Program Suggestions?

[nokingofengland]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to find my dream program, and I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm sorry if this is a longwinded question, but I think it's all relevant.

 

Background: I went to a small liberal arts school for my BA--one that afforded me a great deal of freedom (no course requirements whatsoever) and an immense amount of individual attention. My time there was beyond comparison: The students were so invested in their studies, and were sincerely interested (not just competitively so) in those of their peers'. The faculty genuinely cared about our education, with some wiling to meet late into the night to discuss a difficult poem/passage. Students partook in administrative decisions, and we were forced to argue for and articulate the value of our education. We were taught to write by reading deeply and to read by writing extensively on what we read. Class-sizes averaged 8-10 students, and not partaking in discussion meant no passing grade, so we learned to speak. As we advanced, the boundaries of between "teacher" and "student" (which were much closer to master and apprentice to begin with) became blurred. And anyway, leaving was the hardest thing I've ever done; I wish every day to find someplace half as alive with learning.

 

(It really sounds like I'm making it up. I promise I'm not.)

 

This is my second time around prospecting programs. I stopped halfway through my applications last year for a variety of reasons unrelated to school, and though it killed me then, it seems now like a blessing in disguise that I was forced to put this all on hold. I was looking at programs all wrong: After filtering for research interests, I paid too much attention to rankings, faculty prominence, "reputation," etc.  My ego took hold, big time. A high ranking is great, but this year I want to find a program that values creativity and intellectual independence, discussion, cross-disciplinary study, and pedagogy. Small is nice, but large would be okay if there were a large enough faculty to provide individual attention. Going on to a big fancy research career is far less important to me than going on to become an effective and engaging teacher.

 

My broad research interests are early modern poetry, and religion and literature. I could get conjectural about specifics, but I'm sure things would change at some point anyway.

 

Any program suggestions? Trusting their website, Buffalo's intellectual atmosphere looks pretty great. I spoke with someone at U Washington who was really after my heart. U Oregon seems an okay fit, but they were extremely rude to me on the phone.

 

I'd appreciate any insight. This may lead to nothing and a whole lot of "keep dreaming" responses, but I figured I'd give it a try.

 

Thanks in advance,

nk

[somethinbruin]

Kudos to you for re-evaluating what you want. I went to an undergrad institution that sounds very similar to yours, I also looked for a PhD program that was strong on pedagogy and got students tons of teaching opportunities. 

 

Are you applying to MA programs, PhD programs, or both?

[nokingofengland]

I'm applying to both, with the goal of a PhD.

[Bennett]

Where exactly did you do your B.A.? Sounds just like Marlboro, where I did mine.

[nokingofengland]

Bennett--I PMed (sp?) you.

[Phil Sparrow]

UNC, Columbia, Northwestern, Rutgers (all strong in your focus, all with reputations, at least for early modern, of fostering the kind of environment you seek).

[nokingofengland]

Thanks, Phil Sparrow! I had UNC and Northwestern on my list last year, too. So at least I wasn't totally off! I'll definitely look into Columbia and Rutgers.

 

UNC would be great for another reason: Any other basketball fans here?

[bdon19]

Thanks, Phil Sparrow! I had UNC and Northwestern on my list last year, too. So at least I wasn't totally off! I'll definitely look into Columbia and Rutgers.

 

UNC would be great for another reason: Any other basketball fans here?

 

Definitely UNC!  (I'm not biased or anything...)  But, in all seriousness, UNC is really strong for early modern.  Let me re-state that: REALLY strong.  I came from a similar-sounding liberal arts institution for my B.A., and while I don't think that any graduate program will ever be able to offer (at least/especially on the administrative level), the exact type of environment that I had there, I definitely enjoyed my first year there greatly.  In terms of religion and literature, UNC offers the option of taking courses at Duke as well, and they have at least one or two cross-listed literature/religion courses every semester offered through the divinity school.  I am only on GradCafe sporadically now that I'm not applying myself (like now, it's usually when I'm procrastinating writing), but do feel free to PM me with any questions you might have about the program, and I'll try to get back to you!  Good luck with your applications!

[gillyflowers]

Does anyone have any recommendations for PhD or Master's programs that specialize in religion and literature? Preferably either in Chicago or within a few hours of it. 

[brigadierpudding]

Nokingofengland, given your interest in teaching, interdisciplinary studies, and early modern literature, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a lot to recommend it.  When I visited a month ago, I was impressed by their emphasis on pedagogy:  not only do they have the customary seminar on teaching first year-composition, but they also offer one on teaching literature and another one on teaching film.  After the first year, you usually teach 2 classes a semester, and there are a lot of options for teaching a variety of lit classes.  For an early modernist like yourself, the ones you'd probably want to teach include Intro to Shakespeare, English Lit before 1800, and Renaissance Lit & Culture, but you can also pick up classes like Intro to Drama, Intro to Poetry, and Intro to Fiction, any of which could demonstrate your credentials as a generalist.  Suffice to say, at UIUC you'd get a lot of training and experience as a teacher.  UIUC also tried to emphasize the interdisciplinary opportunities available to its students.  You can take graduate seminars in other departments, and they're home to the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory.  Finally, they have a very solid faculty for early modern studies, all of whom (the ones I met, anyway) seemed very friendly and accessible, so you'd be able to get plenty of individual attention, no doubt.

Edited May 13, 2013 by brigadierpudding

[Vavasor]

About University of Oregon, I don't know who it was that was rude to you on the phone, but in general U. Oregon is great in terms of the atmosphere and in terms of professors being really dedicated to their students (I did my undergraduate work there).

[nokingofengland]

Thank you all for the responses. It's encouraging that multiple people have sought this type of thing and (it sounds like) found it!

 

Vavasor--I actually ended up getting in touch with someone else at Oregon who was far more than friendly. Had a wonderful conversation and came away feeling great about their program. (To hell with rankings!) I have a number of things pulling me west, too, though geography is far from my top factor. Still, it's nice to know a good program exists in the NW. Did you know any English grad students during your time there as an undergraduate?

Edited May 17, 2013 by nokingofengland