Program Specific Questions - Fall 2013

[DontHate]

Lastly, I really wish you would stop your elitist act, caw_caw_caw, because I honestly don't see why you need to have such a smug attitude towards everyone else on this board. People have answered your "what are my chances?" thread graciously and you received the ego boost you needed to calm yourself down.

Sadly, the truth is barely anyone responded to my "what are my chances" thread.

[dazedandbemused]

I'm not really being an elitist. I'm just trying to stir up a conversation about what people plan to do with their PhD's, especially in the event that they may not have a realistic shot at an academic career. I base my opinions on the facts I've heard from people who supposedly know these things (including articles people have shared on this thread).

I got a bunch of responses that range from "you're mean for saying that," to "I just want to be a high school teacher anyway," to "well your field isn't even that competitive," to "even though I have very small chance of getting a tenure track job, I will persist in trying to get one." The argument that you're "not aiming to be an academic superstar" makes me feel sad. It's not as though any of us pursue our dreams with the hope of achieving a mediocre approximation of them. But, in any case, it's a complicated topic. I'm not bulldozing the nuance of anyone's situation as much as everyone is demonizing me. Shouldn't we all be able to look straight into the fearful truth of possible failure, without getting angry?

Ugh, I have to stop feeding you, dude.

Not becoming the next mega superstar does not mean being mediocre. Some people become professors because they care deeply about undergraduate advising and inspiring intellectual growth. Some people do it because they love their research and want a job that will give them the opportunity and resources to continue. Some want to be graduate advisors and create the next generation of amazing professors. And some want to be a combination of all of those and more. I went to a small school in the middle of nowhere and none of my teachers were superstars, but you know what? They were amazing anyway. To call all of those people's present and future careers mediocre is just rude and small-minded.

[wreckofthehope]

The argument that you're "not aiming to be an academic superstar" makes me feel sad. It's not as though any of us pursue our dreams with the hope of achieving a mediocre approximation of them.

Which I think just about sums up why we're talking at cross purposes.

My dream is not to be an academic superstar. I think that would be a fairly hideous life. My dream is to land a stable TT job at a university that's in a place I'd be happy to live for a long time (if it's a completely unknown regional college, I don't mind), where I can teach undergrads and pursue my own research at a pace that doesn't preclude me from being happy in my home life. That dream is not a mediocre approximation of my *hidden* desire to be a superstar, that's my actual dream. It would be so great if I got it; I'll probably have to compromise on some part of it, but that's OK with me too.

Edited December 7, 2012 by wreckofthehope

[Imogene]

Sadly, the truth is barely anyone responded to my "what are my chances" thread.

please someone make it stop

[DontHate]

I'm not trying to insult any professors you've had in the past. I'm saying that the mindset of "I want to become an okay professor, not a superstar" just sounds like a sad way of thinking about yourself. I doubt any of your great profs of the past woke up in the morning and said this to themselves in the mirror. I think ambition is a beautiful thing, and it's what we all need to harness in order to achieve any level of success. Becoming a prof at a SLAC is an achievement. It's not a secondary goal, or a fallback plan for people who undersell themselves, or feel unworthy of Harvard, and angrily belittle anyone choosing to apply to Harvard or to accurately state the merits of a Harvard education. If you really want to survive in academia, I suggest you all become a bit more comfortable with what you're calling "elitism," but what I would describe as a bit of realism.

And you know what? I am an elitist, in the sense that I feel certain people are more qualified than others, more talented than others. I believe in a meritocracy. I also believe that everyone probably has something that they are very good at. It's not always the thing they want it to be.

Charisma, for example, is a necessity to great teaching. It doesn't mean that you have to be Rico Suave to be a great teacher, but you do need to somehow hold the attention of a room. Your ideas need to be compelling in form, as well as content. Looks and speaking voice play a big part in hiring professors. Is that fair? Maybe not, but it's true.

[rawera]

Looks and speaking voice play a big part in hiring professors. Is that fair? Maybe not, but it's true.

c_c_c, you should have included a picture in your what are my chances thread.

[DontHate]

please someone make it stop

Thin-skinned and deeply insensitive to sarcasm?

Why did everyone assume I was looking for an ego boost when I posted my "what are my chances?" thread? I don't think of myself as some sort of stellar candidate. Seriously, the reactions were kind of bizarre. Is everyone else in such a different position from me? I took a few years off after undergrad, I didn't immediately have everything figured out, I changed disciplines, I went through excruciating bouts of uncertainty (and still do, all the time). I worked really hard over the past year to acquire the skills I felt were essential to my academic life. Where is all the misunderstanding coming from? Is it really my elitism that's the issue here, or maybe something closer to the populism of an angry mob?

[DontHate]

c_c_c, you should have included a picture in your what are my chances thread.

No can do, I don't wanna blow your minds.

[rawera]

Is it really my elitism that's the issue here, or maybe something closer to the populism of an angry mob?

"I'm not elitist, it's all you damned plebes who can't take a joke."

Edited December 7, 2012 by rawera

[wreckofthehope]

Oh the LOLZ.

[Datatape]

[smilax]

Charisma, for example, is a necessity to great teaching.

In which case, how do you justify your decision to go to graduate school?

[wreckofthehope]

In which case, how do you justify your decision to go to graduate school?

Goddammit smilax, I've reached my quota of positive votes for the day. Have three smileys instead:

[Two Espressos]

I'm not trying to insult any professors you've had in the past. I'm saying that the mindset of "I want to become an okay professor, not a superstar" just sounds like a sad way of thinking about yourself. I doubt any of your great profs of the past woke up in the morning and said this to themselves in the mirror.

