Literature program suggestions?

[etiolation]

Hello! I'm trying to figure out where to apply for MA and/or PhD programs, but I'm having trouble tracking down exactly what I want. My interests are multiethnic American literatures and contemporary international literatures. I'm finding some universities that offer a good selection of classes in various multiethnic American literatures (although I'd appreciate any suggestions you have for more). But what I really can't find is where I can study contemporary literature of other countries/continents. I'm interested in Scandinavian literature, particularly Icelandic, but am having trouble tracking down any programs in the US that focus outside of American or British literature. I'd love any suggestions that you could offer.

[butalas]

From what I remember, UC Santa Cruz seemed to be pretty focused on comparative, although I can't comment on whether that includes Scandinavian/Icelandic. Do you speak a Scandinavian language?

[etiolation]

I'll look into that program, thank you!

I have done basic Icelandic and plan to continue that this academic year. Other than that though, the only languages I have studied are Spanish and Latin. I'm looking around for a place to study Danish or Old Norse, as well.

[wreckofthehope]

Berkeley and U of Washington both have Scandinavian Studies departments, I think. You should be able to take classes in them as a grad student in another department... (Harvard too?)

I'm also interested in Danish literature, although am struggling to find a way to incorporate the interest into my work currently as my school doesn't have any Scandinavian offerings.

Is your interest in contemporary literature, or older (as in Medieval?).

p.s. you should probably be looking at Comp Lit departments.

Edited May 24, 2012 by wreckofthehope

[butalas]

p.s. you should probably be looking at Comp Lit departments.

Indeed. I ask about the languages because most comparative lit programs require 1 or 2 languages besides English upon entry (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This could be a huge plus for your studies if you are looking to study American AND a non-English literature.

[I'm a fact.]

Hi etiolation,

Do you have your mind set on English programs? If not, I’ll echo what other posters have already recommended and suggest Comparative Literature programs. If you plan to limit your search to universities with Scandinavian Departments, check-out the website for The Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS). There are only three free-standing departments in the U.S. and they are Berkeley, U of Washington (Seattle), and U of Wisconsin, Madison. UCLA and Minnesota also have strong programs. Many universities have German Language and Literature departments in which Scandinavian and Dutch languages and literatures are included. If you can create a compelling connection between multiethnic American lit and Scandinavian lit, then the comparative track sounds reasonable. Otherwise, you might consider going whole hog on the Scandinavian/Nordic aspect of your research interests.

[Timshel]

I also think that you can get into a department that has good multiethnic lit, and then just take classes in other departments. In fact, many state schools let you take classes at other state schools, too, if the particular school you end up at doesn't have a Scandinavian department. As for multiethnic in general, look at the UC schools. That is my area, and I am headed to UC Riverside in the fall. They have a great department for that.

[wreckofthehope]

I also think that you can get into a department that has good multiethnic lit, and then just take classes in other departments. In fact, many state schools let you take classes at other state schools, too, if the particular school you end up at doesn't have a Scandinavian department. As for multiethnic in general, look at the UC schools. That is my area, and I am headed to UC Riverside in the fall. They have a great department for that.

I agree with your suggestion about schools strong in multiethnic lit but if the OP is an international student (which it sounds like they might be?) then UC schools are pretty much off the table (unless they have private funding/ external awards). It's crazy hard to get funding as a humanities international student at the UC schools. Which counts Berkeley out too...

Sadly, this is exactly the issue I ran into when applying... most of the places that have strong Scandinavian departments/centers are schools that struggle to fund international students. Washington too... they actually made it clear on the front page of the application that funding for international students was almost non-existent.

Oh - you might want to look at Oregon.

Edited May 25, 2012 by wreckofthehope

[etiolation]

Berkeley and U of Washington both have Scandinavian Studies departments, I think. You should be able to take classes in them as a grad student in another department... (Harvard too?)

I'm also interested in Danish literature, although am struggling to find a way to incorporate the interest into my work currently as my school doesn't have any Scandinavian offerings.

Is your interest in contemporary literature, or older (as in Medieval?).

p.s. you should probably be looking at Comp Lit departments.

That seems to be the problem - finding schools which offer more than a course or two in Scandinavian literatures.

My primary interest is contemporary literature, but I would also love to study medieval works to understand the big picture, so to speak.

[etiolation]

Indeed. I ask about the languages because most comparative lit programs require 1 or 2 languages besides English upon entry (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This could be a huge plus for your studies if you are looking to study American AND a non-English literature.

