Comp Lit 2012

[minourose]

Where are all the complitteurs this year?

[vordhosbntwin]

i'm a comp lit app...

[pel]

Me too.

[minourose]

Good. That's t least 3 of us.

I think it would be good to gather info about CL programs in one space, since the deadlines, interviews, and notification dates are usually different to English.

So far Emory has invited people for interviews. Do we know anything about other programs?

[pel]

Good idea! I know that SUNY Buffalo Comp Lit has already sent a few acceptances.

[minourose]

Wow. That's early. Well done to the Buffalo acceptees!

What's particularly exercising me at the moment, despite the fact hat we can do nothing to hurry anything along, is the question of which programs do interviews. So, for Cornell, to choose a not-so-random example, we know that they usually accept the 1st batch some time around mid-Feb, but we do not know if and when those people got interviewed.

[Starlajane]

Also a comp lit applicant. I think that most interviews happen in January, at least for programs with December deadlines.

I haven't heard anything yet from any of my programs (UNC Chapel Hill, UT Austin--Dec. 15 deadline; IU Bloomington, UConn--January 15 deadline).

IU Bloomington admissions rep was super nice; she e-mailed me to say that my app was incomplete b/c my GRE scores had never gotten there. I had them resent and she told me that my app had been forwarded to the admissions committee for review, and that I should hear something in three to four weeks (mid February).

My UConn app isn't even complete yet b/c they still haven't uploaded my GRE scores; they say that they are really far behind in getting all files completed, so I probably will not hear from them until March, perhaps even April.

[Origin=Goal]

I'm a comparatist, or whatever, as well. Haven't heard anything, accept for 1 fellowship submission request and 1 department switched my app to another department.

[minourose]

Starlajane, I suspect you are right about January interviews. But I'm not worried. There are five whole days of January left, and who's to say that they won't agree to fund me for five years without even a telephone interview?

[pel]

Origin=Goal, Which department switched your app? I recall there was a section in the application form for Columbia, asking whether you'd like to be considered for another department...

[Origin=Goal]

Cornell. They emailed to ask my permission to do so, because they also have that section. But it's perfectly plausible that Columbia would not send out such a confirmation to do so.

Looks like we're applying to lots of the same programs (Princeton, Brown, UCB, UCLA, NYU, Penn), what do you work on?

[pel]

I'm a modernist, with a focus on modern and contemporary novel but am planning to do interdisciplinary work across languages (I have 4) and various media (fiction, modern art and film). What about you?

[minourose]

Origin=Goal, did they ask to switch you from or to CL?

[vordhosbntwin]

wait, cornell's comp lit program sent that to you?

[Starlajane]

Starlajane, I suspect you are right about January interviews. But I'm not worried. There are five whole days of January left, and who's to say that they won't agree to fund me for five years without even a telephone interview?

Let's hope that I'm not, because I haven't heard anything either.

I wish that I were as optimistic as you are; comp lit programs seem very difficult to get into, especially now with budget cuts et al. What are your languages and/or areas of interest?

[vordhosbntwin]

by the way, these are the programs i applied to: duke lit, princeton comp lit, harvard comp lit, johns hopkins humanities center, cornell comp lit, berkeley rhetoric, nyu comp lit, upenn comp lit, columbia eng & comp lit, yale comp lit, university of chicago comp lit, brown comp lit, uc irvine comp lit, university of toronto comp lit (MA), school of the visual arts critical theory and the arts (prominent adorno scholar/translator robert hullot-kentor's new program)

has anyone heard anything from any of these programs?

[pel]

Vordhosbntwin, I've applied to most of the schools you chose. Hope we both get into all of them and discuss which one is better What are your interests?

[vordhosbntwin]

and doesn't having your application switched mean that you were rejected by that department? i read back over the language on the app: If you are not admitted to your first-choice Field of Study, do you want to be considered for admission into another Field of Study? If so, please select the Field from the list. Please note that this is not automatic and you may be required to submit additional application materials.

[vordhosbntwin]

questions of darstellung in philosophy, the positive aspects of negative theoretical projects (specifically those of adorno and derrida), relationship between continental philosophy and literature, french and english modernisms (joyce, beckett, pound, proust, genet). i'm interested in hegelianism generally, but my recent research has revolved around deconstruction and dialectical inquiry, hegel and deconstruction, etc.

Edited January 26, 2012 by vordhosbntwin

[minourose]

Let's hope that I'm not, because I haven't heard anything either.

I wish that I were as optimistic as you are; comp lit programs seem very difficult to get into, especially now with budget cuts et al. What are your languages and/or areas of interest?

Yeah, whenever I look at the ratio of applicants to accepted applicants it seems pretty silly to apply to CL. English or French might have been a better bet for me. But if I were to be lead by rational calculation I would probably not want to go to grad school.

I do modernisms and postcolonialisms in the anglophone and francophone worlds. Also translation theory. I speak English, French and Dutch and I can read Italian, Latin, Greek and German with varied proficiency.

[pel]

questions of darstellung in philosophy, the positive aspects of negative theoretical projects (specifically those of adorno and derrida), relationship between continental philosophy and literature, french and english modernisms (joyce, beckett, pound, proust, genet). i'm interested in hegelianism generally, but my recent research has revolved around deconstruction and dialectical inquiry, hegel and deconstruction, etc.

Cool! I've studied literature as an undergrad but took modern intellectual history courses to supplement my work on modern literature. I don't think I'll do a lot of philosophy as a grad student but I do think that relationship between literature and philosophy is very intriguing, especially studying the ways in which philosophers write and organize their thoughts.

[Starlajane]

Yeah, whenever I look at the ratio of applicants to accepted applicants it seems pretty silly to apply to CL. English or French might have been a better bet for me. But if I were to be lead by rational calculation I would probably not want to go to grad school.

I do modernisms and postcolonialisms in the anglophone and francophone worlds. Also translation theory. I speak English, French and Dutch and I can read Italian, Latin, Greek and German with varied proficiency.

Haha, same here, although I also stressed Spanish on my personal statements; I really want to specialize in transnational modernism, i.e. comparative lit of Western Europe and the Americas from the 19th and 20th c.

I just took a class on translation theory, which is definitely not an area of expertise for me, although it will probably strengthen your app as it is still an emerging field.

The one thing that I have noticed wrt comp lit programs is that a lot of them seem to be wanting applicants who are interested in literatures of languages that have been ignored and/or not yet fully explored (like Arabic or Quechua) or who want explore more obscure areas of interest. I can only imagine how many other applicants want to work the European and/or American modernist tradition; you are fortunate to have those other langs as possible areas of study/comparison, especially Greek and Latin for all of those comp lit foundational texts, and German for critical theory.

I can only boast three languages, which means that my chances are very slim. Fortunately, I also applied to French programs. I'll be happy if I get in anywhere.

[Refresh refresh]

hey all! Does anyone know whether u michigan or ut austin interview before they make their final decision? And if so, has anyone been contacted for an interview yet?

[Enzian]

I also applied to a few comp lit programs (Boulder, NYU, Penn, Emory) as well as Duke Lit and Berkeley Rhetoric which are very comp lit-ish.

I've had no updates yet, except: Emory did not call for an interview and Boulder e-mailed to say they'd notify the week of March 5-9, both of which I've already posted elsewhere so this is just a neurotic redundancy. Sort of like my college punk band.

[pel]

I'm not quite sure why it is taking so much time for schools to notify us and I wonder if there are people out there who receive unofficial news from professors,staff etc. I remember my friend who applied to a few programs 'unofficially' heard from a professor in late january last year.