Deciding where to go to study Milton

[mattr114]

Hi all--

I'm very lucky to have been accepted by some wonderful programs, and right now I'm trying to decide between Princeton and Harvard. I'd like to solicit your help in the process. I study the Renaissance, and I think I'd like to work on Milton and sort-of post-Miltonic poetry in graduate school (maybe Milton, Dryden, Pope, Blake, &c.). Which school do you suppose is a superior place for this sort of thing?

Many thanks.

[DorindaAfterThyrsis]

Congratulations on your success! I also study Early Modern/Renaissance poetry, though Milton falls at the opposite end of my interest timeline (I'm more of a Sidney, Donne, Marvell, Milton kind of gal).

To be honest, I think prospective Grad students are not really the best resources for you in answering this particular question To be blunt, none of us have any more idea than you do what being a Miltonist at either Princeton or Harvard is like.

I think your best course of action should be to take advantage of the knowledge of people at the other end of the graduate school spectrum (i.e. Professors). Survey some of your current profs, whose opinion you trust, to get a feel for where each program lies along that ever-changing and oh-so-subjective spectrum of "Peer Perception" (make sure you get a variety of opinions on this). Ask a current mentor who they would like to study with, given the opportunity. Take all opinions with large grains of salt, and be sure to correct for institutional bias and latent inferiority complexes.

Also, get acquainted with the Renaissance faculty at both programs (through e-mail and especially at the visiting weekends). Ask lots of questions. Be proactive about ensuring that you can do the kind of work you want to do and be supported in the kind of work you want to do at either program. If you have access to current grad students in either program (the DGS can and usually will provide you with a list of students working in your area who are willing to make themselves available to queries from prospectives), ask them specific questions about the availability of resources, quality of advising, and usefulness of courses in your specific field of interest. Browse graduate course catalogs from previous years and see what course are actually being taught by your POIs and others.

Bottom line, you have two excellent choices. You can't really choose "wrong" in terms of prestige or quality of education. Therefore, assuming the $$ is comparable at both programs, your choice comes down to your personal preference in regards to the advising style and/or likability of the profs you'll be working with. Go to the visit days. Meet profs. Talk to them. Find out who you "click" with. Choose that school. Become a fucking Milton rock star.

Seriously, you can't go wrong here.

I look forward to reading your work in the future!

Edited March 4, 2012 by DorindaAfterThyrsis

[rachmuz]

I agree with Dorinda and just wanted to add that I am in the process of talking to current graduate students in my area of study, at the schools I am interested in and it has been tremendously helpful. I have found out lots about the school, program, other students, and my area of study just by doing this. Asking specific questions is key, as is approaching this as a great way to meet others in your field whom you will be running into again and again in the future.

[ecritdansleau]

One thing you might want to ask yourself is how your project might evolve differently at Program A versus Program B (rather than wondering is A or B "better" than the other). Consider factors such as archival resources at/near the university, the types of courses and research done by POIs, etc. When you have a chance to speak with professors who are familiar with your application materials (writing sample), try to find out what aspects of it they appreciated most: this can give you a sense of what direction they might encourage you to go forward in if they become your advisor.

[Stately Plump]

Congrats on being accepted to both of those schools! Truly incredible, I'm really happy for you. The first thing you should do is take a long vacation (whatever that means) to congratulate yourself for your hard work and success

One thing you might want to ask yourself is how your project might evolve differently at Program A versus Program B (rather than wondering is A or B "better" than the other). Consider factors such as archival resources at/near the university, the types of courses and research done by POIs, etc. When you have a chance to speak with professors who are familiar with your application materials (writing sample), try to find out what aspects of it they appreciated most: this can give you a sense of what direction they might encourage you to go forward in if they become your advisor.

I definitely agree here. If your interests shift at all, or if you have some secondary-type interests that might evolve while a graduate student, which school might better accommodate those interests?

Also, though this should be far from your first concern, where would you rather live for the next 5-7 years? I know that this, ultimately, should have no bearing on your final decision, but it is something to consider. All other things being equal, would you rather be in Cambridge or Princeton?

