antsy

And you're claiming you want to write a dissertation!

I hope the adcoms feel the same way....except for the shrinking part. I don't want into grad school that badly (I think). Of course, I was going to say something clever about Lyotard & simulacra...but it's been done, plus my wife just sent me an email teasing me for my frequent use of the term "postmodern."

:mrgreen: That's hilarious! I don't doubt that Rogue said that in the 90s, and since you're the critic, and I'm (supposed to be) the poet here, then sure, why not? If you do a quick google on the phrase, however, you'll see that it's a Southern cliche. I'm originally from Texas (for the record)...and that's my context. Nevertheless, you raise interesting questions about intertextuality and how reference actually works in the "postmodern" age. In other words, despite the speaker's lack of insight into the, potentially, referential nature of the idiom, clearly, for a certain set of readers, traces from a mass market idiom, like a comic book, are a primary, rather than a secondary reading. Indeed, it's even possible, that the origin for the speaker may have been that very mass market medium (I honestly don't know where I heard it first; I simply think of it as a Southern idiom that describes an extreme sense of nervousness). What then are the implications of these (mis)readings? Doubtless, the X-men writers originally included such phrases for a sense of "genuineness" to Rogue's Southern character. But now, after her character has become, in some ways, iconic perhaps that verisimilitude is now an emblematic representation of what it means to be Southern? If you're clever enough (and bored enough) I don't doubt you could pull a paper from that...."Representations of the 'Southern' in the X-Men" or something....of course, the fact that it is the X-Men makes the question doubly interesting, raising all sorts of eerie questions about identity and the way(s) in which we constitute identity. Oddly, I did exactly the opposite. Only two of the programs I was interested in required the subject test. Yet, I sent it to all 5....I wish I could have the 15 bucks back from ETS for that extra score report. I think, if possible, you're wise to avoid the thing. It's a silly, silly test, which I can't imagine to be predictive of anything other than one's willingness and ability to withstand torture (maybe that's why we have to take it?) Good luck not taking it!

Ah, play nice...you know, you still have to write good poems (as well as write essays, take comps, etc, etc.) In fact, I think most of the programs actually require more coursework and allow less time for the dissertation. At least with a Rhetoric (or Lit) PhD, half the world doesn't they think can do what you do, no? I think most of the programs I applied to also have some flexibility with the dissertation; personally, I'm contemplating/hoping to manage both sorts of dissertation. After all, when else would I have such an opportunity to indulge myself in the joys of research? (fingers crossed, knock wood, etc.)

No...I have one. PhD with the creative dissertation option.... Still should be heavy in Lit & theory, with hopefully opportunities to publish critical work, but the dissertation itself is a collection of poems...

Only five schools....I had thought my candidacy strong enough that I didn't need to worry too much. That was before the apps ended up in the mail, of course. U Cincinnati U Wisconsin-Milwaukee U Utah Mizzou U Illinois-Chicago As a creative writing applicant (poetry), I don't think I'll be competing with anyone on the board. :-)

*delurk* How about: *lurking on thegradcafe forum so that you can see if others are as suddenly concerned about the possibility of developing an ulcer *comparing your GREs and GPAs to all of the applicants listed on last year's Applycorner--even though you know that your SOP, LORs, and writing sample(s) will make or break your app *wondering why you feel like a character in a very early Saul Bellow novel *calculating, precisely, what the last person who rated your chances on Applycorner gave you, and then wondering if they could somehow email you a little optimism *when you should be enjoying a simple football game, you find yourself thinking more about how much you'll hate/love the weather there *when you phone your parents, you spend 15 minutes telling your father about the existential ramifications of the application process before you realize that you'd forgotten to say hello and ask how his week has been *you email one of your referees with a tale of your prowess (or lack thereof) as a plumber *you suddenly discover a hitherto unrealized passion for herbal tea

An admit already? Ah, now, yes, now I have known the definition of envy.....(regardless, congrats to the mysterious Rutgers admit). (hi I'm new here, actually apply for an English PhD with Creative Writing emphasis, and, of course, as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs).