0% Confidence of Acceptance

[patientagony]

I already applied . Only one professor was willing to read it; his comment was that it was "OK" but he thought the novel I was writing about was not considered "serious literature" (it wasn't Twilight or Harry Potter by the way).

 

Maybe "ok" was his passive way of saying "not very good". As your professor he should be able to give direct and honest feedback, but it sounds like he failed you. If he didn't give you any particular criticism I would say he did you a total disservice by making you think everything was fine when it wasn't. What was the novel you wrote about?

[Swagato]

So.

 

It turns out that one of my dream programs is actually having a conference RIGHT NOW (yesterday and today) on a certain sub-area of film and visual studies. This sub-area is only recently gaining critical interest, and we're seeing a lot of action. It is the same area that my whole writing sample and SOP are about. I had no idea about such a conference.

 

I'm trying not to build up my hopes.

 

But aren't such synchronicities the stuff PhD admit hopefuls dream about? My project is so. eerily. in line with. the whole conference. And I knew before applying that this department is indeed picking up steam and moving into that area (hence why I applied). 

 

Meh. 

[chaucerettescs]

I already applied . Only one professor was willing to read it; his comment was that it was "OK" but he thought the novel I was writing about was not considered "serious literature" (it wasn't Twilight or Harry Potter by the way).

 

 

Did you press for more details about "okay," and specifically about the paper's argument and the prose style itself? It seems to me that most professors can still recognize strong writing, even when they disagree with the validity of the topic. If the prose and argument too are just "okay," that's a huge problem. You're applying to do this for the rest of your life more or less, so you'd better show promise. 

 

Also, did you consider the types of schools you're submitting to? There's definitely a cottage industry springing up around "bad" literature, and counter-cultural literature (I'm working on this currently, and also, my writing sample's texts weren't serious in their time, either). One professor I was speaking with even said "sometimes, bad literature makes the best papers." But, this kind of research is largely limited to a certain type of school. I wouldn't, for example, apply to Harvard or Yale as a top choice with this type of writing sample, but if my number one choice were Berkeley, UT Austin, UC Irvine, or NYU, that's a different story. They're all good schools, but with vastly different values and critical approaches.

 

I'm sorry your prof wasn't much help, but I'm curious now, too. What did you write about? Because the "serious" literature claim is really lame on your professor's part. Scholars have written theses on Harry Potter and as for Twilight (bluh), every time I check listings of call-for-papers and upcoming conferences lately there is tons of stuff for "supernatural romance" and "urban fantasy". Heck, even rom-zom-coms. Understanding popular literature (why it's popular, what its influences are, questions about fandom) is just as important as understanding older, more "serious" literature. A good scholar can write a good paper on just about anything.

 

However, I do agree with Magical Realist that if your application is stressing a, shall we say, "genre studies" angle— if your writing sample was about popular fiction or even "bad" fiction— you need to be mindful of where you're applying because not every school has the resources for or interest in that kind of research. And then there's just the frustration of knowing that even if you do your research and find good fits, there is still a chance of being rejected. All the schools I shot for are Top 20, but, with the exception of Cornell, all had POIs and other resources for my sub-concentrations (children's lit, fantasy, science fiction etc.). That hasn't kept me from being rejected pretty much across the board.

 

It's kind of horrible, but if I really am down and out, I'm wondering if I should downplay my interest in genre studies on my apps next cycle. I'm really curious about how much it hurts/helps/dooms(?) you, even at schools that do do that kind of work.

Edited February 16, 2013 by chaucerettescs

[InHacSpeVivo]

That sucks, Swagato! It really is a blow when you can see the fit with the progra, but for some reason the program can't. It's so frustrating!

I'm sorry your prof wasn't much help, but I'm curious now, too. What did you write about? Because the "serious" literature claim is really lame on your professor's part. Scholars have written theses on Harry Potter and as for Twilight (bluh), every time I check listings of call-for-papers and upcoming conferences lately there is tons of stuff for "supernatural romance" and "urban fantasy". Heck, even rom-zom-coms. Understanding popular literature (why it's popular, what its influences are, questions about fandom) is just as important as understanding older, more "serious" literature. A good scholar can write a good paper on just about anything.

