Victorian Studies

[Sibyl.Vane]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am new here, and want to get in contact with some other Victorian-Edwardian literature grads. Is anyone planning on attending Dickens Universe/NAVSA or other conferences their first year? What about prep work for your grad program?

 

Cheers!

[thatjewishgirl]

Hi, I'm a Victorianist! I'm attending LSU this fall.

 

From what I understand (which is, admittedly, very little) from my visit with the Victorian literature professors at LSU, LSU recently joined the Dickens Project.  Also, from what I understand, they encourage graduate students to submit a paper to win a chance to attend/speak(?) at Dickens Universe each year. I plan to do nothing my first year, but next summer I do plan to finish a paper on Dickens and submit it to them in the hopes that I am selected for this opportunity.

 

I was an MA student for three years and have been an adjunct for the past two, and have presented/chaired at a regional MLA conference every. single. year. and I'm exhausted. I returned a few weeks ago from the Midwest Victorian Studies Association conference where I was the only young had-not-yet-started-her-phd girl to speak at the conference. Frankly, I'm so exhausted by conferences right now that I plan to take my first year of school off conferences (though I am very interested in just attending the Sherlock Holmes conference at the Univ of Minnesota in August *just* as a spectator). Though I'm sure I will be interested in NAVSA at some point and really need to research it further. I've decided I am no longer attending regional MLAs, and want to commit to being more involved in Victorian-specific conferences in the future.

 

The phd girls at the MVSA conference told me to focus more on publications than conferences, so that is my priority right now.

 

I spent the last two years (my time as an adjunct) reading everything I could squeeze in between teaching 6 classes a semester from a Victorian comprehensive exam list. I read *so* much more in the last two years than in the three years I spent as an MA student.

Edited April 26, 2013 by thatjewishgirl

[Sibyl.Vane]

Wow! It sounds like you have been busy. I am an incoming PhD student @ UCSC, so I imagine I'll see you at Dickens Universe one of these years. I'm jumping into the program with only a BA, so I only have one undergrad conference presentation under my belt. Best of luck at LSU!

[thatjewishgirl]

Wonderful! I hope we meet someday. Re: conferences, I was *very* lucky in that my little Oklahoma school shelled out literally thousands of dollars for each graduate student to attend conferences annually. I was told basically when I got off the boat that conferences are very important, so I committed to attending one or more yearly. Also, I'll admit I'm really nervous that I won't be prepared, so I've tried everything I can think of to communicate that I'm prepared to take on PhD level work.

 

What about yourself? What about your interests, etc? (Or any other Victorianists, for that matter?)

Edited April 26, 2013 by thatjewishgirl

[Sibyl.Vane]

I'm fascinated with late-Victorian religious culture, slum journalism, and travel narratives, mostly feminist/queer perspectives.

 

What about you?

 

On preparation: I am constantly reading criticism related to my studies, but maybe I should be (re)reading some heavier stuff, more literary theory?

[BunnyWantsaPhD]

Hi, I'm a Victorianist! I'm attending LSU this fall.

 

From what I understand (which is, admittedly, very little) from my visit with the Victorian literature professors at LSU, LSU recently joined the Dickens Project.  Also, from what I understand, they encourage graduate students to submit a paper to win a chance to attend/speak(?) at Dickens Universe each year. I plan to do nothing my first year, but next summer I do plan to finish a paper on Dickens and submit it to them in the hopes that I am selected for this opportunity.

 

I was an MA student for three years and have been an adjunct for the past two, and have presented/chaired at a regional MLA conference every. single. year. and I'm exhausted. I returned a few weeks ago from the Midwest Victorian Studies Association conference where I was the only young had-not-yet-started-her-phd girl to speak at the conference. Frankly, I'm so exhausted by conferences right now that I plan to take my first year of school off conferences (though I am very interested in just attending the Sherlock Holmes conference at the Univ of Minnesota in August *just* as a spectator). Though I'm sure I will be interested in NAVSA at some point and really need to research it further. I've decided I am no longer attending regional MLAs, and want to commit to being more involved in Victorian-specific conferences in the future.

 

The phd girls at the MVSA conference told me to focus more on publications than conferences, so that is my priority right now.

 

I spent the last two years (my time as an adjunct) reading everything I could squeeze in between teaching 6 classes a semester from a Victorian comprehensive exam list. I read *so* much more in the last two years than in the three years I spent as an MA student.

 

I was supposed to go to the MVSA conference this year and be a moderator but then I couldn't acquire the funds so I wasn't able to make it--but if I had, you wouldn't have been the only non-PhD there (though I wouldn't have been presenting...). I'd love to go to more conferences, but since I'm not in a program right now I can't afford it. Which sucks, because I don't know how to build up my CV without conferences--getting published just seems so impossible...

