other places.

Although I'm stoked about the possibility that the email I got about this fellowship application *might* indicate admissions possibility, asking applicants to write up response essays over one weekend is cruel!

I agree on the above post-- I can't imagine they expect you to cough up another couple letters just like that. You should email WashU to clarify, if its not too late. I got a similar email to the OP asking for a FLAS essay by Monday. Doing my own "secret little dance" right now!

That's a great list, Phil Sparrow, thanks.

Eagleton's "Literary Theory" isn't a bad place to start, but if you're interested in critical theory as such you can really do no better to start with Marx (quickly followed by Freud), as his critique of political economy really forms the bedrock for social theory sui generis. Buffet-style anthologies are good (especially as primers with an expressly historical overview), but an interest "in it all" requires, in my view, digging into the thing itself. One could do much worse than Capital Vol 1, but I think Lukacs's History and Class Consciousness is probably an easier start, especially for those of us with an interest in the development of Frankfurt School aesthetic and social theory. Wherever one starts, I feel he or she will inevitably need to learn this material; I made my way there from Foucault and have been much happier, personally! Gail Ruben might also be a good point of departure, given your specific interests.

Congratulations, hope appearance and essence are aligned on this one!

I'm in! Whoever suggested Jameson shots should pm me

This same thing happened to me at one of my top schools-- an email from the secretary telling me the DGS wanted my application moved to a different program (which, incidentally, houses all of my potential advisers) and requesting my permission to do so. I said of course! I'm taking this as a good sign, reasoning that if ours apps where not of interest this would not be necessary or done at all (i.e. better than the trash bin). Good luck to all of us in this spot (could really use some now!)

I have a lot of empathy, michigan girl. Reading through the "suggestions" offered up here are making a little outraged on your behalf--I guess some people have never been in a situation where the rent, bills, etc are piling up and legitimate work cannot be found. It's confounding to see how bad the economic situation is even outside of higher ed (to say nothing of matters such as personal dignity or self-esteem). I haven't even been able to get entry level service jobs over here, and I have experience in every line of work I've tried. Shit is as bad as its been since the the 1930's; a better time than ever to take up an intense study of Marx...

Vordhosntwin: I applied to the Comp Lit program at Penn, and have similar theoretical interests to yours (although substituting Derrida for Lukacs and Lacan) and I listed the historian Walter Breckman (cross-listed faculty from history) and Eric Jarosinski from the German department as strong POI. With your interest in Frankfurt School Aesthetic theory, I would definitely check out latter, as he has some very interesting writings out there; the former would match well regarding Hegel and the dialectical tradition. Of course, I'm not sure how flexible the program is about allowing advisers/committee members from other departments, but most Comp Lit seem to be pretty flexible (especially Penn, as you noted). Hope you get some acceptances, you're research ideas look fascinating.

I just wish we'd get the damn rejections sooner! Making us into mid/late March is simply cruel.

Just curious to see if most folks are applying for English or (like myself) on the other pole; seems like mostly the former on the boards.

Ahhhhh!!! Looking forward to being something other than unemployed!

Does anyone here know if Susan Buck-Morss still teaches (or is affiliated with) Cornell? I saw something about her elevation at CUNY and was wondering if she left Cornell or else has some kind of joint appointment at both universities.

Tried to NOT look back over submitted apps, but in putting together my latest I found a repeated word that I somehow missed the last sentence! Worst possible place, right? To make a bad situation worse, the same mistake found its way onto two other statements of purpose. I don't think I can even measure how horrible this feels.

If this continues to into January I would not hesitate to write to their department chair (which hopefully he or she is not), explain the situation in diplomatic but firm terms, and request their immediate help in rectifying this situation. I was in the same exact spot and although it was difficult to do, things worked out in the end and I don't regret anything. As applicants they put us in such vulnerable, contingent positions that we feel powerless in situations like this, but I assure you that other people DO understand that predicaments like this happen. The commitment to write a LOR for a student is purportedly a serious, binding agreement, and most professors are fully aware of this. Good luck and, most importantly, try not to panic. It will most likely be resolved and chalked up to a misunderstanding.

Some programs I'm applying to (e.g. Minnesota) accept four candidates at most (!) Yeah, getting more comfortable with the probability that I'll have to do this again next year, but the application process has definitely taught me some important things about my own goals and intellectual abilities/desires

Good luck, TE. You never really "figure it out," rather you just have to look at where your training has been, what your real intellectual interests are, and how you can find a way to reconcile both in a form that you can live with. In the mean time, I'm telling myself that if you really work hard at it, something will work out, but I very much empathize with your situation. For instance, I myself stick out like an awkward, sore thumb in my field, as the way I've been trained is in a somewhat unorthodox manner. Subsequently I don't fit well in most lit. departments that privilege "national traditions" and language training (as my primary interests are theoretical and critical), while I find that most of the edgier departments in the U.S. don't accommodate the type of theory I like and eschew all pretensions to be a unified discipline. The contrast between Berkeley Comp Lit and Rhetoric departments gives you a great example of that. At least with Comp Lit you get to select most of your committee from any department that will take you, but unfortunately they won't accept you on that pretense alone (ie you need to find people in the department you know you can work with).