However, I do agree with Magical Realist that if your application is stressing a, shall we say, "genre studies" angle— if your writing sample was about popular fiction or even "bad" fiction— you need to be mindful of where you're applying because not every school has the resources for or interest in that kind of research. And then there's just the frustration of knowing that even if you do your research and find good fits, there is still a chance of being rejected. All the schools I shot for are Top 20, but, with the exception of Cornell, all had POIs and other resources for my sub-concentrations (children's lit, fantasy, science fiction etc.). That hasn't kept me from being rejected pretty much across the board.

It's kind of horrible, but if I really am down and out, I'm wondering if I should downplay my interest in genre studies on my apps next cycle. I'm really curious about how much it hurts/helps/dooms(?) you, even at schools you do do that kind of work.

That's becoming my plan too (someone even discussed their experience related to this on the Plan B thread, page two). When I applied for my to an American Studies program out of ug I only discussed my more "traditional" scholarly interests (Lost Generation and first person narratives in early 20th century fiction) and I got into an MA/PhD program at a great school. I ended up doing limited work in those areas, though, and my scholarship morphed more into popular culture studies.

My program wasn't funded, so I decided to stop after my MA (which took forever because I had to work full time and write my thesis in weekends) and re-apply to PhD programs. Because I had a pop culture thesis, my SOP was about expanding on that work in a PhD program. I thought it would be fine, given that I demonstrated an ability to perform graduate level work and was only applying to schools with POIs whose work was very similar to mine, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just retool my first SOP if I have to reapply next year...

Edited February 16, 2013 by Pericles II.ii.48

[chaucerettescs]

That sucks, Swagato! It really is a blow when you can see the fit with the progra, but for some reason the program can't. It's so frustrating!

That's becoming my plan too (someone even discussed their experience related to this on the Plan B thread, page two). When I applied for my to an American Studies program out of ug I only discussed my more "traditional" scholarly interests (Lost Generation and first person narratives in early 20th century fiction) and I got into an MA/PhD program at a great school. I ended up doing limited work in those areas, though, and my scholarship morphed more into popular culture studies.

My program wasn't funded, so I decided to stop after my MA (which took forever because I had to work full time and write my thesis in weekends) and re-apply to PhD programs. Because I had a pop culture thesis, my SOP was about expanding on that work in a PhD program. I thought it would be fine, given that I demonstrated an ability to perform graduate level work and was only applying to schools with POIs whose work was very similar to mine, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just retool my first SOP if I have to reapply next year...

 

Yeah, I was so apprehensive about having a genre studies writing sample (it was on the influence of Moby Dick on sci-fi horror film), but I received an undergraduate research award from my school for that paper and thought surely it would be all right. Now I'm having doubts and thinking I should really stress my Victorian background (which is my core) and, if accepted, continue with my genre studies/pop culture work (which I'll mention on my apps, but just not emphasize).

 

Granted, it could be something else entirely that they didn't like about my application. I am seriously dying to know so I can improve it.

Edited February 16, 2013 by chaucerettescs

[thatjewishgirl]

It's kind of horrible, but if I really am down and out, I'm wondering if I should downplay my interest in genre studies on my apps next cycle. I'm really curious about how much it hurts/helps/dooms(?) you, even at schools that do do that kind of work.

 

Hi chaucerettescs! I have some comments to add to what you said. Well, it is more coming from my husband than me, but I agree with him. He has had a lot more success than I have this cycle, and he has a lot of advice for me restructuring my applications next year.

 

My research is about 98% on religion and literature, specifically 19th-century Anglo-Jewish literature. I am very passionate about Jewish literature because I believe it is a faction of lit that is really, really underrepresented (unless you are talking about a very specific kind of 20th-century American Jewish lit). So, naturally, all of my SOPs focused on my interest in Anglo-Jewish religious writings. And, naturally, I suppose, I have been rejected across the board. I only have hope for one program--GSU--because I contacted and applied to work with someone who has built a substantial part of his career writing the exact sort of thing I want to write, and you can actually test in Anglo-Jewish lit there.