 

What is your focus in Victorian Studies? What made you interested in LSU? Since I'm applying in the Fall 2014 season, I'm just trying to see what everyone else is doing and wanting advice about how to get in. Thoughts?

[BunnyWantsaPhD]

Oh, btw, my interests are constructions of masculinity, queer theory, and Dickens. I plan on trying to expand to the long nineteenth century so I can see the shifts in the constructions more...

[somethinbruin]

Hi, I'm a Victorianist! I'm attending LSU this fall.

 

From what I understand (which is, admittedly, very little) from my visit with the Victorian literature professors at LSU, LSU recently joined the Dickens Project.  Also, from what I understand, they encourage graduate students to submit a paper to win a chance to attend/speak(?) at Dickens Universe each year. I plan to do nothing my first year, but next summer I do plan to finish a paper on Dickens and submit it to them in the hopes that I am selected for this opportunity.

 

I was an MA student for three years and have been an adjunct for the past two, and have presented/chaired at a regional MLA conference every. single. year. and I'm exhausted. I returned a few weeks ago from the Midwest Victorian Studies Association conference where I was the only young had-not-yet-started-her-phd girl to speak at the conference. Frankly, I'm so exhausted by conferences right now that I plan to take my first year of school off conferences (though I am very interested in just attending the Sherlock Holmes conference at the Univ of Minnesota in August *just* as a spectator). Though I'm sure I will be interested in NAVSA at some point and really need to research it further. I've decided I am no longer attending regional MLAs, and want to commit to being more involved in Victorian-specific conferences in the future.

 

The phd girls at the MVSA conference told me to focus more on publications than conferences, so that is my priority right now.

 

I spent the last two years (my time as an adjunct) reading everything I could squeeze in between teaching 6 classes a semester from a Victorian comprehensive exam list. I read *so* much more in the last two years than in the three years I spent as an MA student.

 

Hi there. I just wanted to give you a shout out because I was at the MVSA conference this year (not as a presenter, but I sat in on some sessions) and I think I saw your presentation. I'm not a Victorianist, but I thought you did a nice job.

 

Best of luck in your PhD studies. I'm starting in the fall as well (contemporary/postcolonial/theory) and turning my attention to publishing more so than conferences. Still shooting for a conference a year, but trying to add a publication as well. 

[thatjewishgirl]

Hi there. I just wanted to give you a shout out because I was at the MVSA conference this year (not as a presenter, but I sat in on some sessions) and I think I saw your presentation. I'm not a Victorianist, but I thought you did a nice job.

 

Oh, how wonderful! If the presentation you are thinking of was on women and the Talmud and was at 8am Saturday morning, then yes, that was me. Thank you for your gracious comments about my presentation. Speaking in front of a large crowd that included people I had cited in my MA thesis was really unnerving.

 

So if you aren't a Victorianist, how did you find yourself at MVSA? Where are you going in the fall?

[thatjewishgirl]

I was supposed to go to the MVSA conference this year and be a moderator but then I couldn't acquire the funds so I wasn't able to make it--but if I had, you wouldn't have been the only non-PhD there (though I wouldn't have been presenting...). I'd love to go to more conferences, but since I'm not in a program right now I can't afford it. Which sucks, because I don't know how to build up my CV without conferences--getting published just seems so impossible...

 

What is your focus in Victorian Studies? What made you interested in LSU? Since I'm applying in the Fall 2014 season, I'm just trying to see what everyone else is doing and wanting advice about how to get in. Thoughts?

 

Oh, that is sad - I've also had to back out at the last minute somewhere once before. They had notified us of acceptance so late that plane ticket prices had become unreasonably expensive. so what panel were you supposed to chair? If I was you, I'd still try to publish. I know it seems impossible, but you can start with something lesser known or something really subject specific, and see what you get out of it. My articles have been rejected, but they've also been accepted, too. You never know until you try!

 

My focus is Anglo-Jewish literature, Victorian Judaism, animal studies, gothic novels/sensation novels/detective novels/penny bloods (threw those all together).  To be honest, my husband picked LSU. We made a list of 9 programs to apply to, and LSU was one of his contributions. It was the last application I sent in, and they couldn't ever find my BA transcript, so I thought I had no chance and had written it off until my husband and I were both accepted on the same night. Needless to say, that's where we're going! I feel like I know nothing about the application process. They just said they were intrigued by my interests.

[literary_tourist]

Oh, that is sad - I've also had to back out at the last minute somewhere once before. They had notified us of acceptance so late that plane ticket prices had become unreasonably expensive. so what panel were you supposed to chair? If I was you, I'd still try to publish. I know it seems impossible, but you can start with something lesser known or something really subject specific, and see what you get out of it. My articles have been rejected, but they've also been accepted, too. You never know until you try!