This is part of my worry - I have relatively little experience in the languages that would be relevant here. Do you think it would be a bad move to take a year or so off for further language study before applying?

[etiolation]

Hi etiolation,

Do you have your mind set on English programs? If not, I’ll echo what other posters have already recommended and suggest Comparative Literature programs. If you plan to limit your search to universities with Scandinavian Departments, check-out the website for The Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS). There are only three free-standing departments in the U.S. and they are Berkeley, U of Washington (Seattle), and U of Wisconsin, Madison. UCLA and Minnesota also have strong programs. Many universities have German Language and Literature departments in which Scandinavian and Dutch languages and literatures are included. If you can create a compelling connection between multiethnic American lit and Scandinavian lit, then the comparative track sounds reasonable. Otherwise, you might consider going whole hog on the Scandinavian/Nordic aspect of your research interests.

My only problem with not going the English/literature route is that I'd eventually like to end up teaching literature at the secondary level. But I don't see how having a comparative literature degree would be a negative there, unless I'm missing something? However, doing Scandinavian studies exclusively might not work out as well in terms of getting a teaching job.

I'll have to think about connections between multiethnic American lit and Scandinavian lit. That's a great suggestion.

[etiolation]

I also think that you can get into a department that has good multiethnic lit, and then just take classes in other departments. In fact, many state schools let you take classes at other state schools, too, if the particular school you end up at doesn't have a Scandinavian department. As for multiethnic in general, look at the UC schools. That is my area, and I am headed to UC Riverside in the fall. They have a great department for that.

Congratulations! What specifically are you going to be studying?

I have had several people suggest UC schools, as well. I will look around at universities' policies on letting students take classes in other departments/schools. That could be a good way to go, as it would be less of a formalized Scandinavian studies program and more of picking the classes that are particularly relevant to literature.

[etiolation]

I agree with your suggestion about schools strong in multiethnic lit but if the OP is an international student (which it sounds like they might be?) then UC schools are pretty much off the table (unless they have private funding/ external awards). It's crazy hard to get funding as a humanities international student at the UC schools. Which counts Berkeley out too... Sadly, this is exactly the issue I ran into when applying... most of the places that have strong Scandinavian departments/centers are schools that struggle to fund international students. Washington too... they actually made it clear on the front page of the application that funding for international students was almost non-existent. Oh - you might want to look at Oregon.

Fortunately (I guess?) I am not an international student, so I have only the routine worries about funding. With the difficulty in getting funding, where did you end up? Since your school doesn't offer Danish literature, have you found any viable independent study-type options?

[wreckofthehope]

Fortunately (I guess?) I am not an international student, so I have only the routine worries about funding. With the difficulty in getting funding, where did you end up? Since your school doesn't offer Danish literature, have you found any viable independent study-type options?

Ah- that's great - definitely look at the UC's then!

At the moment, I've put Danish on the back-burner... my language skills were only at a basic level when coming into my program and would have taken a whole lot of extra-curricular work to get up to a decent enough level to use academically. I was too busy my first year to be able to do that. There is a fairly active group at Harvard (I'm at another Boston-area school) that have Swedish dinners and stuff where you can go and practice speaking Swedish... so I thought maybe I could switch to Swedish...I'm planning to try and attend those next year, probably after finding an independent language class that I can take.

[Stately Plump]

You may find you will have trouble getting into a program where you can study Scandinavian literatures if you do not speak the language. Remember that graduate programs are training you to become an expert in your field; it would be difficult to become an expert in an area of a literature whose language you didn't speak. Very, very few programs will accept that you want to study literature in translation, at least as one of your main foci.

The other problem is that if a program does have a Scandinavian studies department, they are probably going to accept only 1 (or zero) applicants to that area of study. Schools are not going to accept a student in an unusual area of study just to diversify their cohort of incoming students; they are only going to accept students who they feel are on the verge of becoming experts in their field.

My suggestion would be to stick to your other interests and make your Scandinavian interests secondary. You may find, when you get to graduate school, that there are some other faculty/students who have similar interests, and perhaps you can pursue it from there. However, I worry that mentioning that you want to study Scandinavian lit in translation could end up being detrimental to your application, because it might be perceived as academically naive and unprofessional.

