TripWillis

"I can do it, but you probably couldn't."

Yeah, the comments are surprising on the "Yes" one's youtube thread. I have no idea why people are so f-ing negative and condescending. Yes, we understand the challenges and risks. We have done google searches/talked to professors. You can stop acting like we're 5 year olds. I believe in balance when it comes to this. After all, what are people trying to accomplish with the first video (even though, I agree, it's funny and important)? Are they just trying to make people feel bad about their life choices, or are they trying to actually help people make better decisions? I'm already in the war; I don't need to be told I might get shot. EDIT: Plus IRONY ALERT! Whenever the condescending and negative advice is given, it's done from the privileged position of someone who is already a TT professor in the humanities. Do as I say, not as I do, I suppose? Do they feel intellectually compromised or threatened? Do they want to shrink humanities so that it's less competitive? It all makes me very suspicious and angry.

STATELY! Do not even think of going! You have great, funded PhD offers in hand! Don't mess it up! Sorry... I just got crazy for a sec there.

I also like the original video though. "Harold Bloom is a misogynistic narcissist."

Cretins.

I most definitely will want to chat about it, THANKS! It does seem very promising, but I, like you, am avoiding e-mailing the DGS and being patient until AT LEAST next week, so nothing new has come up. Also, I have begun to think about this whole thing differently after my visit to the Grad Center and my weekend at NeMLA; if I wind up at CUNY, I will be incredibly happy regardless, but for totally different reasons than if I go to Rutgers. It has become a tougher decision than I had ever anticipated, but I'll just be patient and see.

Egg-fucking-zachtly. Not to mention, exploring a lot of Plan B opportunities and options while doing my M.A. made and will make the Plan A a little easier to attain in the long run. There is professional experience and money out there in the world of books, writing, reading, and teaching; you just have to be entrepreneurial and tenacious. I think the "money doesn't matter" thing is not really the case with most of us who are thinking straight; it's more like "money doesn't matter as much as my happiness/is not directly causative to my happiness." I'm certain for most of us that it's still correlative (yay argument analysis...). EDIT: Thought this would help. If you're concerned about a job, these are the sorts of benchmarks or things you might want to strive toward in addition to completing your coursework and shit: -3 or 4 published articles -2 or 3 book reviews in academic journals -graduate service (besides teaching) all 5-8 years on councils, conference committees, ad-coms, etc. -Regular attendance at professional conferences -Clear idea of 5-10 potential dissertation topics from day one of graduate school -Independent research -Summer reading lists -Extra languages -Teaching experience and experience designing non-comp courses -Experience with "pitching" books and articles for publication -A network of esteemed colleagues who you can collaborate with on potential anthologies or other works -Luck

Sorry to interrupt the thread, but how is that Princeton waitlist looking? Rooting for you! Then again, maybe we'll wind up cohort mates at the other NJ school.

*cue Pannapacker reading this, looking down his nose at you, and calling you naïve.* The guy's articles obviously have nothing to do with benevolent advice anyway. It's just provocation meant to strike up people's interests and debates and get more copies of The Chronicle in front of people's faces. Plus, he teaches at Hope College, which is a total piece of shit conservative Christian college in Michigan. I know a lot of empty and soulless people who went there for accounting degrees*. I wouldn't be surprised if his motivations stem from dissatisfaction with the political culture of humanities these days. *wooowww I'm judgmental.