 

My husband's comments, and I read him your post and he thinks it applies to you, too, is that it is okay to not entirely represent your interests on your SOP. He says that children's lit, fantasy, that sort of thing, like religion/literature, is becoming a popular thing to write about, and I have noticed both at conferences, in publishing, etc., but that older members of faculties (the ones who do the deciding) aren't necessarily hip to some of these burgeoning trends. He suggested to me focusing in my SOPs next year entirely on something pretty well-established in whatever program I'm applying to, and that I should feel free to pursue whatever I want once I'm accepted, but that maybe I shouldn't reference it in my SOP. He thinks that a lot of people applying to grad school have been led to believe that dropping an interest off one's SOP is somehow misrepresenting one's body of work, but he disagrees, and furthermore, says that we should be courting senior faculty members, not junior ones, even if their interests align with ours.

 

So, I hope this helps.

[InHacSpeVivo]

Granted, it could be something else entirely that they didn't like about my application. I am seriously dying to know so I can improve it.

I already contacted one program that rejected me, and I'm planning to contact a few more in March. I'll let you know if. Get any useful information from it.

PS: I don't think I've mentioned this, but I love your avatar.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Pericles II.ii.48

[InHacSpeVivo]

Hi chaucerettescs! I have some comments to add to what you said. Well, it is more coming from my husband than me, but I agree with him. He has had a lot more success than I have this cycle, and he has a lot of advice for me restructuring my applications next year.   My research is about 98% on religion and literature, specifically 19th-century Anglo-Jewish literature. I am very passionate about Jewish literature because I believe it is a faction of lit that is really, really underrepresented (unless you are talking about a very specific kind of 20th-century American Jewish lit). So, naturally, all of my SOPs focused on my interest in Anglo-Jewish religious writings. And, naturally, I suppose, I have been rejected across the board. I only have hope for one program--GSU--because I contacted and applied to work with someone who has built a substantial part of his career writing the exact sort of thing I want to write, and you can actually test in Anglo-Jewish lit there.   My husband's comments, and I read him your post and he thinks it applies to you, too, is that it is okay to not entirely represent your interests on your SOP. He says that children's lit, fantasy, that sort of thing, like religion/literature, is becoming a popular thing to write about, and I have noticed both at conferences, in publishing, etc., but that older members of faculties (the ones who do the deciding) aren't necessarily hip to some of these burgeoning trends. He suggested to me focusing in my SOPs next year entirely on something pretty well-established in whatever program I'm applying to, and that I should feel free to pursue whatever I want once I'm accepted, but that maybe I shouldn't reference it in my SOP. He thinks that a lot of people applying to grad school have been led to believe that dropping an interest off one's SOP is somehow misrepresenting one's body of work, but he disagrees, and furthermore, says that we should be courting senior faculty members, not junior ones, even if their interests align with ours.   So, I hope this helps.

That is really helpful, thank you (and your husband) sharing! Hopefully there's a ways can avoid discussing my thesis in my SOP, lol.

[chaucerettescs]

Hi chaucerettescs! I have some comments to add to what you said. Well, it is more coming from my husband than me, but I agree with him. He has had a lot more success than I have this cycle, and he has a lot of advice for me restructuring my applications next year.

 

My research is about 98% on religion and literature, specifically 19th-century Anglo-Jewish literature. I am very passionate about Jewish literature because I believe it is a faction of lit that is really, really underrepresented (unless you are talking about a very specific kind of 20th-century American Jewish lit). So, naturally, all of my SOPs focused on my interest in Anglo-Jewish religious writings. And, naturally, I suppose, I have been rejected across the board. I only have hope for one program--GSU--because I contacted and applied to work with someone who has built a substantial part of his career writing the exact sort of thing I want to write, and you can actually test in Anglo-Jewish lit there.

