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TripWillis

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  1. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to ComeBackZinc in Silly Question: What qualifies as "cutting edge" and does it really matter?   
    New Criticism. That shit is hot.
  2. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to ZacharyBinks in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    Yayayayayayayay!! Congratulations! I'll see you in August
     

  3. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to sebastiansteddy in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    I have made my final decision. I will be attending The Ohio State University for my PhD in English. GO BUCKS.
     
    What a difficult decision. I LOVED everyone at Riverside, and Irvine is an amazing program, but in the end OSU is the place for me.
  4. Upvote
    TripWillis got a reaction from asleepawake in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    I think you made the right decision.
  5. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to asleepawake in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    I just accepted Buffalo and turned down WVU.
     
    Now I've got the blahs. I am very excited about Buffalo, though. Yay!
  6. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to thebeatgoeson in Waiting for Guffman (the waitlist thread)   
    Over a month later, my waitlist at the University of Minnesota just turned into an acceptance.  Holy everything, batman.  Fingers crossed for everyone still waiting.
  7. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to Datatape in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    Officially attending the University of Nevada, Reno!
  8. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to gwarner13 in Waiting for Guffman (the waitlist thread)   
    Holy smokes, guys-- I just got the good word from UCLA! Can't believe it!
     
    I'll be turning down an offer from UT Austin tonight. Hope that helps someone (I'm looking at you, ErnestPWorrell)! Keep your heads up!
  9. Upvote
    TripWillis got a reaction from vitaebella in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    I think it's a difficult decision; they're both wonderful programs. All things being equal, choose the place with the faculty you most want to work with.
  10. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to Two Espressos in Waiting for Guffman (the waitlist thread)   
    YOU GUYS!!!  I've just been accepted to UNC-Chapel Hill! 
  11. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to ghijklmn in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    I'm going to Northwestern! Feel so good to be done deliberating!
  12. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to intextrovert in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    I completely agree with other posters about placement being the most important thing, far more than ranking, but I'd urge you to look deeply into placement numbers. Ask the schools for all the records they keep - sometimes the university's graduate school compiles statistics, as well as the department itself. It's not always easy to find, but not keeping good records is a red flag in and of itself. Are there particular subfields (or advisors) doing notably better than others in a particular department? What sorts of jobs is each school placing people into? By that, I mean not just tenure-track vs. lecturer or adjunct, but also what sorts of schools and positions - ones that are heavy teaching, with 4-4 loads, or research universities that give you more time for your own projects? Many "lower-ranked" programs place quite well because their grads are looking for totally different types of jobs, in which case their raw numbers become incommensurable with schools more focused on training researchers. It may be that you'll want to think very seriously about what sort of job you envision yourself in, and make your decision accordingly.
     
    My (admittedly under-informed) impression is just that Buffalo is in a completely different league than West Virginia - they're definitely a "known" program in a way that WVU isn't. They're also known for having an untraditional, hip, theory-oriented program. That's not to say Buffalo is necessarily right for you, but I think it's important to keep in mind as you figure out where you want to be. Good luck!
  13. Upvote
    TripWillis got a reaction from cicada123 in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    Yes, if it comes through, you have to take Maryland's offer. There isn't any doubt.
  14. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to Swagato in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    Accepted Yale's offer.
  15. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to ZacharyBinks in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    As long as the visit day goes well tomorrow and the department isn't a bag of dicks, I'll be officially accepting my offer from Ohio State!
  16. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to This_madness in Final Decision Thread 2013   
    Just sent my acceptance notes to UMass-Amherst. I delayed for a few days because I had a strange fear of finalizing the entire process.
     