You're defining terms in an odd, insupportable way. What about people who aspire to teach at a community college, who would prefer that to teaching at an Ivy-league school? What makes that only an "okay" aspiration? We need people to teach at the "lower" levels of academe too, and not just disgruntled HYP Ph.D.s.

[DontHate]

Interviewer: Would you confess to being an elitist?

Alexander Nehemas: An elitist may be someone who thinks that people have different talents and abilities, and if that’s what an elitist is, I absolutely am one. I think that talents are not equally distributed. Elitism about talent has nothing to do with justice, the distribution of political power, or political privilege. With the same opportunities a few people are going to do better than most others, and those who do better are those I admire. But I would not deprive those who do worse of political rights, nor would I presume to know in advance who has, and who lacks, talent. That is determined only after the fact. It’s stupid to think you are a special person if you have not already done something special, and perhaps it’s stupid even then. What counts is what you do.

I hope you all become the best community college teachers that god intended you to be. Or whatever. I don't even know anymore. Everything I say is taken the wrong way.

[asleepawake]

Not that I'm defending caw_caw_caw's elitism, but the "This is what undergrad applicants do" comment is uncalled for. Caw_caw_caw is right in suggesting that there is absolutely no way that we as applicants truly know what "fit" constitutes for each program that specific year. If they like your work, they'll find a way to make you fit in. Fit is not tetris people. Departments are always changing and who knows if x department suddenly wanted someone who does y this year?

Also, I'm an undergraduate applicant and yes, I'm applying mostly to top ten schools. I don't think I should be disparaged for "ripping the list of Top 10 schools and applying to those." I have my reasons. I'm not a naive undergraduate applicant.

Sorry, but I think you misunderstood my comment. By "this is what undergraduate applicants do," I did not mean people applying to grad school out of undergrad. I mean applicants to undergraduate programs. Ranking are more important in undergraduate programs than graduate problems, and they're easier to gauge. I never meant to suggest that applicants coming out of undergrad, as opposed to an MA, are likely to be any less qualified or thoughtful in their decisions. Sorry if it seemed that way.

I simply meant that just gunning for the top-rated schools because they are top-rated, and only because they are top-rated, is not the wisest way to go about applications. You say you have your reasons and I believe you.

Edited December 7, 2012 by asleepawake

[asleepawake]

I hope you all become the best community college teachers that god intended you to be. Or whatever.

[Two Espressos]

I hope you all become the best community college teachers that god intended you to be.

jesus fucking christ

Or whatever. I don't even know anymore. Everything I say is taken the wrong way.

It has a lot to do with your lack of tact. I agree with a lot of what you've been saying, but the way you go about saying it is so discordant. I'm led to believe you're either a troll or just really bad at communicating with people on the internet.

[justkeepswimming]

Sorry, but I think you misunderstood my comment. By "this is what undergraduate applicants do," I did not mean people applying to grad school out of undergrad. I mean applicants to undergraduate programs. Ranking are more important in undergraduate programs than graduate problems, and they're easier to gauge. I never meant to suggest that applicants coming out of undergrad, as opposed to an MA, are likely to be any less qualified or thoughtful in their decisions. Sorry if it seemed that way.

I simply meant that just gunning for the top-rated schools because they are top-rated, and only because they are top-rated, is not the wisest way to go about applications. You say you have your reasons and I believe you.

Much appreciated. Best of luck to you for this upcoming cycle. May the odds be ever in your favor! (I hope I got that quote right).

[DontHate]

LOOK, JUST BECAUSE I LIVE UNDER A BRIDGE DOES NOT MAKE ME A TROLL. THE RENT WAS VERY AFFORDABLE.

[DontHate]

"Five years ago 33 percent of graduates in the humanities had no employment or postdoctoral commitments upon completion; that number rose to 43 percent in 2011."

http://chronicle.com/article/Doctoral-Degrees-Rose-in-2011/136133/

That's 43% of EVERYONE WHO GRADUATED FROM EVERYWHERE. What schools do you think the bulk of those unemployed graduates came from? Harvard? Yale? Stanford? Just make a wild guess. I'm betting they came from the schools we can't name off the top of our heads.

[asleepawake]

Much appreciated. Best of luck to you for this upcoming cycle. May the odds be ever in your favor! (I hope I got that quote right).

Best to you also! Let neither of us be brutally murdered on live television during the 2013 year. At least there will be more than one winner in this game! Unless funding really has gotten that dire...

[justkeepswimming]

LOOK, JUST BECAUSE I LIVE UNDER A BRIDGE DOES NOT MAKE ME A TROLL. THE RENT WAS VERY AFFORDABLE.

Hahaha. Okay, in an effort to get this thread back on topic, "program specific questions," caw_caw_caw, are you applying to Cornell comp lit by any chance? I've mostly looked at English programs and Cornell's comp lit program caught my eye for whatever reason. If you are, what is the program's reputation? I'm interested in Cornell's comp lit because they have a lot of overlaps with the English dept in terms of faculty that I'd be interested in working with.

[DontHate]

No, I'm not applying to Cornell. But I know they're considered super strong in critical theory. I know someone who got an MFA there and loved it. He's just dripping with theory, it oozes out of his pores. It's kind of annoying.

[bfat]

ETA: this showed up later in the thread than I expected... moving fast tonight

Edited December 7, 2012 by bfat