 

My husband's comments, and I read him your post and he thinks it applies to you, too, is that it is okay to not entirely represent your interests on your SOP. He says that children's lit, fantasy, that sort of thing, like religion/literature, is becoming a popular thing to write about, and I have noticed both at conferences, in publishing, etc., but that older members of faculties (the ones who do the deciding) aren't necessarily hip to some of these burgeoning trends. He suggested to me focusing in my SOPs next year entirely on something pretty well-established in whatever program I'm applying to, and that I should feel free to pursue whatever I want once I'm accepted, but that maybe I shouldn't reference it in my SOP. He thinks that a lot of people applying to grad school have been led to believe that dropping an interest off one's SOP is somehow misrepresenting one's body of work, but he disagrees, and furthermore, says that we should be courting senior faculty members, not junior ones, even if their interests align with ours.

 

So, I hope this helps.

 

Haha, thank you! If I reapply next cycle, this is definitely what I'm going to do. Your husband is definitely right; children's lit/fantasy/pop culture scholarship is definitely burgeoning right now. That's a frustration of mine: knowing that there is a market for this kind of scholarship and yet not having that fact matter because so many senior faculty members aren't interested in it (or are sometimes even outright hostile to it). I don't have any trouble relating my genre studies interests back to my Victorian core (the Golden Age of Children's Lit, Victorian fascination with fairy tales, the emergence of fanatical fan cultures with fandoms like Sherlock Holmes, Neo-Victorianism in contemporary Children's Literature, etc.). I just need to find the best way to write an SOP that straddles the two— highlights my interests/strengths in a way that hopefully might set me apart from the mountain of Victorianist applicants, but doesn't turn off more traditional Victorianist senior faculty members.

 

Heh, the problem is a lot of the honors on my CV and all the manuscripts I have under review at journals are all genre studies related. Even if I don't say a word about genre studies in my SOP, the adcomms will know. Thankfully, I have a guest lecture coming up that is very, very much to do with Victorianism.

Edited February 16, 2013 by chaucerettescs

[claptrap]

I'm sorry your prof wasn't much help, but I'm curious now, too. What did you write about? Because the "serious" literature claim is really lame on your professor's part. Scholars have written theses on Harry Potter and as for Twilight (bluh), every time I check listings of call-for-papers and upcoming conferences lately there is tons of stuff for "supernatural romance" and "urban fantasy". Heck, even rom-zom-coms. Understanding popular literature (why it's popular, what its influences are, questions about fandom) is just as important as understanding older, more "serious" literature. A good scholar can write a good paper on just about anything.

 

However, I do agree with Magical Realist that if your application is stressing a, shall we say, "genre studies" angle— if your writing sample was about popular fiction or even "bad" fiction— you need to be mindful of where you're applying because not every school has the resources for or interest in that kind of research. And then there's just the frustration of knowing that even if you do your research and find good fits, there is still a chance of being rejected. All the schools I shot for are Top 20, but, with the exception of Cornell, all had POIs and other resources for my sub-concentrations (children's lit, fantasy, science fiction etc.). That hasn't kept me from being rejected pretty much across the board.

 

It's kind of horrible, but if I really am down and out, I'm wondering if I should downplay my interest in genre studies on my apps next cycle. I'm really curious about how much it hurts/helps/dooms(?) you, even at schools that do do that kind of work.

I think it is important to remember that not everyone on the admissions committee will be receptive to certain topics.  Prior to revision, my writing sample discussed everything from superheroes and mythology to stand-up comedy and abjection.  While all these topics were relevant to my primary text (a young adult graphic novel), they were not necessarily going to interest the people reading my application.  Thankfully, one of my LOR writers helped me reframe my paper around more structural concerns (frame and form) that would appeal to a wider audience.  And, for the most part, things worked out.  Moral of the story: keep your audience in mind!