 

My focus is Anglo-Jewish literature, Victorian Judaism, animal studies, gothic novels/sensation novels/detective novels/penny bloods (threw those all together).  To be honest, my husband picked LSU. We made a list of 9 programs to apply to, and LSU was one of his contributions. It was the last application I sent in, and they couldn't ever find my BA transcript, so I thought I had no chance and had written it off until my husband and I were both accepted on the same night. Needless to say, that's where we're going! I feel like I know nothing about the application process. They just said they were intrigued by my interests.

 Wow. Now I think I want to include LSU to my list. I just read the faculty and graduate profiles, and there does seem to be a good number of people studying 19th century lit.

 

I wish I can attend Victorian lit conferences too, but Britain and the US seem so far away from where I am. I know I need to focus on my applications this year. I am really nervous because this is my first application cycle.

[thatjewishgirl]

literary_tourist, you should definitely include LSU! The faculty I spoke with seemed really supportive of my interests, and they said they try to accommodate a wide variety of interests. Where are you living? I understand about the anxiety - this was my first PhD app cycle, too. I'm so happy to have hit what I see as a homerun my first time (LSU may not be the highest ranked school, but they have a great stipend and I get to attend with my spouse, so I'm happy.)

[literary_tourist]

I currently live in the Philippines although I studied in Britain. I relocated myself here because of the recession. I could teach with my MA, but there aren't a lot of Victorianists here. I'm the only Victorianist in the university I'm currently affiliated with.

 

Most of the conferences here are more on Asian studies, so I don't have a lot of presentations listed on my resume. Hopefully, if I get into one university, at least I'll be closer to more Victorianists.

 

The Dickens Project looks awesome, and I don't really want to think about rankings too much. There aren't a lot of Phds here in the Philippines anyway. With the current reforms in education, I know some universities are restructuring their lit programs (at least I know the one I'm affiliated with is restructuring its lit program). Finishing a Phd outside my country will matter a lot. I think what matters to me more is getting good supervision for my research interests and a good number of colleagues with the same research interests. 

Edited April 28, 2013 by literary_tourist

[somethinbruin]

Oh, how wonderful! If the presentation you are thinking of was on women and the Talmud and was at 8am Saturday morning, then yes, that was me. Thank you for your gracious comments about my presentation. Speaking in front of a large crowd that included people I had cited in my MA thesis was really unnerving.

 

So if you aren't a Victorianist, how did you find yourself at MVSA? Where are you going in the fall?

 

Yep, I saw your presentation! Kismet. My MA program is in Cleveland, and one of my profs helped organize the conference. The MVSA needed volunteers to help out, and in exchange for volunteering, they let us attend the conference free of charge. I enjoy Victorian lit, even though I'm not a Victorian scholar, so I caught a few of the sessions on Friday and Saturday. It wasn't in my area, but still felt like I grasped and learned a great deal. It was fun.

 

I'm headed to West Virginia University in the fall. I had other offers, and never in a million years would I have thought that's where I would have ended up, but when I visited the campus I fell in love with the program. You teach a TON, and that I think will prepare me more for the type of academic career that I want. (I like research, but I LOVE teaching at small universities.) 

[BunnyWantsaPhD]

Oh, that is sad - I've also had to back out at the last minute somewhere once before. They had notified us of acceptance so late that plane ticket prices had become unreasonably expensive. so what panel were you supposed to chair? If I was you, I'd still try to publish. I know it seems impossible, but you can start with something lesser known or something really subject specific, and see what you get out of it. My articles have been rejected, but they've also been accepted, too. You never know until you try!

 

My focus is Anglo-Jewish literature, Victorian Judaism, animal studies, gothic novels/sensation novels/detective novels/penny bloods (threw those all together).  To be honest, my husband picked LSU. We made a list of 9 programs to apply to, and LSU was one of his contributions. It was the last application I sent in, and they couldn't ever find my BA transcript, so I thought I had no chance and had written it off until my husband and I were both accepted on the same night. Needless to say, that's where we're going! I feel like I know nothing about the application process. They just said they were intrigued by my interests.

 

Yup it was definitely a bummer. I actually had to back out of being a moderator the year before for the same conference because of family issues. So, now that's two years in a row--I wonder if they hate me there now...hopefully it doesn't affect any future possibilities. 

 

That's awesome that you and your husband get to go to the same place! Congrats!

[BunnyWantsaPhD]

Oh, also, I'm not sure which panel I was supposed to moderate. I think there were a few different ones that I had the option of doing. And yes, I'm gonna look into publishing--just not keeping my hopes up too high...