Body Politics

Haha, yeah. Not Duke.

Ha! Who's your friend? (You can PM me that if you don't want to drop them publicly.) And yes, I agree. I think DU/Iliff would have resources for besixdouze.

Have you asked any of your professors from your MDiv for suggestions re: second- and third-tier schools that could support your interests?

Best of luck!

Same thing happened to me. That was a fun surprise.

That's a pretty broad interest. Lots of directions to take (which is good). It also sounds like a research interest that would fit well in a div school or seminary PhD. There are plenty of those and some of them are what we could maybe call "second tier." DU/Iliff's joint PhD is one. Perhaps Toronto School of Theology's PhD (which is currently being revamped). Claremont. Graduate Theological Union. Drew (call that one a "second tier plus"). Where did you do your MDiv? Do they have a PhD? Would it be worth pursuing there?

Brite seems to have good funding for M* degrees.

Lower, but only because it is a new program at a small school. Keith is a mover and a shaker, though, and very respected and well-connected in the field; you would be rubbing shoulders with some big-name European scholars.

Chris Keith is a great guy. I met with him at SBL last year to talk about that PhD. I only withdrew my app because I didn't feel ready to dive straight into a dissertation. But if you're ready for it, he would be a fantastic person to study under.

Thank you! I already had a pdf version of Wilson's German Quickly but wanted a hard copy for easier reference.

I just used birthday money to buy a German grammar. There is no justice.

You are an MDiv adcom's wet dream. Seriously, they love 'turn-around' stories like that. If you can tell your story honestly, and in such a way that even the worst moments serve as an impetus for your call to ministry (and it sounds like that just is your story), they'll eat it right up.

Highlighters don't cut it anymore. For all of my PDF-reading, I use Mendeley and keep a running outline of the most important points of an article/argument. I highlight/underline in books, use flags, and write all over the margins. Then, in the blank space usually left on the last page of a chapter, I summarize. I also skim and make copious use of book reviews, typically reading two or three for a book I really need to know well.

Yes. Sorry to be unhelpful, but I think it really is that multivalent.

What about for PDF-reading and annotating? I am currently using Mendeley, wishing I had EndNote, and open to suggestions.

You might look into the Joint Ph.D. at University of Denver & Iliff School of Theology. It is PhD in Religious & Theological Studies, within which students can specialize in Biblical Interpretation; Religion and Psychological Studies; Religion and Social Change; or Theology, Philosophy, and Cultural Theory. Although students concentrate, officially, in only one area, the program is set up to be interdisciplinary. So, if you went the TPCT route (which I'm assuming would fit your interests best), you would still be free to take courses in the BI area as well. The program is very LGBTQ-friendly. I'm not sure if there is anyone who is currently doing work in theopoetics (I admit, I had to google it -- but, then again, I'm just a BI/New Testament guy), but the Joint PhD program appears to pride itself in welcoming students with diverse projects, as long as the faculty is able to support them. http://www.du.edu/duiliffjoint/index.html (The site is godawful. Sorry.)

Best of luck, friends. (I don't envy you one bit!)

My initial reaction is to opt for Baylor, simply because its more recognizable in the field (because Baylor is a good school). At first I had no idea what Truett was.

You can land significant funding from smaller, second-tier schools sometimes, but it's not typical. I don't really know anything about schools doing much with continental philosophy (biblical studies guy here), but I imagine the big name div schools might not be bad places to look.

I'd stay far, far away from anything unaccredited (as YAD said). Are you looking to stay on the West coast/western US? What is it about this school that is attractive to you?

I think the point is: don't present crappy papers just to boost your CV. Write good ones, which have (in addition to other things) the added benefit of boosting your CV.

I'm pretty sure I've seen sections at SBL/AAR do this.

I use a yellow legal pad for class notes and a cheap Lenovo laptop for everything else. It has worked well so far. Oh -- and sticky notes for research.

You could email them both (separately) and explain your situation and interests and see which one bites.