 

My husband's comments, and I read him your post and he thinks it applies to you, too, is that it is okay to not entirely represent your interests on your SOP. He says that children's lit, fantasy, that sort of thing, like religion/literature, is becoming a popular thing to write about, and I have noticed both at conferences, in publishing, etc., but that older members of faculties (the ones who do the deciding) aren't necessarily hip to some of these burgeoning trends. He suggested to me focusing in my SOPs next year entirely on something pretty well-established in whatever program I'm applying to, and that I should feel free to pursue whatever I want once I'm accepted, but that maybe I shouldn't reference it in my SOP. He thinks that a lot of people applying to grad school have been led to believe that dropping an interest off one's SOP is somehow misrepresenting one's body of work, but he disagrees, and furthermore, says that we should be courting senior faculty members, not junior ones, even if their interests align with ours.

This!

Edited February 16, 2013 by claptrap

[cbttcher]

Hi chaucerettescs! I have some comments to add to what you said. Well, it is more coming from my husband than me, but I agree with him. He has had a lot more success than I have this cycle, and he has a lot of advice for me restructuring my applications next year.

 

My research is about 98% on religion and literature, specifically 19th-century Anglo-Jewish literature. I am very passionate about Jewish literature because I believe it is a faction of lit that is really, really underrepresented (unless you are talking about a very specific kind of 20th-century American Jewish lit). So, naturally, all of my SOPs focused on my interest in Anglo-Jewish religious writings. And, naturally, I suppose, I have been rejected across the board. I only have hope for one program--GSU--because I contacted and applied to work with someone who has built a substantial part of his career writing the exact sort of thing I want to write, and you can actually test in Anglo-Jewish lit there.

 

My husband's comments, and I read him your post and he thinks it applies to you, too, is that it is okay to not entirely represent your interests on your SOP. He says that children's lit, fantasy, that sort of thing, like religion/literature, is becoming a popular thing to write about, and I have noticed both at conferences, in publishing, etc., but that older members of faculties (the ones who do the deciding) aren't necessarily hip to some of these burgeoning trends. He suggested to me focusing in my SOPs next year entirely on something pretty well-established in whatever program I'm applying to, and that I should feel free to pursue whatever I want once I'm accepted, but that maybe I shouldn't reference it in my SOP. He thinks that a lot of people applying to grad school have been led to believe that dropping an interest off one's SOP is somehow misrepresenting one's body of work, but he disagrees, and furthermore, says that we should be courting senior faculty members, not junior ones, even if their interests align with ours.

 

So, I hope this helps.

 

I'm actually writing my MA thesis on contemporary Anglo-Jewish literature and it is awful how little scholarly interest there has been in that particular field.

[thatjewishgirl]

I'm actually writing my MA thesis on contemporary Anglo-Jewish literature and it is awful how little scholarly interest there has been in that particular field.

 

Ahhh!!! How wonderful!! My MA thesis is on Grace Aguilar, probably the most popular Anglo-Jewish writer of the 19th century. You are right about the lack of scholarly interest, which is why I'm so passionate about contributing to the field. What literature in particular are you writing about? Do you mind if I ask what brought you to your interest in Anglo-Jewish literature?

[chaucerettescs]

I already contacted one program that rejected me, and I'm planning to contact a few more in March. I'll let you know if. Get any useful information from it.

PS: I don't think I've mentioned this, but I love your avatar.

 

I know this has been an insane cycle in terms of number of applicants, but ANY word back would be amazing.

 

Hee, thanks. Daria has been my spirit animal throughout this whole applications process.

[cbttcher]

Ahhh!!! How wonderful!! My MA thesis is on Grace Aguilar, probably the most popular Anglo-Jewish writer of the 19th century. You are right about the lack of scholarly interest, which is why I'm so passionate about contributing to the field. What literature in particular are you writing about? Do you mind if I ask what brought you to your interest in Anglo-Jewish literature?

