1Q84

I was not formally expected to "declare" any kind of specialization in my MA program and I don't think many if any programs would ask that of their students. I think it's certainly helpful to have an "academic identity" (interests) around which you do your work, which I did with early modern literature (that I stated was my interest in my application). But I was also told to explore as much as possible in an MA because you never know what new topics might spark your interest or alter your thinking about your core research significantly. All my exploration ended up being a little problematic for me because I'm now very interested in contemporary cultural studies, which I haven't found to be too relevant to my early modern interests. This is apparently not too big of an issue, however, as many programs also expect some fluidity in their incoming cohort's interests. In short, don't pigeonhole yourself at this stage but think of your MA as an early stage in refining your academic interests. You should definitely come to a point before your Ph.D. applications, however, where you're able to clearly articulate at least the core of your research interest and say why it's relevant, what you think you have to contribute etc. etc.

In that case, I sincerely support pinning this thread. Newbies will be drawn to it as necessary reading and those who have had enough of VM's harping will find it much easier to ignore because it's not constantly being bumped.

Hmm! I'll have to do some more digging about the "vibe" of my department. There is a lot of talk about fluidity of academic interest and interdisciplinary work (though as Ramus notes, that can often just be lipservice). The borders between the Gender Studies/English/American Studies and Ethnicity departments are all seemingly quite porous as well, so I'll hold out hope.

No, I know that. I'm saying that all that crucial work of informing posters and lurkers has been going on in numerous threads and that they've all been quite open and transparent about the problems in academia. It's not only VM delivering the good word. I would challenge anyone here to find a thread where any poster was willfully misrepresenting the state of the field. In fact, the few posters who have come in thinking that academia is still sunshine and lollipops have been smacked down (quite rudely and harshly, I might add.) That's all to say that I really take exception to the way VM is characterizing the tone of the discussions taking place in this specific forum. No one here has their head in the sand like he claims. Simply because we do not wish to partake in the doomsaying of academia does not mean we're not conscious and very worried about the problems ahead. We just want to talk about it realistically rather than apocalyptically.

I don't think anyone on TGC has denied the lack of academic jobs. In fact, most people are quite intent on making the realities of the market transparent to any and all who visit here. What happened in previous threads is that rather than communally self-flagellating, folks wanted to discuss alt-ac options or, god forbid, talk about changing the system in some small way. We're just not all deadset on insisting that "entering a Ph.D. program = instant poverty and a humiliating death." If VM's sole purpose here is to ostentatiously terrify people into staying away from academia, I'm not really sure what the point in entertaining that is.

The entire point that you and Lambchops over here seem to be missing is that no one is slamming him for being disappointed, angry, or disillusioned at the burning rubble that is the academic job market. We merely question what purpose he thinks he's serving by reviving this thread every once in a while with snide, sarcastic comments about how we're all blind idiots for continuing our walk into the meat grinder. What is the intended effect? To raise awareness? Well, the 11 pages of this thread attest to the fact that most of us are already aware of the issues. That we'll all immediately drop out of our programs in protest against the injustices of academic corporatization? Not likely. That we'll sympathize with him? Surely most of us do already. So what is the point of lacerating the people on this forum again with snide hashtags about the MLA job hunt? There are other horses in this world to beat. Really, and this has been re-stated ad nauseam, no one is saying that they know exactly how VM feels or how he should feel since obviously few of us are on the job market. Berating and excoriating first year Ph.D. students is simply not going to accomplish whatever it is he wants to accomplish. This fact is rather clear to most of us on TGC, so the suggestion follows that he should go and use his time and energy to effect change (or whatever it is he hopes to do... it's still not exactly clear to me) by some other means. tl;dr

Not to add any additional hijacking in here (for me, of the OP's concerns) but I'm glad to hear you say this. I've been feeling very uneasy about where I've landed in my academic field focus and I'm just not sure what to do. Everyone I've asked about it has given me a very political answer ("it's possible, some people do it, can't say if it's a good or bad idea...") and I'm worried about burning bridges with professors in the field I'm considering making secondary.

It might help to delineate some of your areas of interest and what you are hoping to get out of a Ph.D. program. I might be able to speak to USC, if your interests aren't too far outside my ken.

Thanks for the tips! I'm woefully uninformed about bikes and often get too embarrassed around bike hipsters.

I was just about to post about this. I'm in LA and have no hills to conquer on my commute so was thinking of a fixie. I know many people tend to look down their noses at those types of bikes but I'm pretty much going to ride to and from the Metro station and on campus. That's about it. They seem to be going pretty cheap on craigslist too.

