Finding a program to suit my interests

[bdon19]

I've spent the past few weeks narrowing down my list, and I've gotten it to around 13 or so (I'm planning on applying to ~10). For the most part, I've narrowed it down based on programs that fit my interests in some way. The only problem is, my interests are all over the place! I'm primarily looking towards programs that have strong faculty in gender/18th century studies (especially, and perhaps primarily focusing on the novel). However, I have a few other random interests that I'd really like to focus on as well, spanning different periods, and I don't want to commit myself to the 18th-cent necessarily. Almost every paper I've written in the past year and a half or so has tackled novel theory in some form, and so I'd like to say that's what I'm looking for.

Let me put it this way, if I had to choose what I'd want to study for the next 5,6,10 whatever years of my life, it'd look something like this: Richardson/Defoe/Fielding (rise of the novel, etc), 18th-cent/early 19th-century women novelists (Brooke, Burney, Lennox, etc.), the Brontes, and D.H. Lawrence. I've recently developed a fondness for Lawrence and would really like to use a paper on him for my writing sample, but he's so incongruent with my other interests!

How might you suggest I go about selecting programs, figuring out what to use as my writing sample, and deciding what my concentration should be?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Two Espressos]

I've similarly been struggling to focus my research interests and to determine where I best fit. As posts on this site demonstrate, I'll vacillated between literary theory (aesthetics), philosophy, and rhetoric/composition for the past year. I won't be applying until fall of next year, so I have plenty of time, but it's still very frustrating.

I think I may have made progress, though. The biggest challenge for me was to separate my "professional" research interests from my "personal" research interests. Everyone definitely has a variety of academic interests, many of which may not coalesce (not all of mine do). For example, I am interested in medieval/renaissance mythology, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of language, 20th century literature (especially Beckett), and composition/rhetoric. It's definitely impossible for me to combine all of those, lol. Your interests seem much more focused than mine, so you may in fact be able to combine them in a coherent, specialized, and sophisticated way. I would still advise that you take a long look at your interests, though, and see if some of them are personal interests rather than professional ones. I've begun to do that, and it has proven to be most helpful.

Good luck!

Edited August 3, 2011 by Two Espressos

[dimanche0829]

I've spent the past few weeks narrowing down my list, and I've gotten it to around 13 or so (I'm planning on applying to ~10). For the most part, I've narrowed it down based on programs that fit my interests in some way. The only problem is, my interests are all over the place! I'm primarily looking towards programs that have strong faculty in gender/18th century studies (especially, and perhaps primarily focusing on the novel). However, I have a few other random interests that I'd really like to focus on as well, spanning different periods, and I don't want to commit myself to the 18th-cent necessarily. Almost every paper I've written in the past year and a half or so has tackled novel theory in some form, and so I'd like to say that's what I'm looking for.

Let me put it this way, if I had to choose what I'd want to study for the next 5,6,10 whatever years of my life, it'd look something like this: Richardson/Defoe/Fielding (rise of the novel, etc), 18th-cent/early 19th-century women novelists (Brooke, Burney, Lennox, etc.), the Brontes, and D.H. Lawrence. I've recently developed a fondness for Lawrence and would really like to use a paper on him for my writing sample, but he's so incongruent with my other interests!

How might you suggest I go about selecting programs, figuring out what to use as my writing sample, and deciding what my concentration should be?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Your writing sample should be your strongest piece; it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be from a literature course. As for concentration, you don't have to have that picked out before grad school. Sometimes, it can actually be to your benefit to have an open mind because many people are rejected due to a narrow focus that cannot be accomodated. Having a general idea of what you want to do certainly helps, though!

One thing I've found helpful is writing essays. The more writing and, therefore, research, I have to do for something, the better I can judge whether or not I like something, or whether I like something more than something else. Look up open calls for submission. Best case scenario is you get published and figure out what you want to do; worst-case, you gain writing experience.

Also, you won't necessarily always be limited to just that specialization. My 18th century british lit professor teaches general 18th century british lit, poetry, rise of the novel, gothic lit, and the history of the english language. He's all over the place, but he finds a way to make everything work. Have you thought about maybe doing 18th century british lit with some women's studies?

As always, excuse the poor writing form. I just get so lazy on forums.

Edited August 3, 2011 by dimanche0829

[souslespaves]

NYU might be a good fit for you - tons of great professors in both 18th century lit (clifford siskin especially w/r/t the novel) as well as modernism.

for the writing sample, i agree with dimanche, it should just be your strongest piece. also, while there might not be an explicit temporal or genre-based link between two areas of interest, i think it's usually not a coincidence. Explaining why you have an interest in seemingly disparate areas, if done in a thoughtful way, could make for a really compelling personal statement.

[bdon19]

NYU might be a good fit for you - tons of great professors in both 18th century lit (clifford siskin especially w/r/t the novel) as well as modernism.

for the writing sample, i agree with dimanche, it should just be your strongest piece. also, while there might not be an explicit temporal or genre-based link between two areas of interest, i think it's usually not a coincidence. Explaining why you have an interest in seemingly disparate areas, if done in a thoughtful way, could make for a really compelling personal statement.

Wow, thanks for all the help, everyone! You're making me feel so much better about being all over the place. Souslespaves, you make a good point. I don't think it's a coincidence why I'm so interested in these various areas. I think it's really the novel that ties them all together, particularly the use of various "genres"--for lack of a better word--within the form (Menippean satire, myth, etc.). I think this definitely explains why I'm so interested in the rise of the novel in particular but also in a number of later novelists as well.

Dimanche0829, I have definitely considered doing 18th-century lit and women's studies, though I'm not positive if that's necessarily where my interests lie. However, in my exploration of various programs, I've been trying to find programs that have strong faculty that focus on either the novel or gender in 18th-century and Modernist lit. I've actually been pretty successful in narrowing down my list to a few programs that seem like good fits. I guess what I was most worried about was getting myself a little more centered.

But, of course, no matter what I was warned, I had a feeling I would just submit my paper on Lawrence anyway. It's definitely the strongest paper I've ever written, and I love it too much not to use it.

[bdon19]

NYU might be a good fit for you - tons of great professors in both 18th century lit (clifford siskin especially w/r/t the novel) as well as modernism.

I haven't really looked much into NYU. It was on my big list of programs to look into once upon a time, but for some reason or another I took it off the list. Maybe I should take another look, though. So far I have the following for my list:

Definitely:

Indiana

Penn State

Rutgers

U Texas-Austin

Probably:

Brown

U Michigan-Ann Arbor

Yale

Possibly:

Duke

U Virginia

U Maryland-College Park

U Massachusetts-Amherst

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I might consider looking at and/or taking off my list? I'm a little concerned that I have too many "reach" schools, but a lot of professors have warned me not to apply to too many "lesser" programs. I know that rankings definitely aren't everything, and I've been tailoring my list with the intention of fitting programs to what I'm looking for, but I keep concerning myself with not going down too "low." If anyone has any ideas of schools that might not be as high-ranked or have quite the same name recognition but have strong programs nonetheless, could you recommend any to me? I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!