 

I'm writing about The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens and Disobedience by Naomi Alderman. I'm looking at constructions of identity - gender, sexuality, parental auhtorities - with the background of multiculturalism in Britain. It's very Foucauldian. (I think I should have stressed my interest in literary theory more in my SOP.) One of my favorite professors back in Germany gave a class on Jews and Jewishness last year. The module as a whole was about identity and alterity. We read Shakespeare, George Eliot, Wesker, and Rubens. People keep looking at me in a weird way and are like 'You're not Jewish, you know that right?' And I just keep thinking that it doesn't matter with the approach I'm taking.

[chaucerettescs]

I'm writing about The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens and Disobedience by Naomi Alderman. I'm looking at constructions of identity - gender, sexuality, parental auhtorities - with the background of multiculturalism in Britain. It's very Foucauldian. (I think I should have stressed my interest in literary theory more in my SOP.) One of my favorite professors back in Germany gave a class on Jews and Jewishness last year. The module as a whole was about identity and alterity. We read Shakespeare, George Eliot, Wesker, and Rubens. People keep looking at me in a weird way and are like 'You're not Jewish, you know that right?' And I just keep thinking that it doesn't matter with the approach I'm taking.

 

Your interests sound amazing. Heh, people gave me weird looks all the time over my respective fascination with Shylock and Daniel Deronda. "You're not Jewish!" sounds about right.

[Swagato]

That sucks, Swagato! It really is a blow when you can see the fit with the progra, but for some reason the program can't. It's so frustrating!

That's becoming my plan too (someone even discussed their experience related to this on the Plan B thread, page two). When I applied for my to an American Studies program out of ug I only discussed my more "traditional" scholarly interests (Lost Generation and first person narratives in early 20th century fiction) and I got into an MA/PhD program at a great school. I ended up doing limited work in those areas, though, and my scholarship morphed more into popular culture studies.

My program wasn't funded, so I decided to stop after my MA (which took forever because I had to work full time and write my thesis in weekends) and re-apply to PhD programs. Because I had a pop culture thesis, my SOP was about expanding on that work in a PhD program. I thought it would be fine, given that I demonstrated an ability to perform graduate level work and was only applying to schools with POIs whose work was very similar to mine, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just retool my first SOP if I have to reapply next year...

 

Actually, this program has yet to notify. They will (ought to) by the end of March. That's why I'm so torn up over it--between excitement (i.e. my project is timely, they may look favourably on it due to the confluence of interests/scholarship/their own departmental designs, etc.) and not daring to hope. 

[cbttcher]

Your interests sound amazing. Heh, people gave me weird looks all the time over my respective fascination with Shylock and Daniel Deronda. "You're not Jewish!" sounds about right.

 

Thank you! Shylock and Daniel Deronda are amazing.

 

I think, though, that my interests in this particular field are what's keeping me from getting into any of the programs I applied to.

[thatjewishgirl]

Love Daniel Deronda! Such a good one. I hate how so many critics dislike the "Jewish part" of the novel. It is nice to see that other people are interested in the Jewish experience. I face a lot of flack now at my school and in my former program because I'm fairly religious (I say as I'm playing on the internet on Saturday afternoon after I've skipped shul for the past month). I have never yet worked with a professor or other students who share my interest in Jewish literature, so it is nice to know they exist.

 

So, do the two of you feel like people question your interest in Jewish literature because you aren't Jewish? Being Jewish is what prompted my interest in the subject, but I've known a fair number of people interested in minority studies, Native, African American, Asian, Hispanic, etc., who are not ethnically related to their subject of study.

[thatjewishgirl]

Thank you! Shylock and Daniel Deronda are amazing.

 

I think, though, that my interests in this particular field are what's keeping me from getting into any of the programs I applied to.

 

I 100% agree with you, in regards to myself, anyway. I'm really hoping for an acceptance at GSU, otherwise, my applications next year will be VERY different.

[cbttcher]

So, do the two of you feel like people question your interest in Jewish literature because you aren't Jewish? Being Jewish is what prompted my interest in the subject, but I've known a fair number of people interested in minority studies, Native, African American, Asian, Hispanic, etc., who are not ethnically related to their subject of study.