Since I believe in balance: http://chronicle.com/article/What-I-Tell-My-Graduate/126615/

I don't deal with them. It's a fact that completing a PhD and finding a job after is a huge challenge. I understand. I no longer care. The point is, if it discourages you, you were probably never meant to do it. If it doesn't discourage you, you are either crazy or your passion for the field is too strong to be rational. Also, keep this in mind: "I know I experienced all of those motivations when I was in my early 20s. The year after I graduated from college (1990) was a recession, and the best job I could find was selling memberships in a health club, part time, in a shopping mall in Philadelphia. A graduate fellowship was an escape that landed me in another city — Miami — with at least enough money to get by. I was aware that my motives for going to graduate school came from the anxieties of transitioning out of college and my difficulty finding appealing work, but I could justify it in practical terms for the last reason I mentioned: I thought I could just leave academe if something better presented itself. I mean, someone with a doctorate must be regarded as something special, right?" It sounds like 1) He is trying to graft his poor grad experience on to everyone else's, and 2) He is, in general, a very condescending writer. I definitely agree that grade/rec inflation is a huge problem (something I'm trying to correct, even though many of my students hate me (while others adore me (I'm the most polarizing teacher I know))), but anyone who has done cursory research into the graduate application process knows that ad-coms care very little about the numbers anyway. I am currently completing an M.A. program, and at a recent meeting of the student council (and others), the grad deputy polled us to see how many were considering PhDs. Everyone raised their hands, like 20 people. I happen to believe that, based on statistics, only about 3-5* of them are liable to be accepted in the first place; moreover, only 1 or 2 could be counted as people who were serious about graduate study and not just biding time (and I know that sounds judgmental, but I've been in a lot of classes with these people and I know what they're like and what their goals are). There are a lot of things that weed people out and a lot of ways for one to tell if they will be satisfied before their career as an academic ever begins. Everyone is different. His experience doesn't match everyone's, not even close. *A very liberal estimate. In reality, our program sends MAYBE 1 person off to a PhD every year. One year we had like 4 and it was mindblowing. Edit: The point I'm trying to make is that it's fine to heed warnings and do research and get a lot of opinions, but remember that you are an individual and allowed to make whatever choices you want with your life, whether they are destructive or not. And, in many cases, the choices that seem the least destructive are the ones that haunt you. I, for instance, could've pursued hospitality to my death, since I was very good at it. The problem is, I used to sob uncontrollably before my shifts because of how much I loathed and despised going there. The money was excellent though. But, unless you're really into luxury goods, having babies, buying McMansions, and eating out at 4 star restaurants, how much money are you going to need in your life? It's up to you, really. That's all.

I think it may be required first year, but not necessarily first semester. Also, I might have an equivalent course through my M.A., especially since I'm already at CUNY. I guess we'll see. It doesn't seem like all first semester students could really take it anyway, right? I think the course caps are like 15 and there's something like 25 incoming students.

They're so good! Some of them are super-niche, but in a good way. I think if I wind up here in the Fall, I will do a 3-course theory overload and detonate my brain. Although the early modern cultural studies stuff looks intriguing.

I didn't realize they were up!

This thread makes me think of The Damnation of Theron Ware.

Rep.

Really well! Other panels were great too. Thanks. How was yours?

Okay, so is anyone here right now? Wanna get a beer? Preferably not someplace with a ton of Irish enthusiasm? PM me.

On my way from NYC right now. Penn Station is super weird at 6 am on a Saturday, I gotta admit.

Did we meet? You were to the left of me, right?

Bummer. I missed ya. I wasn't at the friday forum thing, just the open house. I did indeed have the yellow note sticker pad.

Hah! I know her. Cool. I was not him. I was in the 3rd row in the corduroy jacket, glasses, mustache, with a sticky-note pad. I don't remember a granny sweater person! Bummer.

Meeting GCers tonight was super fun (at the GC no less). CUNY was very cordial and everyone seemed very enthusiastic about the program. They made the 2/2 seem like a godsend, even though it's a lot of work. Also, that 21 out of 25 for hiring last year was pretty remarkable. I was very envious of the person who spoke who got a job at Penn State. All in all, a very fine visit. I would be more than happy at CUNY. Gonna be a tough decision.

Official! Nice short letter.

I think bespeckled got an acceptance call from Oregon after the website listed him as "rejected." Pretty hilarious. I'm also assuming that this is probably what's going to happen with Davis, Tufts, BU, Maryland, Yale, and Harvard for me. Right?