English PhD versus Cultural PhD and will an English PhD trap me into teaching english foreverrrrr

[Frozenroses]

Hi all,

I posted this in 'Decisions' and it was adviced that I post it here as it was thought that this may be a common discussion thread for interdisciplinary students. Any advice/input, would be amazing.

Here is my dilemma - this is sort of a two part question as firstly I am trying to work out the 'best fit' uni for me and secondly it would be great to hear about peoples experiences in graduating with an English PhD when you are more Cultural/film studies:

I have applied for PhDs at two Universities, for two different disciplines (Cultural studies at one, English at another). The subject I studied at Masters level is Cinema studies, undergrad was Radio and Television Arts. I am from the UK, applying to Canada (have my residency). I have been lucky enough to have been accepted into both programs. Yippee you say, and so do I. The trouble is I cannot choose between them. Any advice from fellow interdiscplinarians would be amazing. Here are the details:

School 1: English.

Very well funding, well known (for Canada, its probably top 3 for research funding, and although not Mcgill, UofT or UBC, it comes in the next group of well established unis) large cohort (around 20-30), primarily English students but the faculty do teach film at undergrad level so there may be a chance of taking some film classes as a TA. TAship will be English 101 though and is as an instructor rather than a TA who takes labs/seminars and marks a few papers (scary for someone who has never TA'd). There are approx 3 film faculty members due to undergrad course. Supervisor there is well known for his research and I feel would therefore be excellent to work with, however he is only extremely knowledgable with regards to half my area of interest (I am studying two countries work, both in the same continent, of which he is an expert of one and, I imagine, semi-knowledgable but no expert of the other). Supervisor is also really friendly and I have developed a strong relationship with them. The courses are all undertaken in first year there, I can take two courses externally to English, which I will try to do from the sociology and anthropology department, but there are also cultural courses - in essence, if I wanted to, I could get away with only doing 1 or 2 english courses for year 1. The city that this is in, is very isolated (3 hours to the nearest one). Personally, and I am not sure why, this seems to appeal to me as I feel that I will definitely not be distracted at all while I am doing the course, and will be able to put my head down and get on with it, but it is a factor. it is also FREEZING there. This course typically seems to take 5.2 years to complete, which is important to me as I am already early 30's - I know this isn't old, but I am factoring in having kids etc into this and Id rather do that sequentially (call me old fashioned)

School 2: Cultural studies

right, I have not yet received funding info on this, but judging by last year posts, I think its likely to be 9K less than English - it would be a struggle, id definitely have to work in the summer, which, from experience, made me really unfocused before The university is not in the top three, its probably about number 7 in Canada's ranking but im not sure.... Small cohort (6-7), students from all backgrounds. I would be able to TA in some film classes as the department is linked to film, as well as some cultural classes and naturally the courses I take (that run over the first two years) are cultural/possibly film. TA is also running seminars, marking papers, not teaching. Less scary - but not as good experience perhaps?! Supervisor is not well known, only having completed his own PhD 3 years ago (from UCLA), he seemed friendly, but amusingly I think he is probably bias towards the opposite country than the supervisor in the English faculty and is less interested in their film (thinks its low brow probably - it is). I do not feel as connected to this supervisor, and am concerned that he is a lesser name. The city that this course is in - although closer to other cities - is less appealing to me. I am not sure if some sick part of me likes the idea of disappearing down a rabbit hole away from everyone else for 8 months of the year so that I am not distracted, but I have worries that I will be less focused in the environment this school provides. Rumour has it that this course can be completed in 5 years, but more often than not is completed in 6-7.

My questions are thus - aside from choosing the best course fit for me, will having an English PhD limit me in Canada and the states in terms of employment? If my thesis, publications and conferences are all film related, won't that make a difference? Which would you choose - the well funded, reknown supervisor (in tiny niche specialization), slightly less perfect fit, or the underfunded, longer course, which although may be a better fit for the coursework, will possibly take forever to finish?.

As soon as I settle my mind on one Uni, something happens that makes me like the other one!! Interdisciplinarians please help with your advice or experience of such matters. Thanks so much!

[Sparky]

If anything, having an English PhD will make you more marketable.

"Cultural Studies" and pretty much all other interdisciplinary fields do not generally have their own departments in the traditional sense, with a separate Cultural Studies faculty. Rather, profs from English, history, anthro, etc teach cross-listed classes. They might be associates of the interdisciplinary dept, or however it works at a particular school, but there are not profs who are solely Cultural Studies. That's the point of interdisciplinary--students get exposure to profs from multiple disciplines.

I would also point out that English "literature" has pretty much become cultural studies in a lot of cases and subfields. There is, after all, only so much one can say about imagery in Shakespeare. (See also: biblical studies). Many schools incorporate film studies into their English dept.

This is not to say that there are jobs in English, either, but you will likely be a more attractive candidate than with a Cultural Studies degree.

Also, cheer up--the chances of actually finishing the program and getting a PhD in any humanities field are about 50%. The chances of getting a tenure track job in English after that are even lower. You will, mathematically, mostly likely not be teaching English forever regardless.

[Frozenroses]

Also, cheer up--the chances of actually finishing the program and getting a PhD in any humanities field are about 50%. The chances of getting a tenure track job in English after that are even lower. You will, mathematically, mostly likely not be teaching English forever regardless.

This made me laugh! Thank you and thank you for your advice

[Aubergine]

I agree with Sparky! My undergrad institution (at one of the Canadian schools you mentioned) has three streams within its English program: literature, cultural studies (which is actually mostly film studies) and theatre. Technically, my degree is in English, but most of my upper level work was in cinema and dance/performance studies. The work of the department's PhD students extremely diverse: there are lots of people working on film and a few working on performance too I think. The department even, amazingly, has hired a postdoc in dance studies for next year.

All of this to say that I wouldn't worry at all about your degree being in English! As Sparky pointed out, in many departments, the term is no longer synonymous with 'literature.' I'm sure you'll have no problem applying to jobs in film studies, or else in English departments with film studies tracks.