 

For me, it's also that I'm German. And honestly? I kind of hate that people think I can't or shouldn't write about Anglo-Jewish literature. One of my professors here in the US kept on telling me how careful I had to be with this topic.... I don't know. As you've said, there are a lot of people working on Native American and African American literature who are not related to these ethnic groups. I know a lot of them and no one ever questions them about their choice.

 

I 100% agree with you, in regards to myself, anyway. I'm really hoping for an acceptance at GSU, otherwise, my applications next year will be VERY different.

 

Oh, yes. I'm thinking that I will only mention that I wrote my thesis on Anglo-Jewish literature. My main focus will be, however, literary theory and Jane Austen if I have to apply a second time. Which seems very likely right now.

[InHacSpeVivo]

Actually, this program has yet to notify. They will (ought to) by the end of March. That's why I'm so torn up over it--between excitement (i.e. my project is timely, they may look favourably on it due to the confluence of interests/scholarship/their own departmental designs, etc.) and not daring to hope. 

 

Well, in that case I will be thinking very happy thoughts for you. Fingers crossed!

 

For me, it's also that I'm German. And honestly? I kind of hate that people think I can't or shouldn't write about Anglo-Jewish literature. One of my professors here in the US kept on telling me how careful I had to be with this topic.... I don't know. As you've said, there are a lot of people working on Native American and African American literature who are not related to these ethnic groups. I know a lot of them and no one ever questions them about their choice.

 

Oh, yes. I'm thinking that I will only mention that I wrote my thesis on Anglo-Jewish literature. My main focus will be, however, literary theory and Jane Austen if I have to apply a second time. Which seems very likely right now.

 

This post was great for two reasons:

 

First, it is ridiculous that anyone would question you about studying Anglo-Jewish lterature because you're German. I'm 1/3 Native American, and, while I don't study NA lit, most of the work done on NA authors is by white people and, like you said, no one ever seems to question them! It's just my opnion, but I think any study of Anglo-Jewish lit, especially outside of the more mainstream mid-twentieth century research, is really valuable! There's so much talk about the importance of studying under-represented works, but when it comes to actually doing it there's not as much as support as there should be.

 

Also, in the likely event I will be re-applying, it's good to know I will have others with whom discuss the myriad of things wrong with my non-traditional application.

[patientagony]

I'm 1/3 Native American

 

This is off topic, but how is it possible to be 1/3 something? Shouldn't ethnicities be discussed in multiples of 2? I'm so confused!!!!!!

[Two Espressos]

That's a frustration of mine: knowing that there is a market for this kind of scholarship and yet not having that fact matter because so many senior faculty members aren't interested in it (or are sometimes even outright hostile to it). 

 

Well, I guess it's a good thing in some sense that I won't be attending a graduate program this fall and thereby will not be joining the academic world: you guys won't have to deal with my traditionalism and opposition to pop culture! 

[InHacSpeVivo]

This is off topic, but how is it possible to be 1/3 something? Shouldn't ethnicities be discussed in multiples of 2? I'm so confused!!!!!!

 

Lol, np. I approximated. I have Native American ancestry on both sides of the family tree, so it's easier to say 1/3 than give a percentage (also, I don't have an exact percentage because both sides were poor/uneducated/bad record-keepers and my paternal line is Lumbee, which is a Southern tribe and only black, white, or mixed were options in the census until probably around 20 years ago).

[patientagony]

Lol, np. I approximated. I have Native American ancestry on both sides of the family tree, so it's easier to say 1/3 than give a percentage (also, I don't have an exact percentage because both sides were poor/uneducated/bad record-keepers and my paternal line is Lumbee, which is a Southern tribe and only black, white, or mixed were options in the census until probably around 20 years ago).

 

Ok, that makes sense. I come from a similar background in terms of record keeping, poverty and mixes of ethnicities. My family is Creole from Louisiana, so whenever someone asks about my ethnicity I'm like, uhhhh, I don't know how to answer that question precisely, so I just list all of the things that I know are thrown in there, but I couldn't tell you how "much" of any one background I am.