    Anyone else feel similarly? 
  17. Upvote
    TripWillis got a reaction from Imogene in what is "hot" in English today?   
    Exactly. Can we start a petition to ban Harold Bloom and his multiple gradcafe accounts?
  18. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to Two Espressos in The Canon   
    As much as I should probably let this thread stagnate, I must say that I've largely changed my opinion on this after thinking about it for a few days.  I do think that aesthetic concerns still matter, but I'm with other posters now in claiming that really productive, fascinating work can come from a great number of texts, even the most "non-canonical."  I think a better--and more nuanced-- position than I previously espoused would be to judge the reasoning/arguments behind studying a given text on its own merits.  That's where I'm at right now.  I think many of the criticisms about a lack of intellectual common ground in English still stand, but I guess I'm in the anti-canon camp at present (kinda).
     
    As is and has been the case, I've posted lots of stupid things on this website over the years.  Know that my thinking is always in flux, and ideas I entertained in the past may very well have changed!
  19. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to ComeBackZinc in Question about program prestige/rankings   
    Look, here's the deal: people know rationally that rankings don't matter. But they want to feel validated and justified by those ratings even as they understand them to be bullshit. So they gravitate towards whatever ratings they feel support their own choices and their own path. 
     
     
    But why are they off the wall? Where does that opinion of yours come from? Yes, prestige matters. But actual prestige and perceived prestige for those outside of the current academy are very different things. People flip out about the NRC rankings because they aren't the usual "Berkeley plus the Ivy League" stuff that people gradually assume. I'm no expert, not close. But UConn being above Brown is the opposite of off the wall, if you actually look at the quality of the faculty, the recent publication history, and their ability to place students in jobs. Arizona State over University of Chicago? I'm on board, based on who is actually there now rather than on broad notions of school quality that are based on undergraduate exclusivity, which has precisely nothing to do with the quality of an English doctoral program. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that you're assuming that the quality of literature doctoral programs should more or less track with the assumed prestige of undergraduate institutions. And frankly, I think that is a profoundly mistaken perspective, and one that has resulted in an ossified notion of quality in English, to the detriment of people working in the field. It makes it impossible for vibrant programs of quality scholars to advance, thanks to the legacy of what a program once was decades ago.
     
    So I guess the question is: on what basis do you justify assuming that UConn is necessarily a worse program than Brown?
  20. Upvote
    TripWillis got a reaction from grubyczarnykot in what is "hot" in English today?   
    In this case I sense you just don't know very much about animal studies and posthumanism, especially considering that asleepawake has already acknowledged one of your primary critiques (of something you obviously know nothing about) and you read right through it. This is either cognitive dissonance or you are a troll.
     
    Humanism is also people talking for other people (see like everything ever written by Spivak for instance -- the fucking double bind!). Does that invalidate humanism? Is humanism a flawed methodology? Are you a troll?
     
    Edit: Everything is representation. Get over it.
  21. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to Taco Superior in what is "hot" in English today?   
    Good times people, good times. But no one bothered to address my question about how long a streak of hotness lasts in the profession.
     
    I started this thread, I'm smart, I can handle things, not like everyone says, like dumb--I'm smart! And I want respect! I'm your older brother, ZincWillis, and I was passed over! Answer my questions!
  22. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to asleepawake in what is "hot" in English today?   
    Gathered some people articulating the field's importance for you, Fishbucket, so you don't have to do any more reading than the bare minimum.
  23. Upvote
    TripWillis reacted to ComeBackZinc in what is "hot" in English today?   
  24. Downvote
    TripWillis reacted to Fishbucket in what is "hot" in English today?   
    Probably right around the time you decided to go to Purdue, amiright amiright?

    The thing I don't like about these "hot" "new" "fields" is that they aren't new, they are only hot because people are attracted to what they perceive as novelty, and they have every appearance of weak minds taking a point made by (for example) Heidegger, and trying to spin off a brand of theory from it.

    I think I'm going to specialize in puppy studies, because puppies have so much to teach us about literature. And about life, people. Puppies understand what it means to live.

    OMG i love puppies.
  25. Upvote
    TripWillis got a reaction from intextrovert in what is "hot" in English today?   
    Exactly. Can we start a petition to ban Harold Bloom and his multiple gradcafe accounts?
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