I'd rather be in Cambridge, but that's just me

[hawkeye7269]

Congratulations on both acceptances!

I'm also a Milton sort of fellow, so when I was choosing schools to apply to, I had a special eye out for Miltonists of note at various schools. So I can tell you that, at Harvard, Gordon Teskey is the Miltonist of note, and he's rather well known. He's published a book, "Delirious Milton," which I have not read, but I have been told is of middling quality. Nonetheless, he's well respected, and I believe he edited the latest Norton's edition of Milton.

By contrast, I never found a compelling Miltonist down at Princeton - there may be one as a special lecturer or somesuch, but there's no professor there who lists Milton as a primary interest.

I hope that's helpful. Perhaps we'll be crossing paths some years down the line at a Milton conference. Good luck with your decision, and do tell us what you eventually resolve to do.

Cheers!

[lyonessrampant]

I'm also early modern poetry, though generally not much past Spenser. Anyway, yeah, I echo hawkeye's observations, though with the caveat that I like a lot of Teskey's work. Also check out Barbara Lewalski. She has excellent work on Herbert and has also written about Milton. Jeff Dolven is really the only prof at Princeton I'm familiar with, but he is interested more in pedagogy (at least his last book was). Congrats on an awesome decision!

[erlmdr85]

First off, congrats on those acceptances! While I don't have any first hand experience with the programs, I nonetheless wanted to add to the above that Princeton does have an excellent Miltonist, Nigel Smith. On the other hand, I don't expect that Barbara Lewalski will be available to work with you at Harvard, considering that she is retired.

You should definitely take this opportunity to meet in person with both Gordon Teskey and Nigel Smith, and spend some time reading their books. Smith has a book called "Is Milton better than Shakespeare," which is really more for a popular audience, but you should also check out "Literature and Revolution in England." His work is quite historicist, while Teskey is more philosophical. It seems misguided to say that one is "better" than the other -- whose approach interests you more? And most important, make sure you get in touch with their current dissertation advisees. Are they doing projects you could see yourself doing? How do those students feel about the advising they've gotten?

Also, look outside of the English department. Princeton may not have so many early modernists on the English faculty, but there are more you might check out in comp lit, especially Leonard Barkan. He directed Gerard Passannante's dissertation (he's now a prof at Maryland), which was recently published as the book "The Lucretian Renassiance." You should read that -- I think it might give you a good sense of work coming out of Princeton.

Edited March 5, 2012 by erlmdr85

[Julianne Pigoon]

I know absolutely nothing about Milton or the Renaissance, but as someone who has spent a great deal of time in Cambridge and Somerville, and also has lived not too far from Princeton in central Jersey: Go. To. Harvard.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Julianne Pigoon

[Doctor Cleveland]

I'm long past grad school now, so take this buttinsky faculty advice for what it's worth:

1) The main choice that you're making is a choice between studying with Gordon Teskey and studying with Nigel Smith. Those are the people who would become your dissertation advisers and mentors, the people who would have the most influence on your intellectual growth, and the people who would help you find a job as a Miltonist. In fact, writing a Milton dissertation with anyone except your school's senior Miltonist would damage you badly on the job market.

Talk to them. See how you get along with them intellectually. Gauge what it would be like to start a teacher-student relationship with them. Read some of their work if you haven't already. This is the most important thing.

2) Your relationship to Teskey or Smith will be your most important professional relationship, but not your only one. If both potential advisors seem equally appealing to you, ask yourself how interesting the other early-modern faculty (the junior scholars and the drama people) are. You will take classes from those people, and some of them will be on your diss committee someday. A great second chair does NOT make up for a problematic first chair, but a good first chair with a good second chair trumps an equivalent first chair without one. It's worth pointing out that Princeton is hiring a new young associate professor, so factor whoever they hire into this secondary question.

3) What are the Miltonist grad students at each place like? Your peers are also going to be an important part of your intellectual and professional life. Think about whether you're interested in those people as classmates and colleagues.

That's my $.02. Back to peer advice.

[user_name]

back in time. zing! jk.....