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Does anyone know how often, if ever, programs notify acceptances/rejections over the weekends? The answer to this question will likely have a direct impact on how much of my thesis I get done this weekend. :)

Oh--Incidentally, is anyone else going to the CEA Conference at the end of March?

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Hey! I am presenting at CEA. I still have to finalize my travel plans. I have yet to see any weekend acceptances on here.

Very cool. What's your paper topic? I'm presenting on Saturday. It's an excerpt from my thesis. I'm using Bakhtin's speech genres and Natasha Korda's work in domestic economies in a reading of the Merry Wives of Windsor (The critical consensus is that Falstaff is different in MWW because MWW is just a poorly written play. I argue that the Falstaff of the Henriad was a licensed fool, and draw a parallel between that role and the ideal Erasmian teacher. In MWW, Falstaff is out of his element--he's displaced chronologically, and rather than the beer halls of London, he finds himself in the homes of suburbia in Windsor. He is in a different speech genre, specifically, the oeconomic sphere of the household, where wives held mastery. I argue that, due to his attempt to "teach" the wives about love in a dialogic sphere whose language he does not know to "students" who represent authority, Falstaff is reduced in numerous ways--from masculine to feminine, from teacher to student (all the way down to lesson), from licensed fool to unlicensed pedagogue (akin to the foolish schoolmasters loathed by Erasmus). Basically, I argue that MWW doesn't suck, and that there is a clear textual purpose for Falstaff's diminished (figuratively speaking) potency and wit.

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Does anyone know how often, if ever, programs notify acceptances/rejections over the weekends? The answer to this question will likely have a direct impact on how much of my thesis I get done this weekend. :)

I was accepted to my MFA program on a Saturday in 2008...

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Very cool. What's your paper topic? I'm presenting on Saturday. It's an excerpt from my thesis. I'm using Bakhtin's speech genres and Natasha Korda's work in domestic economies in a reading of the Merry Wives of Windsor (The critical consensus is that Falstaff is different in MWW because MWW is just a poorly written play. I argue that the Falstaff of the Henriad was a licensed fool, and draw a parallel between that role and the ideal Erasmian teacher. In MWW, Falstaff is out of his element--he's displaced chronologically, and rather than the beer halls of London, he finds himself in the homes of suburbia in Windsor. He is in a different speech genre, specifically, the oeconomic sphere of the household, where wives held mastery. I argue that, due to his attempt to "teach" the wives about love in a dialogic sphere whose language he does not know to "students" who represent authority, Falstaff is reduced in numerous ways--from masculine to feminine, from teacher to student (all the way down to lesson), from licensed fool to unlicensed pedagogue (akin to the foolish schoolmasters loathed by Erasmus). Basically, I argue that MWW doesn't suck, and that there is a clear textual purpose for Falstaff's diminished (figuratively speaking) potency and wit.

Ah! Interesting work, indeed. Do you use any feminist theory?

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Ah! Interesting work, indeed. Do you use any feminist theory?

Not exactly, though it is more of a feminist reading. Korda is a feminist critic, though.

I haven't had too much of a grounding in theory. I didn't have any theory classes in undergrad, and I just had the one theory survey course in my MA work. As such, I'm still kind of feeling my way around in that area. I've used disability theory and new historicism effectively in papers before. This one is my first attempt at using Bakhtin, and I like the way its coming together. Part of the reason I liked the UFlorida program was that they have a prof who teaches a whole class on Lacan. With Lacan's connection to education and pedagogical theory, that class/prof would likely be a HUGE help in my dissertation work.

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Does anyone know how often, if ever, programs notify acceptances/rejections over the weekends? The answer to this question will likely have a direct impact on how much of my thesis I get done this weekend. :)

I think it's pretty darn rare, though not, apparently, impossible, especially for programs that notify by email. From what I can remember, last year I had 0/7 weekend admissions notifications. May have had some weekend rejection emails, but I don't remember, and I really don't think so. One admissions call was definitely a Friday night though!

Good luck with the waiting, and I hope you are able to get some work done! This sure is a hard time of year for that!

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