Is it too late to change my concentration?

[Oklash]

Hi I am applying to english grad programs and have been accepted into two fully funded MA programs. In my statement of purpose I mentioned that I was interested in modernist, 20th century, and African American literature. However, after spending post submission time reading, and reviewing my undergrad work, I think I would be much better and off studying 19th century literature and late victorian literature.  I know that MA programs do not expect perfect commitment from undergrads entering MA programs but this seems like a very dramatic shift, and honestly, I don't know even remember why I was ever so committed to modernism.

I will be visiting the campuses that offered admissionship soon. Should I ask to speak with faculty aligning with this new research interest or will the faculty not like this? Should I just suck it up and stick with modernism? 

Will I ever be able to take a little time to really decide on what specific niche I would like to invest in?

[LibraryLivingJT]

1 hour ago, Oklash said:

Hi I am applying to english grad programs and have been accepted into two fully funded MA programs. In my statement of purpose I mentioned that I was interested in modernist, 20th century, and African American literature. However, after spending post submission time reading, and reviewing my undergrad work, I think I would be much better and off studying 19th century literature and late victorian literature.  I know that MA programs do not expect perfect commitment from undergrads entering MA programs but this seems like a very dramatic shift, and honestly, I don't know even remember why I was ever so committed to modernism.

I will be visiting the campuses that offered admissionship soon. Should I ask to speak with faculty aligning with this new research interest or will the faculty not like this? Should I just suck it up and stick with modernism? 

Will I ever be able to take a little time to really decide on what specific niche I would like to invest in?

When I entered my MA, my interests listed in my SOP were VERY different from what I actually ended up focusing in.

In my SOP, I discussed both American and British 20th century texts, but for my MA Thesis I ended up focusing on 20th century and contemporary ethnic American Lit. I say it's fine to change, as, at least where I got my MA, no one expected you to necessarily stick with what you wrote about in your SOP.

Hope this helps!

[CulturalCriminal]

@Oklash My interests changed markedly just in the first month of my MA. Even then, my interests have shifted slightly (I'm focusing on a different genre and sprinkling space/place in). Programs expect these things to change. For PhD, I wouldn't be surprised--should I move up off the waitlist for the one program I've got good news on--if I'm pushed towards a parallel interest (false cultural memory, whiteness studies,etc); I wouldn't be the first person I specifically know that was nudged towards something else (I know folks at UCI and UCSC that had this happen to them, just as it did for the head of my MA exam committee when she was at Duke). Consider that even for PhD, they don't necessarily expect your stated research project to be the same by the time you finish it (though there is less wiggle room). The specificity desired of a SOP is more for the sake of showing that you're well-read and are engaged with a lens enough to create a narrow project, then it is for them to lock you into some sort of research project.

I do feel that there is a need to interrogate why research interests change, when they do. The jump from Modernist, African American Lit (relatively narrow) to 19th century/Victorian (much wider) is a big one. Are your interests turning transatlantic, or are you still interested mostly in American literature? What is making you back off from your original research interests? Do you have a methodology that is staying the same, or is that changing as well?

[nichts]

Hey @Oklash, I was told the SOP is not a contract, and once you're accepted, it may as well go out the window. It's there to show you can come up with a project, not that you already have one. This is as good a time as any to make a shift, and you even have the next few months to catch up on essential theory and contemporary debate. There are a lot of ways your background in modernism might benefit study of nineteenth-century literature (speaking as someone who focused on modernist lit during undergrad), and if you already have a background in the nineteenth century, it doesn't sounds like cause for concern. I bet faculty would be glad to help you work through it.

[LexHex]

My concentration was so broad in my SOP for my M.A. program. It literally just said African American lit, maybe I specified with women. That was it.

I ended up writing on a specific migration narrative and blah blah blah.

So, no.

I don't think switching is that egregious. Just find the right people to work with once you get there, because M.A. programs go quick,

Edited February 27, 2018 by LexHex

[Nico Corr]

As everyone else has said, It's not verboten and actually quite common for people to change their concentration after starting grad school. just keep in mind the further away from your original interests you go, the more likely it is you will have to take additional courses to meet your degree requirements.

[a_sort_of_fractious_angel]

I entered my MA prepared to study Faulkner and Joyce. 

I left with a project on contemporary Caribbean and Caribbean-American authors. 

There's flexibility within the PhD and even more so in the MA - you'll likely have to take 3-4 required courses that cover time period (only based off of my experience), so really the world is your oyster. 

As the above posters have advised, find your scholars of interest that first semester. Get involved with their research if you can. Get familiar with them. 

[agunns]

5 hours ago, Oklash said:

Hi I am applying to english grad programs and have been accepted into two fully funded MA programs. In my statement of purpose I mentioned that I was interested in modernist, 20th century, and African American literature. However, after spending post submission time reading, and reviewing my undergrad work, I think I would be much better and off studying 19th century literature and late victorian literature.  I know that MA programs do not expect perfect commitment from undergrads entering MA programs but this seems like a very dramatic shift, and honestly, I don't know even remember why I was ever so committed to modernism.

I will be visiting the campuses that offered admissionship soon. Should I ask to speak with faculty aligning with this new research interest or will the faculty not like this? Should I just suck it up and stick with modernism? 

Will I ever be able to take a little time to really decide on what specific niche I would like to invest in?

I definitely don't think you need to suck it up and stick with modernism! At least in my experience/opinion, an MA program is the perfect time to shift your interests and figure out what you're really interested in (and this process will likely continue into PhD if you go that route). I started my MA program being interested in late-20th century American lit, ecocriticism, and feminist theory. While I still find all those things interesting, my research drastically shifted over the one-year MA I did, and when I graduated/applied to PhD programs, my focus was late-19th century American lit, biopolitics, and queer theory. I would definitely suggest seeking out any faculty that align with your new research interests as well. It'll be one of the best ways to get a sense of how to go about making that shift.

[Oklash]

On 2/27/2018 at 4:06 PM, CulturalCriminal said:

@OklashI do feel that there is a need to interrogate why research interests change, when they do. The jump from Modernist, African American Lit (relatively narrow) to 19th century/Victorian (much wider) is a big one. Are your interests turning transatlantic, or are you still interested mostly in American literature? What is making you back off from your original research interests? Do you have a methodology that is staying the same, or is that changing as well?

The reason why my interests are changing is a very good question! I had been set on american modernism after taking some particularly interesting classes during the beginning of my undergrad. Maybe I just really enjoyed the professor or the novels read but after doing so well in those classes I was convinced that modernism was for me. What changed?

While researching faculty I did notice that lots of modernist faculty didn't have research that particularly interested me. I know its a bit foolish but at the time I was just trying to make my application as good as possible and I didn't have the time (nor the mental stability) to seriously consider my options. I enjoyed researching each faculty member and thier research but now that a few months have passed I have come to realize that other interests of mine, religion, philosophy, poetry align much better with victorianism than with modernism. I mentioned that I would like to study religion and research with modernist texts but I would really like to make the switch to victorian 

My writing sample was actually about the rhetoric devices used by Oscar Wilde. (lol) I've spent the last few months reading "staples" of both modenism and victorian lit and I think I just like victorian literature more. The schools I have chosen still have great victorian faculty though.

As for African American literature, I am an African American so I feel as if I'm obligated to study this genre. I do love the genre and would be interested in studying religion in it as well.