I only say all of this because I would hate to see you diminish your chances of success in applying If you do end up learning the language fluently (i.e., enough to take a graduate course in the language), then by all means apply with that as your main focus! If you can study a Scandinavian language in the original, and can link those interests in a comparative way with interests in American literature, you can probably create a really unique and interesting application.

Good luck!

[I'm a fact.]

The other problem is that if a program does have a Scandinavian studies department, they are probably going to accept only 1 (or zero) applicants to that area of study.

Definitely! If there is not a single faculty member who can support your research interests in a given department, the admissions committee is very unlikely to recommend you for admission. It seems that you have developed your interests in multiethnic American literature more than anything else, and since you want to teach English and world literatures at the secondary level, then perhaps you would be better served by focusing on English programs strong in ethnic literature and then taking classes in other departments as others have recommended. And of course you want to make sure that you articulate your research interests to prospective graduate programs in a way that is both focused and relevant to the program to which you are applying (I really don’t mean for this to sound patronizing, because refining one’s research interests is just a natural part of the process of applying to graduate programs).

It sounds like your interest in Scandinavian literatures will have to be subordinated or developed according to your commitment to independent study (esp. if you end up at a university with no Scandinavian Dept.). However, in my experience with graduate-level Scandinavian seminars, lectures are taught in English and texts are read in their original languages (this practice, however, may vary from department to department). The expectation is that you have a reading ability in at least one or more Scandinavian languages. The languages are mutually intelligible, so if you had 2-3 years of language preparation in one Scandinavian language, then you should be fine to read the others with the aid of a dictionary. But I should add that while Icelandic is Germanic in origin, it is not strictly speaking like the other Scandinavian languages (Iceland is considered a Nordic country, not Scandinavian). I would definitely contact faculty in Scandinavian departments who specialize in Icelandic about contemporary Icelandic literature course offerings--perhaps they can provide you with a syllabus and some recommended reading to help direct your independent study.

Like others have mentioned, it seems that you have a stronger background in English, but it also seems to me that you are taking a big step by starting language preparation in Icelandic (and possibly Old Norse and/or Danish).

[etiolation]

You may find you will have trouble getting into a program where you can study Scandinavian literatures if you do not speak the language. Remember that graduate programs are training you to become an expert in your field; it would be difficult to become an expert in an area of a literature whose language you didn't speak. Very, very few programs will accept that you want to study literature in translation, at least as one of your main foci.

The other problem is that if a program does have a Scandinavian studies department, they are probably going to accept only 1 (or zero) applicants to that area of study. Schools are not going to accept a student in an unusual area of study just to diversify their cohort of incoming students; they are only going to accept students who they feel are on the verge of becoming experts in their field.

My suggestion would be to stick to your other interests and make your Scandinavian interests secondary. You may find, when you get to graduate school, that there are some other faculty/students who have similar interests, and perhaps you can pursue it from there. However, I worry that mentioning that you want to study Scandinavian lit in translation could end up being detrimental to your application, because it might be perceived as academically naive and unprofessional.

I only say all of this because I would hate to see you diminish your chances of success in applying If you do end up learning the language fluently (i.e., enough to take a graduate course in the language), then by all means apply with that as your main focus! If you can study a Scandinavian language in the original, and can link those interests in a comparative way with interests in American literature, you can probably create a really unique and interesting application.

Good luck!

Thanks very much for your perspective! What I've found since posting is that none of the universities in the area where I will be living/working this year offer relevant language/literature courses, so it doesn't really seem viable to get my languages up to the requisite level. I think that, as you suggested, I'll keep Scandinavian literature as a secondary interest and continue in my reading and language study as much as I can. Maybe some opportunity or connection will present itself further down the line.

[etiolation]

Definitely! If there is not a single faculty member who can support your research interests in a given department, the admissions committee is very unlikely to recommend you for admission. It seems that you have developed your interests in multiethnic American literature more than anything else, and since you want to teach English and world literatures at the secondary level, then perhaps you would be better served by focusing on English programs strong in ethnic literature and then taking classes in other departments as others have recommended. And of course you want to make sure that you articulate your research interests to prospective graduate programs in a way that is both focused and relevant to the program to which you are applying (I really don’t mean for this to sound patronizing, because refining one’s research interests is just a natural part of the process of applying to graduate programs).

I really appreciate all the advice, especially for your insight on languages! I think at this point that I should plan to continue on in multiethnic American lit, and study languages on the side. Among the universities that I'm considering applying to, several of them offer courses in Swedish, which might be a good way to go.