From someone who pushed themselves extremely hard in their second year of their MA, I feel your pain! It paid off, though, and it sounds like it should for you as well. This isn't a dig at all pedagogy courses but I found the mandatory ones for preparation in teaching in writing programs were always more busy work than anything. Mine was also extremely research-heavy. While I did all the work , I definitely gave it "back burner" status compared to making proper connections with my recommenders and other important aspects of my Ph.D. app. GRE and audited course? Maybe not so important. It's always acceptable to step back a bit in regards to those commitments. I think one of the most important things as you near the finish line is to keep things in perspective. You don't need to be perfect at everything... focus your energies most on what will ensure that you reach your near-term goals.

Check out USC's American and Ethnic Studies Department. I'm not as familiar with Latino/a lit but just glancing at the faculty page, there seems to be an emphasis on it.

Thanks! I'll do it!

That's my instinct But he's my non-writing-related prof and I don't want it to come off as extreme toadying (because it's not--that's my worst nightmare!)

Random question: is it super weird and lame to ask your professor to sign a (fiction) book that he recently had published?

Your courses sound great! Mine meet once a week, yes. I'm really trying to keep ahead of the readings now. Luckily, much of the theory readings come from the Norton Anthology that I know a lot of people around here dislike. I'm all right with it since I have extensive notes on some of the essays in there already, which may help me during a rough week! Oy, I had it in my mind that you chose UCLA so I was going to ask you about LA stuff but nevermind! Hope that commute from the city treats you well

How many classes are you taking, if you don't mind me asking? I haven't taken three reading-heavy courses in a long time (the last time I did, the third class was a "flash fiction/prose poems" course, so needless to say it was manageable) and I'm feeling uneasy about how I'll handle it. That's great to hear! I'm adjusting to not having an office on campus so I'm trying to case out my area for nice cafes. Coffee and a nice reading atmosphere is crucial! I'm a terrible people-watcher, though, so I need the cafe to be suitably boring as well otherwise I end up looking up from my book every odd minute or so and then I end up getting nothing done. There are going to be many more pounds to come in the next two years I bet! I have 2 theory classes back to back on Mondays. Ack! Definitely not my style but at least I have less days on campus. I'll be moving into the San Fernando Valley, which is going to make the idea of going to campus often much less appealing...

For those starting their programs this fall, a place to express nerves or excitement or both! I start on Monday. I got the syllabus for the required intro/theory course and it's 200 pages of theory a week. I'm kind of peeing my pants here... and I love theory! Luckily, it seems like the other two courses I'm taking seem to be a little lighter on the reading load but it's definitely putting a crimp on plans that I had for possibly auditing a course. I had my department orientation yesterday and every seems really cool. Intensely smart but also relaxed and willing to laugh a bit. Not seeing the competitive knives out yet Looking forward to hearing how everyone else's lead up to the beginning of the semester is shaping up!

All invaluable information from ProfLorax as per usual but this one really stuck out to me. To get my armchair psychologizing on, I've noticed that being "Mr. or Mrs. Smart Jerk" in class can often be a reactionary move to counter any feelings of imposter syndrome. Understandable but also quite annoying. In my MA program, I often found the person who was humble about what they knew and didn't know in class tended to be a) liked the most by colleagues and the professor and b.) did best overall in the class because they were open to new ideas and weren't so busy trying to prove their extravagant intelligence. Obviously this humbleness was backed up by hard work and competence. (When it wasn't, those folks tended to drift into the "I'm so dumb so I'm not going to try" self-flagellating route...) Anyway, drownsoda (sorry, were you the one before with the Courtney Love avatar? I totally feel like I recognize your username but not sure. If so, you probably know well what I'm going to say next since you were a regular contributor around here during discussions about this topic, I believe.) I think you may soon find out that academia can sometimes be a battle to the death of egos. The sooner you recognize and neutralize in yourself any instinct to join the fray, the better.

Not saying it's untrue for your app experience, since I know nothing else about it, but I think that may be overstating the writing section's importance just a tad. Conventional wisdom holds that the AW section on the GRE means little to nothing--especially if you're applying to an English program. I mean, why would a committee care what you got on AW if they have your writing sample right in front of them?

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Yes. And to add a paranoid note to this, it's always good to be very detailed and explicit about expectations and requests in case nastiness (resulting from miscommunication) occurs down the road and appeals need to be made to administration or higher ups. As those with experience in bureaucracy say: document, document, document.