to those who have applied to Emory University English: why?

[asleepawake]

I haven't accused the OP of lying or seen anyone else do that; Most of us have no knowledge of any of this so we can't speak to what did or did not happen. If this person had come here honestly and made a thread that explained some of the problems with the program, we would have had a completely different reaction. But the OP created a thread in which they offered to "answer questions" about Emory, and then proceeded to make more than a dozen separate posts, each of which reads like a Page Six blind item. The second account is suspicious. It is just so bizarre and wildly unprofessional that I cannot take it seriously.

Edited March 14, 2013 by asleepawake

[Drol Noryb]

It just seems that for (apparently) a rhet/comp person, that the rhetoric of his posts is what's entirely lacking.

[Two Espressos]

But the OP created a thread in which they offered to "answer questions" about Emory, and then proceeded to make more than a dozen separate posts, each of which reads like a Page Six blind item.

 

Exactly.  The manner of posting is just fucking weird.  My face reading this thread: 

 

Oh, and OP: you never answered my question about Bauerlein.

[Porridge]

I have a few questions for OP.

 

1. Have you been slighted by the department?

2. How many years into the program are you?

3. What is your purpose in delivering to us your 'pearls of wisdom.'

Edited March 14, 2013 by Porridge

[practical cat]

I haven't accused the OP of lying or seen anyone else do that; Most of us have no knowledge of any of this so we can't speak to what did or did not happen. If this person had come here honestly and made a thread that explained some of the problems with the program, we would have had a completely different reaction. But the OP created a thread in which they offered to "answer questions" about Emory, and then proceeded to make more than a dozen separate posts, each of which reads like a Page Six blind item. The second account is suspicious. It is just so bizarre and wildly unprofessional that I cannot take it seriously.

Don't slander the good name of good gossip!

[anotheremoryphd]

I hope people aren't taking this guy seriously. Who would say such things about one's colleagues behind their back? Every issue being raised is indeed one-sided and presented without context. The composition hire being referred to was Mark Bousquet, a prolific figure who holds strong views regarding writing and academe in general. Moreover, he was brought on to head a huge initiative to revamp the entire writing curriculum. I think it's a good thing that vigorous debate precipitated his hire. As to the other accusations I don't know how to respond because they seem frivolous and made up. Why refrain from naming names, Mr Honest?

[squire_western]

Actually, I think it was in my Norton Anthology of British Literature, Vol 1.  It was various pieces.  I think the "HOLY SHIT!" was near the end of Oroonoko, when the title character is being disemboweled whilst blithely smoking a pipe.

 

LOL!

[Appppplication]

OP is on the wait-list for Emory English Phd.... enough said.

[jrockford27]

guys, instead of mocking this guy, who may or may not even be fucking himself over, you should consider the possibility that he is not making things up. I know everyone here wants to live in a world of unicorns and rainbows where every program is the best thing ever and where jobs fall from the heavens and professors are appointed by god himself from among his most trusted angels--but sometimes the world is not inside your head, and sometimes it's even ok to know that.

 

I dunno, I find it hard to take seriously anyone who comes anonymously and begins posting rather salacious and outrageous rumors without a scintilla of evidence other than a sworn oath on his or her honor as an anonymous agitator, oh, and the support of a second anonymous agitator who may or may not be his or her sock puppet account.

[ComeBackZinc]

I'm sorry, thestage, Swagato, but tone, idiom, and ethos matter. As I said earlier in this thread, much of what the OP says isn't obviously wrong but is obviously right. It's true: students sometimes don't respect faculty. It's true: students sometimes don't get along with their peers. If anyone expects that to not be the case, don't go to grad school. But when you start a troll thread, by acting like you're interested in giving genuine information, and then use it to grind an ax against individual people, by name, while you yourself remain anonymous-- that's disqualifying of being taken seriously. Could these allegations be true? Sure, although some of them are so idiosyncratic and vague that I don't really consider them complaints at all. As for the more serious allegations... how seriously am I intended to take anonymous complaints on the Internet?

 

If the OP had written this post in a way that indicated a degree of professionalism and a desire to genuinely engage with particular problems in her or his program, I would listen, but not trust. When s/he works overtime to slander people without evidence, I neither listen nor trust. Every program, always, has a few students who believe themselves to be misunderstood geniuses. Every once in awhile, they're right. But most of them time, they aren't.

[antihumanist]

Not because it is, apparently, a Lovecraftian nightmare where the living envy the dead?

 

Artist's rendering of emoryenglishphd's thesis defense.

 

ALL OF THE KARMA!

[hashslinger]

Another professor, who ya'll probably respect, looked at students' potential composition syllabi and asked, "What are you good at?" The replies varied from rollerblading and wearing a jean jacket. These responses, one of them a Fulbright scholar, indicate how much the students respected the professor.

I'm lost. What's wrong with admitting you're good at rollerblading?

[Gdom87]

I'm lost. What's wrong with admitting you're good at rollerblading?

Baahahhahaha.